Name: Grown-Ups
Rating: 4.042553191489362 (47 reviews)
ISBN: 9780718179755

MARIAN. KEYES

Grown-Ups

sina (she/her) 

Marian Keyes

AT LAST, SOMETHING WORTH STAYING IN FOR . . . THE LATEST NO. 1 BESTSELLER FROM MARIAN KEYES 'Magnificently messy lives, brilliantly untangled. Funny, tender and completely absorbing!' GRAHAM NORTON 'SUCH a treat. Like reading the cleverest cream cake of words' CAITLIN MORAN ______ MEET JESSIE, CARA AND NELL. Married to brothers Johnny, Ed and Liam Casey. Three very different women tied to three very different men. Every family occasion is a party - until the day the secrets spill out. PLAYTIME IS OVER. BUT WHERE ARE THE GROWN-UPS? ______ 'Comic, convincing and true. Grown Ups has an almost Austenesque insight into character. Keyes knows how to make serious issues relatable - and get a few grownup laughs, too' GUARDIAN 'Hilarious, alternately heartwarming and heartbreaking. I loved everything about it' DAILY MAIL 'You may have written the best book of your career' CHRIS EVANS, VIRGIN RADIO 'Superb. Warm-hearted, wise and highly entertaining' OBSERVER 'Keyes at her best: capturing everyday voices with humour and empathy with writing that you'll devour in a weekend. Just pure and simple joy' STYLIST 'I loved every word. I will be missing those gorgeous vibrant characters for many weeks to come' LIANE MORIARTY, bestselling author of Big Little Lies 'Messy, tangled complex humans who reminded me that few of us ever really sort our lives out at all' JOJO MOYES, bestselling author of Me Before You 'Her best yet. Charming, funny and poignant, but also profound, heartbreaking' NINA STIBBE, bestselling author of Reasons to be Cheerful

The Sunday Times No 1 Bestseller 2020

Grown Ups

A sweet story based on the human condition that emphasized how even as “grown ups” we fuck up and don’t know what we’re doing at times. This book unfortunately dragged for me, however did reward me with a lovely ending

Kaitlyn Wendler

PRE-ORDER NOW: THE BRAND-NEW BOOK FROM MARIAN KEYES, THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE BREAK AND THE WOMAN WHO STOLE MY LIFE They're a glamorous family, the Caseys. Johnny Casey, his two brothers Ed and Liam, their beautiful, talented wives and all their kids spend a lot of time together - birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, weekends away. And they're a happy family. Johnny's wife, Jessie - who has the most money - insists on it. Under the surface, though, conditions are murkier. While some people clash, other people like each other far too much . . . Everything stays under control until Ed's wife Cara, gets concussion and can't keep her thoughts to herself. One careless remark at Johnny's birthday party, with the entire family present, starts Cara spilling out all their secrets. In the subsequent unravelling, every one of the adults finds themselves wondering if it's time - finally - to grow up? INCLUDED IN THE TIMES PREDICTIONS FOR THE BEST BOOKS OF 2020 'Sensitive, funny, wonderful, immensely touching' Nigella Lawson 'Happy making with glorious wit' Helen Lederer 'Funny & thoughtful & such brilliantly drawn characters I am genuinely bereft that my time with them is over' Hannah Beckerman 'It's SUCH a treat. I felt like I was reading the cleverest cream cake of words' Caitlin Moran 'Magnificently messy lives, brilliantly untangled. Funny, tender and completely absorbing!' Graham Norton 'Marian Keyes's gift for storytelling is utterly magnificent. I feel like I've met every single character in this book. Nobody nails chaotic families like Marian' Liz Nugent 'I loved every word of Grown Ups. I will be missing those gorgeous vibrant characters for many weeks to come' Liane Moriarty 'Tender, hilarious, important, with characters who feel as real as your own family by the time you're done' Beth O'Leary Praise for Marian Keyes: 'Mercilessly funny' The Times 'Clever, hilarious, poignant' Sunday Times 'Wildly funny, romantic and nearly impossible to put down' Daily Mail 'Guaranteed to make me laugh on the very first page' Liane Moriarty

More of a hate read than anything. It tried too hard to be relatable and took feminism back a good 20 years.  So many unnecessary filler chapters that made the book unbearably long. Was unmemorable but a very easy read

Maria Davis 

A brand-new book from the #1 bestselling author of The Break and The Woman Who Stole My Life. They're a glamorous family, the Caseys. Johnny Casey, his two brothers Ed and Liam, their beautiful, talented wives and all their kids spend a lot of time together--birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, weekends away. And they're a happy family. Johnny's wife, Jessie--who has the most money--insists on it. Under the surface, though, conditions are murkier. While some people clash, other people like each other far too much . . . Still, everything manages to stay under control--that is, until Ed's wife, Cara, gets a concussion and can't keep her thoughts or opinions to herself. One careless remark at Johnny's birthday party, with the entire family present, and Cara starts spilling all their secrets. As everything unravels, each of the adults finds themselves wondering if it's--finally--the time to grow up.

Fraser Simons

A really well done family drama that interrogates the ways in which adults get stuck in patterns established at youth. Even when they do deviate from it, they’re unaware of it and can’t seem to break free. A byproduct is a malaise that permeates most every character—but change, though painful, comes calling eventually. When it does, it showcases the adaptability and resilience of people thought broken. 

I liked this a lot but I really like these ‘dysfunctional’ dramas centering a family full of secrets, stagnant, but pushed into frenetic change. The perspective switches often. The characterization feels well done. It’s funny and sad—actually landing the funny bits, a hard thing to do. Everyone is exposed for who they are and there is no capital V villain, though there are absolute assholes. 

No one is spared. All very good.

Sarah Ryan

Tabea Lüth

Got sucked into this dense plot like into a fever dream between Christmas and New Year's. In my opinion, even though the author consistently developed the plot for more than 600 pages, the end seems a bit hastily and too neatly strung together. Also in some parts the actions and the dialogue show the characters' motivations already pretty clearly, yet the author describes them at length again.   

But all in all a great read, especially love the Irish expressions. Makes me want to rewatch Derry Girls.

Grace Emilia Machon

I listen to this book because I wanted something easy and breezy, and after working in a bookshop where we probably where not pro keys I was like cool this will be exactly it. 

And now it’s 2.35 in the morning and I woke my partner up because I was sobbing I can say this was not it. 
It was so engaging, incredibly narrated, heartfelt and heartbreakingly human, brimming with the best and worst of people on micro levels, political and generational. 

 If Sally Rooney knows what it’s like to be a modern female Irish writer it’s because she learnt from Marian Keyes.

Joanna Rosenwink 

I have loved Marian’s writing since I read my first of her books, Sushi for Beginners almost 20 years ago. I have never discovered another writer who can deal so sensitively with difficult subject matter and make me laugh out loud and cry as I identify so strongly with her characters. Her books might at first glance seem lighthearted, but once you get into them you discover that at their heart is a serious issue, such as addiction, grief or mental health. 

Grown Ups is written in the same vein. Initially a tale of the relationships between three brothers and their families, we soon learn that there is far more going on than we might at first realise. Lives which on the surface might seem perfect have their own challenges which can put so much strain on a relationship that it can be at risk of collapsing.

Marian also manages to insert pertinent political issues into her books in such a way as seems natural while still shedding light on current issues which need to be addressed. 

The characters are completely believable and you find yourself warming to them despite their flaws (apart from a couple whom you’ll love to hate!). I always finish a Marian Keyes book wishing I could meet the characters and be friends with them, they feel so really to me.

I thoroughly recommend this book and felt bereft when I’d finished reading it.

Grown-Ups

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