Angels
British Book Awards Author of the Year 2022
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4.3 • 19 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
*** CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS AUTHOR OF THE YEAR 2022***
Discover this hilarious, heart-warming story about how far one woman will go to find herself, from the No. 1 bestselling author of Grown Ups
'Keyes writes brilliantly, as always, about love, grief, jealousy and friendship' Daily Mail
'Funny, compassionate, well-observed and irreverent' Time Out
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Meet Maggie Walsh.
Unlike the rest of her family, Maggie has always done everything right. At thirty-three she has a proper job, is happily married to Garv and never puts a foot wrong.
So when she makes a break for Hollywood with her best friend, Emily, her family and friends don't know what to think.
In the City of Angels, Maggie gets to do things she's never done before: mixing with film stars, pitching scripts, partying non-stop.
No one ever expected predictable Maggie to do something so unpredictable. And in LA, Maggie can be whoever she wants to be.
But sooner or later, Maggie must face the life - and the people - she left behind, and discover whether finding herself, means losing the people she loves . . .
Love the Walsh sisters? Don't miss out on the eagerly awaited sequel to Rachel's Holiday: AGAIN, RACHEL . . .
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'Witty, wicked, yet moving. A novel to both laugh and cry over' Ireland on Sunday
FAMOUS FANS AND WHY THEY LOVE MARIAN KEYES
'Marian's writing is the truth. With big laughs' Dawn French
'A giant of Irish writing' Naoise Dolan
'Will make you laugh and make you cry, but will also reveal the truth of who you really are' Louise O'Neill
'Keyes weaves the joy and pain of life in a unique and magical way' Cathy Rentzenbrink
'One of the most honest writers writing today' Pandora Sykes
'Compassionate, tender, incisive writing' Lucy Foley
'Her talent for tackling serious issues with such humanity and wit is balm for the soul' Nigella Lawson
'Marian Keyes is a brilliant writer. No one is better at making terrifically funny jokes while telling such important, perceptive and agonizing stories of the heart. She is a genius' Sali Hughes
'Irresistible, profound. Keyes's comic gift is always evident' Independent
'Joyful. Keyes' clever way with words and extraordinary wit. People stared at me as I laughed to myself' C.L. Taylor
'A born storyteller' Independent on Sunday
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Thirty-three-year-old Brit Margaret ("Maggie") Walsh is going through a "bad patch": she's drunk her contact lenses for "the third time in six weeks"; she's lost her job; and her nine-year marriage to Garv is over. Thus begins Keyes's enormously entertaining fifth novel. She resurrects the "maintenance-level dysfunctional" Walsh family: sisters Claire (Watermelon), Rachel (Rachel's Holiday), Helen and Anna, plus a befuddled dad and hyper-as-a-hummingbird mum. Maggie, however, is the "good" sister, so it is especially shameful when she must slink back home. She tends to the "mourning sickness" over her failed marriage, which Keyes describes with surprising depth and verisimilitude, and begins fantasizing about what might have been with her first love, Shay Delaney. Accepting an invitation from her best friend, Emily, a struggling screenwriter, Maggie visits L.A., the mecca of reinvention. She decides to trade in her "plain yogurt" persona for that of bad girl and takes an oft-bumpy walk on the wild side, with results that are riotously and embarrassingly silly. Amid her drunken nights and poor flirting choices, she throws herself into the glittering cesspool of La-la-land: acting as Emily's assistant, she witnesses the superficial frivolity and vicious fickleness of the entertainment business. Keyes's observations may be familiar (on aura reading, fake boobs, sadistic eyebrow groomers, the dependence of social status on cars), but her cleverly hilarious approach, especially as a foreigner, keep them fresh. Although this is unquestionably a fun read, Keyes refrains from turning it into fluff and delivers a well-rounded story. Her themes of love and redemption coupled with her familiar, best-friend tone have made her wildly popular in the U.K. and, like her latest novel, should ensure her a Hollywood ending in the U.S. as well. 7-city author tour.
