Rating: 
Summary: Fun with some serious undertones
Review: 'Sushi for Beginners' focuses primarily on two very different women thrown together by work. Lisa Edwards is a London sophisticate on a hot career track while Ashling Kennedy is the perfect second in command type person who wishes she had Lisa's elan and attitude. The two women meet at the start up of Colleen, an edgy Irish fashion magazine. The magazine and the two women's personal lives allow the introduction of a variety of interesting characters including Lisa's almost ex-husband, Ashling's feckless boyfriend and best friend, and Jack Devine, the handsome boss that both Lisa and Ashling find attractive.'Sushi for Beginners' follows Lisa and Ashling as they seek professional and persona success. As Lisa's marriage with the husband she still loves comes to an end, she discovers new aspect of herself and new priorities. The journey, however, is filled with funny mis-steps and misunderstandings. Ashling begins to learn to stand up for herself, and discovers true love simply by being herself. This is a very enjoyable novel, and one I found difficult to put down. The characters have enough foibles to be real, and the reader can empathize with the humiliation and embarassment both Lisa and Ashling encounter. The surrounding characters are personable, interesting, and accessible. I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys 'chick lit' or Marian Keyes' other books.
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: Light entertainment but won't keep your attention
Review: I read this book by the poolside during a vacation and it was ok material for that scenario, but I've read better. There's a lot of good fluff vacation reading and this would not be in that category. I didn't become involved in any of the characters enough to care what happened to them. Their personalities kept changing and it just felt like a mishmash of ideas of the writer rather than well developed fluff. I recommened The Devil Wears Prada over this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Starts slow but gets better
Review: This is the sixth Keyes novel I have read. Generally, I find that she provides average-to-good reads, although for the type of fiction she writes, I find her books to be a bit too long. This novel was no exception, as the first half of the book really dragged; in particular, it was hard to get into the story because one of the main characters, Lisa, was not at all likeable. However, the book definitely picked up in the second half, when the characters became more three-dimensional and better developed. The story centers around Lisa, a hotshot London magazine editor who has been banished to Ireland to start up a new magazine; Ashling, the plain Jane who gets a job as an assistant editor of the magazine; and Clodagh, Ashling's gorgeous best friend who feels smothered by her roles as wife and mother. All three women are trying to sort our their work and love lives while also dealing with demons from their respective pasts. The cast of supporting characters adds interest, including Jack, Lisa and Ashling's boss; Joy and Ted, Ashling's supportive friends; Boo, a homeless man who Ashling befriends; and Oliver, Lisa's estranged husband. My actual rating of this book is three and a half stars: if you can hang in there through the somewhat boring first half, you'll be rewarded with several unexpected twists in the second half. A worthwhile read for fans of Keyes, but perhaps not for others.
Rating:
Summary: Well-written!
Review: This is my first Marian Keyes's books and I understand now why she has so many fans. "Sushi For Beginners" deals with the world of magazines in Ireland. Lisa, a powerful editor for a magazine in London was transferred to Ireland to start a new magazine targeted at women called "Colleen." Lisa was terribly unhappy at this transfer as Ireland was dull and dreary compared to London and she considered it an insult. At the same time, she was recently divorced from her husband of four years. Lisa is one of those difficult boss/supervisor as she is extremely competitive, arrogant and expected nothing but the best. Her assistant editor, Ashling was the complete opposite. Ashling is a big worrier and with somewhat low self-esteem. However, she is extremely kind, sensitive and caring. She found out that working for Lisa was extremely difficult as Lisa seemed to take it upon herself to make Ashling's life miserable. Then there is Jack, the managing editor at Colleen who also seemed to bully Ashling and Lisa had her eyes set on him. Other characters in the book include Clodagh, Ashling's best friend who is an unhappy housewife and mom, and who seemed to blame her husband for everything; Ted, Ashling's stand up comedian friend; and Marcus, another stand up comedian who seemed to be interested in Ashling. There are definitely a lot of characters and plots in this book which at times can be a little confusing but once you get the hang of it, you will enjoy the book. The storyline is nothing new - the whole arrogant editor and victimized assistant but Marian Keyes adds subplots which makes the entire book quite a treat. In addition, there are definitely humor and romance in "Sushi For Beginners". This is a great summer read!
Rating: 
Summary: A Reliable Author
Review: Marian Keyes is a reliable author, and in SUSHI FOR BEGINNERS, she does not disappoint her many fans. Ms. Keyes specializes in chick lit with an Irish lilt. Yet in SUSHI, in common with her other novels, she examines issues that neither are shallow nor trivial. While the theme of Dublin singles is a bit boring and a bit tiring--looking for love being universal--the rest of the book is marvelous. The author examines infidelity and betrayal, the crippling aspects of clinical depression and the problems of the homeless. And, while this list of issues may sound appalling in a woman's novel, these topics actually are what gives this particular book texture and richness. Readers can rely on Marian Keyes for a good read.
Rating:
Summary: A Good book from Marian Keyes
Review: The first book that I read from Marian Keyes was "Lucy Sullivan is getting married" and I really liked it. The second book "Watermelon" I really hated. When I picked up "Sushi for Beginners" I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. But after finishing it, I really like it. Ashling and Lisa are two women trying to start a new magazine named Colleen. Clogagh is Ashling best friend who is bored with her marriage. As the magazine get going the lives of these three women will charge, some for the better, some for the worst.
Ms. Keyes gives the reader a smart book about growing up, and finding who you really are.
Rating:
Summary: endearing and entertaining!!
Review: I picked this book up on a whim as I don't usually read this type of fiction. I prefer mysteries and suspense, but I loved this book and will buy another Marian Keyes novel for sure. At first I thought it was just ok, but then I really fell in love with the characters and realized this book was about so much more. It's depth is surprising and the emotion that the author portrays is quite deep and insightful. It is laugh out loud funny in parts and heart wrenching enough in other parts to bring me to tears. I identified with each of the three women in some way. A delightful and special book.
Rating:
Summary: Somewhat Real
Review: I thought it was interesting to read about "life" in Dublin. It started a little slow and I found the friendship, which is claimed to occur between the three women, didn't actually occur. Nor does the domestic housewife work for Colleen magazine. (someone referred to this in one of the reviews.) I liked the way the characters developed into wiser people, at the end of the book, but it gave very little reason why it was happening to Lisa. Perhaps her experience was so humbling? Perhaps it was the lack of badger-like competition around her? Who knows???
It did, however, work into a very real aspect of these women's lives. There were real consequences for what they did, revelations and a possibility for a good future.
Angels is on the agenda next. I wonder what will be similar and what will be different. I checked it out from the library rather than purchasing it this time, though. ;-)
Rating:
Summary: It was all right...
Review: The book started off slow and remained that way until maybe the last 100 pages of the book. I thought the book could've been much shorter and still kept the gist of it. I didn't really care for the characters in the beginning, but there were many surprising turns later on that kept me interested till the end.
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