I figured, I should read more Irish authors and I figured, I should read more female Irish authors. So, I picked this book up, along with a few others, trying to fill a 4-for-3 quota. I read it all the way through.<\/p>\n
(I adore short stories.)
\nThese stories are utter rubbish.
\nHad they been written by men, the book and the authors would be excoriated for being misogynistic cretins obsessed with their own gender. As such, the book is filled with un-ironic slut-shaming, un-ironic figure-bashing, god-awful romance, some staying in an abusive relationship. Almost every single story is about or has a strong component of, why women need a man in their life.
\nJust one. And he\u2019s the empowered one. He may screw around. She may not.<\/p>\n
With that being written, here is a review of each story, in the order they appear:<\/p>\n
(Click link to read the rest of the review):<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Soulmates by Marian Keyes<\/b>
\nThe perfect couple slowly grows old together until finally their house of cards, or possibly house of wood, comes crashing down around them much to the chagrin of their neighbors\/classmates in the insular world of the story.
\n\u201c\u2019So was it a disaster?\u2019\u201d Peter begged Tim. \u2018Did they try to kill each other?\u2019
\nWatched by seven avid pairs of eyes, Tim shook his head sorrowfully. \u2018They got on like a house on fire. They\u2019re going to do it again in July.\u2019\u201d
\nThat should properly set the tenor.
\nAlong with the attendant yawn. Boring!<\/p>\n
De-Stress by Joan O\u2019Neil<\/b>
\nMain character Alex is made by whom she is with, and her world will be fulfilled once her boyfriend proposes to her. Then he doesn\u2019t. She smashes his entitled apartment (so mature, and, if a man had done it, we\u2019d be rooting for him to be thrown into jail, the violent bastard that he is).
\nShe dates a younger man, a fitness trainer, who gets her in shape. She consistently apes the behavior her ex-boyfriend exhibited: looking down on a partner she thinks beneath her station and age.
\nThe age difference? Eight years. Get a grip.
\nTrash.<\/p>\n
The Twenty-Eighth Day by Catherine Barry<\/b>
\nWoman on her period loses her mind and her husband is a nice gent who puts up with her hysterics and lets her subtly torture her poor child.
\nBlah.<\/p>\n
Thelma, Louise and the Lurve Gods by Cathy Kelly<\/b>
\nThe protagonist, living in the shadow of her much-more-beautiful friend, is so bitter she can\u2019t see the beautiful hunk of Irish man-meat right in front of her when she goes on a trip to America. She\u2019s also super needy and unable to extract herself from a harmful relationship.
\nBlah. Why not fall in love with an American man? Introduce an American trip in the first act, but then no American man going off in the third?
\n(Also, notice how important it is that the men be hunks.)
\nBummer.<\/p>\n
Your place or mine? by Gemma O\u2019Conner<\/b>
\nIrish by a house in the French countryside, try to build it up, a boring ending. One story that doesn\u2019t reek of clich\u00e9s surrounding the sexes but proves itself to be plodding.
\nYawn.<\/p>\n
A Good Catch by Mary Ryan<\/b>
\nGirl gets duped by her former roommates pimp, her parents are so ashamed of her, etc.
\nEtc., Etc.<\/p>\n
About That Night by Sarah Webb<\/b>
\n\u201c\u2019I\u2019m never going to meet someone,\u2019 Shona wailed. \u2018Never, ever, ever.\u2019
\n\u2018Would you get a grip,\u2019 Kate smiled. \u2018The whole airplane can hear you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
They\u2019re off to a wedding and she needs a man and there will be some revealing done at the wedding because you can see it a thousand miles away. Look at the title.
\nBlah.<\/p>\n
The Cup Runneth Over by Julie Parsons<\/b>
\nMy most hated story, because I can\u2019t tell if the author meant it ironically or not. If not, total waste of time. Women? Crazy bitches. Can\u2019t handle jealousy. Can\u2019t be OK with open relationships.
\nIf it is ironic, too bad.<\/p>\n
Carissima by Maeve Binchy<\/b>
\nOne of the not-horrible stories in the book. Deals quite a bit with having a man in your life, but too, about the evil families inflict on their own. Worth the read.
\nRead it.<\/p>\n
The Ring Cycle by Martina Devlin<\/b>
\nDoes the title always have to give away everything? Lady can\u2019t get rid of her ring. Boring. Get over it, yourself.
\nAnnoying.<\/p>\n
The Unlovable Woman by Annie Sparrow<\/b>
\nForty-six-year-old woman can\u2019t see the (married) man in front of her so she continues to spiral downward, making bad decisions, and mixing up sex for love or affection.
\nShrug.<\/p>\n
Moving by Colette Caddle<\/b>
\nMen are such whores. Settle.
\nBoring.<\/p>\n
Playing Games by Cathrine Dunn<\/b>
\nParable about greed.
\nBlah.<\/p>\n
Girls\u2019 Weekend by Marisa Mackle<\/b>
\nNeedy girl in a relationship meets a nice boy, loses boy, gets dumped, finds boy.
\nPuke.<\/p>\n
The Union Man<\/b>
\nOedipus complex.
\nBoring.<\/p>\n
An Independent Woman<\/b>
\nRacist lower-class lady hits it off with retired Indian doctor.
\nPuke.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n