Whose Life is it Anyway?: Amazon.co.uk: Sinead Moriarty: 9781844881499: Books

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Review

Marian Keyes has for years been the undisputed queen . . . Sinéad Moriarty is now a worthy competitor (Sunday Independent )

A gift at unwrapping a good, plausible tale and creating likeable characters that you care about (Irish Independent )

Fabulous . . . at times touching and at others genuinely hilarious (Sunday Tribune )

RTÉ Guide

'Much humour and excitement. A fantastic read!'

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

17 Reviews

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

Average Customer Review

3.5 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic new book, 20 Sep 2008

By

Annajjj "from Oz" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whose Life is it Anyway? (Paperback)

I adored Sinead's first three novels about a couple trying to have a baby yet her fourth book "In My Sister's Shoes" fell a little flat for me with characters I couldn't really relate to and didn't really care about. I've just finished this author's latest offering "Whose Life Is It Anyway?" and have to say I loved this story and the characters are just delightful. Niamh is very real; flawed yet fabulous and very believable. Pierre comes across as every girl's dream guy. Yet it is Niamh's family who really stand out in this light yet moving novel. The flashbacks to Niamh's upbringing show how she has become the woman she is and why her family mean so much to her. In the beginning of the novel I thought what does it matter if the family won't accept her partner and I was half expecting Niamh to come to terms with breaking away from her roots and choosing love over family. Sinead Moriarty manages to unfold Niamh's story in a way that draws you right into the heart of her family. A family full of larger-than-life yet ultimately believable characters. (Although I did think Siobhan could have been toned down a little as she comes across as a complete cow almost all the time)
My only other minor criticism is that for non Irish readers the pronunciation of the names presents a bit of a challenge:
Niamh - Neev
Siobhan - Shivawn
Nuala - Noola
Ailbhe - Alby
Blathnaid- Blawnood
Muireann - Murin
Tadhg - Tigue
But aside from that this is a lovely feel good novel which will have you thinking about the characters after finishing the book. Nice work Sinead.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Keeping me quiet, 4 May 2009

By

Joanne D'Arcy (Portsmouth, UK) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Keeping It In the Family (Paperback)

I saw this book recommended by Richard Madely (of all people) in Saturday's newspaper. Whilst shopping in a big supermarket, I bought it and less than 24 hours later I had finished it.

Now this is not a criticism of the book, it was a book that got me right away and I had to keep reading until I found out what happened to all the characters.

Niamh is Irish by descent but born in England and trying to desperately be English when all her family (mainly her father) want her to be is Irish, to be good at Irish Dancing, to marry a nice Catholic Irish boy with a good career and become a good Irish mother. Niamh does want this, and she falls in love with Pierre who is everything but all these things.

The O'Flaherty clan are large, raucous and have all the skeletons in the closet like most families and we see Niamh cope with all of this as she grows up, when Moriarty takes us back to Niamh formative teenage years, as she deals with a pregnant unwed sister, drunken uncles, rather flamboyant aunts and some strange cousins as well as trying to break out from her Irishness and be like any other girl experiencing their first kiss at the local disco and understanding what it is like to be in love with Duran Duran.

Sinead Moriarty who will give Marian Keyes a run for her money has dealt with the serious issue of racism in a soft and delicate way but no means any less serious. The age difference and religious beliefs between Niamh and Pierre are nothing to the family O'Flaherty. The fact that Pierre is black is. As a reader we are led down the difficult path of Niamh telling her parents the truth about the relationship that is truly the one.

The only thing that has made this a 4 star and not a 5 is the sections where we see Niamh's (a fluffy columnist in a tabloid) newspaper column. I felt that is was not really necessary to the warm humorous story that Moriarty has weaved, it was just the author having thought about and probably written about these things trying to put them in a book - they are unnecessary.

A good book for a bit of escapism that actually makes you think about the characters and their behaviour and how families are the strongest, funniest and sometimes the hardest people to be with.

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sinead Moriarty - Keeping It In The Family, 16 April 2009

By

Corner "Corner" (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keeping It In the Family (Paperback)

This is a great read - I've enjoyed all of Sinead Moriarty's novels. However readers should be aware this is the same story as 'Whose Life Is It Anyway'. I really don't understand why the same novel is given 2 different titles - I feel a bit cheated having bought both!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars side splitting but serious
I loved this book. As in her other novels, the author displays her talent for creating real main characters that you would want as your best friends. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Shouna Falconer

5.0 out of 5 stars My favourite Sinead Moriarty book so far!
An excellent and very true read (when she's looking back on her past). I loved reading it. It was very easy to get through (like all her books) and I'd recommend it to any female... Read more

Published 19 months ago by Grace

5.0 out of 5 stars Another crowd pleaser
I've read all of Sinead Moriarty's books to date and this one was really enjoyable; I read it in less than a day! Looking forward to her latest offering later in the year.