The Woman Who Stole My Life: British Book Awards Author of the Year 2022

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The Woman Who Stole My Life: British Book Awards Author of the Year 2022

The Woman Who Stole My Life: British Book Awards Author of the Year 2022

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One day, sitting in traffic, married Dublin mum Stella Sweeney attempts a good deed. The resulting car crash changes her life. But this chance meeting sparks a chain of events which will take Stella thousands of miles from her old life, turning an ordinary woman into a superstar, and, along the way, wrenching her whole family apart. She is a good narrator, with nice pace and an ability to distinguish between different characters without resorting to silly voices. I think I would have give up if she hadn't been so pleasant to listen to. The story zigzags through different stages of a two year period in Stella's life. From hospital in Dublin to hotels around The United States, working in a beauty salon alongside her sister, to having her own self-help book tour. Stella is re-discovering herself but there is someone watching who wants her new life, and will stop at nothing to have it. The rays of light - Mannix's brother Roland (about the only tension I felt was when he had a stroke, the crazy agent with her cats - but for the most part I did not really care for Stella at all, and was almost delighted when Gilda turned the tables on her near the end. Mostly though, I just felt angry and frustrated. I'm not really too keen, it seems, on stories of those in their early 40s dealing with broken relationships, teenaged children (although Jeffrey's "rebellion" was at least quirky - I mean foraging) and intensely sexual relationships. Give me "Rachel's Holiday" any day.

By the time I emerged from this phase and started reading more widely, Marian Keyes was well established, and when I started working in bookshops she had her own section on the shelf. But somehow, though people kept telling me I should give her a try, I never got around to it until now. I don’t like chic-lit where everything is happy, and the conflict is the same from book to book. I want a read to keep me guessing, to keep me interested, to surprise me. a b c "BBC One - imagine..., 2022, Marian Keyes: My (not so) Perfect Life". BBC . Retrieved 8 February 2022. First Sentence: Can I make one thing clear – no matter what you’ve heard, and I’m sure you’ve heard plenty – I’m not a full-blown Karma-Denier.

Articles

I used to love a Marian Keyes. They were light and funny and a vacation for my mind. This as none of those things. I didn't find it funny and it was just one stupid thing after another. Initially I liked Stella Sweeney. She was suffering from a life threatening disease and you really had to root for it. Funny? No. Begin at the beginning,’ Phyllis had told me, that terrible day in her office in New York, a few months ago. ‘Do an introduction. Remind people of who you are.’ But it's not for me - so I will not put all the negative things that went through my mind will reading this one onto paper. Keyes' depressive period lasted about four years. During this time she also wrote The Mystery of Mercy Close, a novel in which the heroine experiences similar battles with depression and suicide attempts as those Keyes herself experienced. [9] As Keyes further describes this period of her life: "It was like being in an altered reality . . . I was always melancholic and prone to sadness and hopelessness but this was catastrophic and unimaginable." The side characters were more of the same. The husband is a pouty, self-obsessed, super whiny, wannabe artist who resents Stella for getting to do/have/make things that he never gets to. He was just plain unlikeable. (And possibly the most annoying male character I have ever read). The same can be said for her rude and overly moody son. I got the idea that Keyes was trying to use him as comic relief but it was really flat and confusing. Her daughter didn’t feature enough to leave an impression.

Marian Keyes is a phenomenon. The multimillion copy, internationally bestselling author of some of the most widely loved, genre-defying novels of the past thirty years - including Rachel's Holiday, Anybody Out THere and Grown Ups - has millions of devoted readers around the world. After she recovers she makes some really odd decisions. A lot of things that are preposterous happen including how she "writes" a book. She has an ex-husband that's an idiot, a daughter who lives in the clouds and a son who hates her. She makes her life so much harder for herself. Funny yet? The Woman Who Stole My Life is a stand alone title featuring Stella Sweeney, a Dublin wife, mother and beautician, whose ordinary life is turned completely upside down when she falls ill with a rare illness.

