Book Review – Angels by Marian Keyes
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This book was a page turner, but it’s hard to identify what the page turning element was. Maybe it was the fact that the protagonist, Maggie, was escaping for her real life in Los Angles. Get it “Angels” you know, City of Angels…yeah I hate to admit that it took a minute for the title to click with me; first instinct was Angels from the heavens. The two white feathery wings on the cover didn’t help me make this connection.
Following Maggie from Ireland, after she leaves her cheating husband, to LA and her experiences in trying to get over the trauma was a fun ride indeed. Staying with her screenwriting friend, Emily, makes for a busy and fabulous schedule. From going shopping, to a famous actor’s birthday party to a movie pitch, Maggie doesn’t stop. She must keep herself busy so that her thoughts aren’t allowed to wander back to Ireland.
What I really liked about the book was that Maggie didn’t “fit the part” of an LA girl. This also added a lot of humour to the book. She wasn’t as toned or as shiny as the LA locals. Being from Ireland, Maggie also noticed things that maybe an American from Iowa or another state, might not have noticed about LA; like the gyms with the gigantic windows facing the street and all the wait staff being gorgeous (aspiring actors).
Keyes wrote this book in first person. I think writing in first person really helps the reader see and feel what Maggie is going through. It also made the actual reading itself much faster for some reason. The first-person point of view is like the diary-reading point of view. Of course you will read much faster someone’s first-hand experience than trying to follow a third person account. I don’t know if I’m the only one with this opinion, so please do share in the comments.
Have you read “Angels”? What did you think? Am I the only one who could have mistaken the meaning of the title? Do you find reading a book written in first person is easy/faster to read?
I loved this book, and I agree with you re: POV. I wrote my first book in third person, because I thought I should, and have done 1st person present-tense since. I love it!
Yeah, I think I will stick with 3rd person to keep the distance between me and the protagonist for now. I do have an idea for another book, which could be nicely written in first person. I’ll have to finish my first manuscript first though….
I love, love, love Marian Keyes! In this family series, Rachel’s Holiday and Watermelon are particularly good but really, I’ve never read a bad book by her.
I LOVE Marian Keyes too!! We should swap reading lists cause I’m sure you would have a wider range of authors to read. I’ve only just discovered some great women’s fiction writers in the last two years. Rachel’s Holiday and Watermelon are on my list. I’m currently reading “Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married.”
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