Author: Marian Keyes

Details: (c) Marian Keyes 2002; Pub Penguin Books 2003

Verdict: Angels is a fun light read but not up to Keyes' usual standard.

Reasons for reading it: I had to be out of the house at a time when I couldn't do anything constructive, and it was raining so I just took a random bus to the end of its route and grabbed a book to occupy myself.

How it came into my hands: Charity shop, I think Oxfam.

I'm not a big reader of chick lit, but I make an exception for Marian Keyes. Her plots are silly (and tend to be rather similar), but her characterization is stunning. Angels veers further into the silly / sentimental than most, though.

Maggie is extremely well-drawn and sympathetic, but the plot is implausible even by the standards of the genre. Also, the emotional realism that makes me a fan of Keyes is still present, but rather overwhelmed by transparently manipulative tear-jerkers. The balance with humour doesn't work too well either, as the jokes are rather obvious and borderline cruel.

Angels is sort of a sequel to Rachel's Holiday, in that Maggie is Rachel's sister, a minor character from the earlier book. Sadly, Angels is really not in the same league. It occupied a pleasant couple of hours, and is still way better than the expected standard for the genre, but pretty unmemorable.