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Then she is paralysed by a rare neurological condition and can only 'speak' by blinking. Her neurologist takes an interest in her, jotting down her pieces of wisdom. But in this meeting is born the seed of something which will take Stella thousands of miles from her old life, turning an ordinary woman into a superstar, and, along the way, wrenching her whole family apart. In 2021 and 2022, Keyes joined Tara Flynn in a series for BBC Radio 4 called 'Now You're Asking', in which they discussed problems sent in by listeners (they called them 'askers'). Oh my goodness! I have not laughed so hard in a long time. This book was hilarious. I haven't read Marian Keyes in a long time and I have read most of her books. I think this one by far was her best. God, was it funny. I do have to agree with the other reviewer on Goodreads that the trip to the States just kind of drug the story out. There was absolutely nothing funny and it really added nothing to the story. Unless the author wanted to talk about the stress the tour put upon the characters and I seriously think that could have been done in about two or three paragraphs. While Jeremy was a little brat, he did have some pretty good one liners as well. a b c Taylor, Sarah (17 March 2017). "Desert Island Discs". BBC Radio 4 . Retrieved 20 October 2017.

It actually hurts me to say bad things about Marian Keyes. I mean, I had to go way out of the way to even find this book since it won't be released in the USA for awhile still. I love her and think she's very funny and very talented and I wish her nothing but the best and I actually hope this book does well (see how much I care? Lol.) Keyes doesn't always deliver and I know a lot of her long-time fans have been disappointed lately and I have to agree with them. And there's one or two of her older books that I don't love either, but! I do want to say that when she DOES come through she's completely amazing. She's on a whole 'nother level than the other writers in her genre. Stella is the main character telling us about her life - after developing Guillain–Barré syndrome and spending a year paralysed in hospital she writes a book and her life spins off into lots of different directions. Stella Sweeney, the protagonist, does not make sense. She is married to a horrible man and her 17-year-old son is a nightmare. I cannot believe any woman would tolerate their disgusting behaviour. For she meets a man who wants her telephone number (for the insurance, it turns out). That’s okay. She doesn’t really like him much anyway (his Range Rover totally banjaxed her car). For the first time real, honest-to-goodness happiness is just within her reach. But is Stella Sweeney, Dublin housewife, ready to grasp it?

Interviews

When Marian Keyes first broke into the literary scene, I was in the middle of my “so grown up I get to read all the horror” phase. I was reading Graham Masterton novels based on Lovecraftian tales and other books about the things that go bump in the night; the gorier the better! What happens next will take Stella thousands of miles from her old life, turning an ordinary woman into a superstar and, along the way, wrenching her whole family apart . . . And can Stella grab a chance at real, honest-to-goodness happiness now it finally seems within her reach? Could you see The Woman Who Stole My Life being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

a b Hunt, Elle (12 March 2017). "Novelist Marian Keyes reveals fight against constant 'suicidal impulses' ". The Guardian . Retrieved 30 September 2017. A funny new novel from international bestselling author Marian Keyes about Irish beautician Stella Sweeney who falls ill, falls in love, then falls into a glamorous new life in New York City. When her dream life is threatened, will she rally to reclaim love and happiness? No really, it's fantastic. I'm not even lying. The plot is riveting, and so thorough in detail and knowledge that you respect author Marian Keyes just that bit more for giving you something to really think about. The fact that I felt I was getting not one, not two, but three books in one should show you how many little things done by her writing skills, and mindset had me utterly engrossed, fascinated and in awe. However, I’m delighted that I can stop pretending to work for a little while, and I run down the stairs. ‘Sweetheart!’ I try to act like the hostility between us doesn’t exist. However, it is Marian Keyes, and I am sure it will head straight to the number one spot when published in November, just in time for the Christmas market.

Somehow I had gotten it into my head that Keyes’ books were the light and fluffy, clichéd sort – rather than the complex, interesting, fun sort that I found in The Woman Who Stole My Life.



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