The Woman Who Stole My Life by Marian Keyes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Marian Keyes is back with a humdinger of a book that oozes positivity and well-being – and clichéd and trite as that sounds, it’s really, really not!
In a recent interview I saw, Marian Keyes said that with this book she wanted to write something different, no heavy issues, just an unashamed love story and that’s what it is. Anyone expecting something along the lines of the Walsh family sagas or This Charming Man should either not bother to read it or reassess. I urge the latter. It is very different to her usual style but for me it worked just as well and I loved every page.
The story is focused on Stella Sweeney, writer of a self-help book who after a year in New York, publicising said book, is back in Dublin trying to write another and not having much luck. As Stella sits in her office, spending far too much time on Twitter and looking out of the window she reminisces on her past and her present.
Her present is an angst ridden son who prefers yoga and cooking to more obvious teenage pursuits; a loved-up daughter; an ex-husband who has decided to give away all his worldly goods for karmic reasons when Stella could really do with some worldly –well, money!
As for her past, this is related to us in excerpts from her book One Blink at a Time and how it came about that she has ended up back in Dublin, broke, single and sad.
But it’s not all sadness. Stella’s eccentric family will not allow her to become withdrawn even if she does eat her own weight in Jaffa cakes; there is always something going on that needs her attention whether it’s buying sensible lady chinos or her best friend’s love life. Even the extracts from her book, a story that could have been tragic are funny and with the ring of truth.
And of course there is the love story which I won’t spoil.
As I say, I loved every page. It has Marian Keyes trademark wit but also understanding and I felt like she cared about her characters; I certainly came to care about Stella and though her family were selfish and annoying they are there for entertainment and light relief and as such stood out as great individual characters.
I said at the beginning that this novel oozes positivity – not so much because of what Stella writes although it’s certainly true that her illness was obviously well researched and the way Marian writes about it is interesting and thoughtful and is written about positively but because, in my opinion, the whole book made me feel good. Marian says she was in a good place when she wrote it and you can tell, it is sensitive and hopeful and I really did have a smile on my face when I finished it.
You can tell where the story is going and how it will end but for me that doesn’t matter – it IS a love story after all. It is how it is written that is important and how it makes the reader feel; for me Marian Keyes did a top job.

Thanks to Netaglley and Penguin for the ARC of this book.