A typographic placeholder. Cover art is not available.
On the HahaFiction shelf
Watermelon
by Marian Keyes
Walsh Family · Book 1
Claire has barely given birth when her husband announces he’s leaving her for another woman. She takes the baby home to her family in Dublin, where sympathy comes with her sisters’ competing interests. As Claire starts to recover, the possibility of another relationship makes her question what she wants from the marriage she lost.
From the author’s blurb
“Right for who exactly?”Read the full description at Marian Keyes, author description
Paid link · We earn commissions from qualifying Amazon purchases. Affiliate disclosure
What makes it funny?
Claire is furious that her husband’s affair lacks even a little glamour: he has left her for a neighbor downstairs. When the couple hide their new address, she imagines the other woman’s waiter husband taking revenge with a dessert trolley. These barbed digressions arrive while she is still trying to tell us what happened.
The comedy at work
The narrator talks to the reader as if she’s catching up with a friend, interrupting herself to explain, qualify and complain. Her jokes don’t mean she’s taking the betrayal lightly. The opening repeatedly moves from a sarcastic aside back to her shock and distress.
Try this if…
A candid voice and an interfering family matter as much as the romantic choices. Readers who enjoy an unhappy heroine making sharp jokes while she works out how to live independently may find Claire’s account appealing.
Good to know
The story begins with childbirth and infidelity. Claire’s distress includes heavy drinking, and the opening contains sexual language and disparaging comments about another woman’s looks and age.
A few distinguishing details
- A new mother returns to her Dublin family after her husband leaves on the day she gives birth.
More funny family comedy
Sources & further reading
- Kirkus review
Review
- Series bibliography
Book information
- Opening excerpt
Reading sample
- Apple Books edition
Book information
- Author
Author commentary
Something we should correct? Let us know.
