Rating: 
Summary: it is okay ...
Review: ... but not that great. i have read 5 other marian keyes' books and the last two that i read, this one and "angels", were not that impressive.
the story was dragging and i just kept on flipping the pages with "yeah, funny ha-ha, but let's keep going and find out what the happens next, okay".
i recommend her earlier books instead like "watermelon" or "rachel's holiday".
Rating:
Summary: It Got me throgh my long Thanksgiving Week...
Review: ..but that's about all I can say about it. It started off great and steadily went downhill from there. I would actually give this a 3 1/2 but that's not an option. It has potential and a few good points after the fall from the great beginning. I kept expecting more and I was disappointed when there was nothing finished. Who the heck knows how anyone truly ended up. There are hints, but no finishes.
Rating: 
Summary: What happens AFTER "happily ever after"
Review: A nice change from run-of-the-mill chick lit, "Sushi" features a fresh setting in Dublin, a nice trio of not-cloyingly-cute characters, and most refreshing of all, a glimpse at what happens after the "happily ever after," i.e. family and kids. The daily drudgery of motherhood and married life for even a gorgeous gal married to a perfect man is a nice corrective to all the puffery about "having it all" out there, without ranging too far into nightmarish Kate Reddy territory. Not especially well written or plotted, but readable, fun and engaging.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasant enough
Review: but hardly a prize-winning work of fiction. A fluffy read with uneven pacing, Keyes enters the world of magazine publishing and affairs of the heart. The female characters are stereotypes: (...), the seductress, and the girl next door. The male characters are even more atrocious; the boss is just like Hugh Grant in any British romantic comedy. At times, the plot veers toward the trite and predicable, especially in regard to the homeless boy Boo and Lisa's failed marriage. Yet despite my criticisms, I had a hard time putting the book down, although that could have been due to the bad weather outside!
Rating: 
Summary: My favorite Marian Keyes novel!
Review: Having read Marian Keyes's previous books, I knew I had to get my hands on this one. I was not disappointed. Once again, Keyes writes a wonderful novel that mixes a dark plot with sharp and witty situations. Sushi for Beginners, like Last Chance Saloon, focuses on various characters in third person narrative. Set in Dublin, Lisa, an ambitious Londoner, has been given the task of launching a new fashion magazine for Irish women. After she somewhat recuperates from the initial culture shock, she meets some rather eccentric characters at work. She decides she dislikes Ashling, the sweet deputy editor, and develops a crush on Jack Devine, the Managing Director and notorious maverick. What develops is a tale of betrayal, deceit and heartbreak. One of these people is on the verge of a nervous breakdown... Who will it be? The focal point of this novel is depression. Ashling suffers a bout of the aforementioned mental illness when Clodagh, her best friend, shows her true colors. Ashling's world captivated and spoke to me. What I love about Marian Keyes is that she mixes tender romance with a serious subject matter that readers could relate to. I love the wit in this novel -- much more subtle than her previous efforts. I also love all of the secondary characters -- namely Trix, Dylan and Jack Devine. As mentioned, Sushi for Beginners is my favorite Keyes novel. Highly recommended...
Rating:
Summary: excellent characters, excellent story
Review: I have read all of Marian Keyes, books and this is one of my favorites. Although one of the main characters isn't really likable, all of the others are excellent, and hey someones got to be the villian.
Over all the characterisation and the story are both excellent, and the depression of the characters rings really true.
Rating:
Summary: A Cut Above Chick Lit
Review: I thought this was a pretty good book. We see the lives of 3 women, Lisa, a determned workaholic with nor personal life- Ashling, the woman who wants to fix everything, and Clodagh, the beautiful Mother who wants whatever she doesn't have. Lisa is sent by her publishing company to start a magazine in Ireland. Ashling is hired as her assistant, and Clodagh is Ashling's oldest friend. For four months we are treated to a glimpse into their day to day lives, and the story focuses more on Lisa and Ashling. I though this was a little better than some of the "chick lit" books I read recently. I like seeing how each character views things differently, and how their view shapes what they will do with their life. I thought the plot was good, and fairly original. The dialogue was snappy and realistic, and had me laughing and cringing at the same time. I thought that the character behavior traits were explained in good form- throughout the story little details about the characters background come into play. We are not hit over the head with these revelations, but are served them up slowly. I like to understand shy a character acts in a certain way, and I think the author does extremely well. My biggest problem in this book is the reliance on brand names, but I realize in a book about a women's magazine, these mentionings are inevitable.
