Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Slow and steady all the way, 11 Feb 2008
I am a Cathy Kelly fan, but I've found her last two books a little disappointing. This one is a good read, it has lovely, realistic characters, a strong plot and lots of interesting scenes. It just seems to be missing some sort of spark. I'd love for Cathy just to let go and to throw herself at the page - she seems to be holding back for some reason, maybe trying to craft too much.
More emotion please.
The plot is about 3 different women - Izzie is young and having an affair with a married man; Annelise is older and her husband has just left her and Lily is in a coma and we see flashbacks of her life. Of all the characters, she's the one with the most spark - ironic as she's in a coma!
I'll read Cathy's next book - she's a good writer. And don't get me wrong, I liked this book - but it wasn't a page turner and it didn't make me gasp or cry. It was well crafted, well researched - it just didn't have enough emotional punch.
If you like Erica James or Jill Mansell you'd probably enjoy it. But if you're looking for more humour and a wry touch, try Marian Keyes or Clare Dowling.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not her usual sparkle, 1 Feb 2008
"Lessons in Heartbreak" truly has more sadness than gladness, as all aspects of heartbreak are thoroughly told and analyzed.
Three women from the small Irish town Tamarin and three love stories. Izzie, who has lived in New York for ten years, falls in love with Joe who is separated from his wife!! In Tamarin, Anneliese, originally from Austria, is left by her husband of 37 years, Edward. And Izzie's 95 year old grandmother Lily, has a painful love story in her past, unbeknowst to anyone in her family.
As we follow the three womens' joy, sorrow and heartache, there is little room for Kelly's usual joix de vivre. Of course, there is not much room for fun and laughter in the midst of so much unhappiness. But still, as wisely and with much insight the many aspects of unhappy love are told, I miss the usual Kelly sparkle. No matter how rough the going, there are usually always room for a few laughs in her books, funny remarks thrown in which make you crack up.
I admit I have been used to Cathy Kelly's books as lessons in happiness rather than heartbreak. Maybe that's unfair but I think the overall positive and lighthearted stories are what she does best and which have made her books such pageturners.
This one is not. For the first time, I skipped pages. After all, the "falling in love with a separated man" story has been told numerous times before. Anneliese's story of depression is tough and complex, and could fill an entire book in itself.
One part of the book which truly caught my interest, was granny Lily's secret love story. There was fire and passion when levelheaded young nurse Lily met Jamie, the love of her life, during World War II. But the story was cut short and Jamie was mostly the mystery waiting to be solved by the family as Lily lay dying.
Also, the book touches the issue of skinny - anorectic/bulemic - models in these fashion mad times. Izzie and a friend opens an agency for plus-sized (= normal sized) women in New York, a great success. Yet, also here there is material for a totally separate book.
If this book is a first attempt at a different direction in her authorship, Kelly has not succeeded. Many see Cathy Kelly as a typical chick lit author. I don't think so. Her previous books are so much more than that. I think Cathy Kelly has created her own unique style with that very special sparkle of hers, packed with funny remarks, self irony and "devil may care" attitude.
Heartbreak is a part of life most of us experience sooner or later, but I hope Cathy Kelly goes back to writing more upbeat books with that irresistible sunny flair of hers. About life, not fairytales, simply the wonderful Kellyish style I have come to love so much.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Sadly forgetable, 4 Jul 2008
I am a huge fan of Cathy Kelly, but was left feeling disappointed having just finished Lessons in Heartbreak.
For me it just felt as if the book lacked a bit of substance - the characters were nice enough and the angst they experienced realistic enough, but somehow this wasn't enough.
A fair amount of the book is set looking back to Lily's life during the second world war and although integral to the whole story it doesn't feel seemless as the book goes from past to present
Overall this book was a disappointment from an author who can normally be relied on to produce a page turner. However saying all that the book did make me cry at the end - so it gets an extra star for that!
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