Book Review #6

Sushi for Beginners: A Novel by Marian Keyes

Sushi for Beginners is a cross between Bridget Jones' Diary and The Devil Wears Prada set in Dublin and with quite a bit more inappropriateness than I was expecting. So yes, I liked it.

The novel winds around the romantic hurdles of its three female protagonists. I was pleased to find a lot witty narrative as well as banter between the characters. I suppose this is the female counterpart to novels like Deception Point, which I reviewed earlier. It is definitely perfect reading for women when they have time to kill, preferably on a flight to Mars because the book is so long--over 500 pages!

I suppose this is a typical book of the new "trashy romance novel" era. It was engaging yet formulaic in a way. I felt triumphant at the ending. It reminded me of the movies you watch with the soaring music at the end where you leave the theater totally elated. Of course, Sushi for Beginners involved a lot more work than passively watching a screen for two hours. The 500-pages have to be read somewhat rapidly or else you will forget what is going on and who is who. That is why I recommend it predominantly for space shuttle flights where you will have days to kill and nowhere to go to forget the presence of the book.

Time to read cover to cover: 2 weeks
General consensus: Prerequisites for enjoying this novel: a vagina and a good memory.