Rating:
Summary: Unusual and well written
Review: I was able to read through this book without putting it down at any point. I felt it was a tiny bit slow at the beginning, but it quickly picked up. The author did a good job of really satisfying readers needs for hero's, as well as the bad guys. A great read for any women with any interest. My current reading list is as follows, and all of it is good: Bark of the Dogwood
Lovely Bones--Seabold
Children's Corner--McCrae
Heart is a Lonely Hunter--McCullers If you're looking for interesting reads, these books will do nicely.
Rating:
Summary: Sushi, anyone?
Review: Many characters are brought to life in Marian Keyes' ("Watermelon", Rachel's Holiday")latest novel. But the main story focuses on 2 women; Lisa Edwards, a hard-nosed, friendless editor for a major London magazine, and Ashling Kennedy, a girl with good friends and what she describes as a "lack of a waist" problem. These two come together when both are hired to get a hip new mag for Irish woman called "Colleen" off the ground. Lisa feels she's been demoted (her hopes were set on being sent to NY to become the editor of "Manhattan" magazine instead of wallowing in some Irish backwater), whereas Ashling feels her dreams have come true (she was recently fired from a Redbook-like magazine for giving bad advice to a reader about removing a stain from her couch). Lisa's upcoming divorce does nothing to melt her icy exterior, and Ashling's boyfriend Phelim has up and moved to Austraila. Lisa and Ashling's world's collide over and over again as Lisa uses and abuses Ashling and her ideas for articles, and she also (albiet inadvertently)teaches Ashling much about running a fashion mag. In between all this are the supporting charcters and their stories; Clodagh, Ashling's beautiful best friend (who swiped Ashling's boyfriend 10 years prior and married him), who is bored to and beyond death with being a wife and mother; Ted and Joy, Ashling's friends and loyal believers in the validity of tarot cards; Jack Devine, editor-in-chief who finds himself drawn to both Ashling and Lisa; and Ashling's mother Monica, who's battle with depression has passed on to her daughter. Hilarious situations duke it out with heartbreak, betrayl, and the ultimate comeuppance in this book. "Watermelon" is still my favorite Keyes novel, but SFB comes quite close. An excellent beach read. The paperback version comes with an exerpt from Keyes' newest novel, "The Other Side of the Story".
Rating:
Summary: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.....Irish Style
Review: Marian Keyes is deservedly known as the queen of contemporary womens' novels, and SUSHI will not disappoint either her long-time fans or those new to her work. Set in the glitzy world of a high-fashion magazine with a detour through the madcap comedy club circuit, this book has its hand and heart on the pulse of young Dublin singles and marrieds who aspire to be successful, wealthy, and happy. Ashling Kennedy is the heart of the story---the everywoman with boyfriend problems and weight problems. When she is offered a second banana spot on "Colleen" a new magazine for the upwardly mobile Dublin woman, she feels she has latched on to something really good. Unfortunately, her boss and editor-in-chief is the very disappointed Lisa Edwards. Instead of a big promotion to the New York office, this assignment feels like a passport to hell to the ultra-ambitious fashionista. Horrified at being shuffled out of London and off to Dublin, she vows to make this new magazine one the world will sit up and take note of. Rounding out the trio of women is Ashling's best friend, Clodagh Kelly. Married to a handsome professional, the mother of two children, and tucked away in a beautiful home, Clodagh seems to have it all. The only glitch in her life is that she is bored and miserable. The lives of the three women weave together and eventually collide as life takes some unexpected turns. An ex-husband, a wayward boyfriend, a handsome managing director, and staunch friends add interest to this story of surviving the daily grind and making it work for you.
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