Literary Review: The Other Side of the Story - Marian Keyes

This is the very first time I'm actually reviewing the books I have read. And actually, why not? Since this blog was created for you to know me, and for me to share my life, it makes perfect sense to share the good reads I enjoy, or not. (Chances are you'll only find stuff I love. *wink*)

I found this book in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Unlikely place, yes, but I was doing a travellogue and on one of those days after my shoot, I ventured into a second-hand bookstore and found this for $5. I have read Marian Keyes before (don't ask me what that book was about. I hardly remember book content months after reading it, except for "The Notebook" by Nicholas Sparks), and since I had no book with me at the time (I must always have a book with me when I travel), why not?

My, my, what a nice surprise. And for a good bargain, too. I don't really care if a book is brand new, because it's really the content that counts. And this content is just wonderful.

Call it chick lit if you want, but it's a book that brought me away from my own world into each character's, living their lives each time I pick the book up from where I left it, laughing out loud (yes, I actually LOLed, on so many occasions, in public), and tearing (sometimes crying) with the characters and the little things they go through.

The lives of 3 women, brought together by the world of publishing. Fluff? Hardly. Marian Keyes manages to capture trivilaities in life, stuff which we take for granted and dismiss ("thought that my father had bucked the kickit, as he himself used to say.") and actually make them sound funny. 

Shan't reveal too much, but here is the synopsis as taken from Marian Keyes' website:

Jojo Harvey is a literary agent whose star is on the rise. In love with both her married boss and her burgeoning career, not much distracts her. Until she finds herself representing two women who used to be best friends. One of them, Gemma, has suddenly found herself from a broken home - at the age of thirty-two. Meanwhile, Lily - the woman Gemma has always blamed for stealing her one chance of happiness - is enjoying the overnight success of her debut novel. Set in the world of publishing, 'The Other Side of the Story' is about love, loyalty, glass ceilings and survival tactics - and what to do when you get your chance for revenge.

Want an excerpt of the book? I'm not flooding my blog with it. 3 excerpts, from the lives of 3 ladies. (The book is written with chapters about Gemma, then Jojo, then Lily, and it rotates between the three of them as the book progresses.) Read them here.

Is it a good read? A definite yes.

More often than not you have to go on living your life, and knocking into nails and needles, before you can see the other side of the story...