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Book Reviews of Watermelon

Watermelon
Watermelon
Author: Marian Keyes
ISBN-13: 9780380976171
ISBN-10: 038097617X
Publication Date: 7/1998
Pages: 419
Rating:
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 18

4.1 stars, based on 18 ratings
Publisher: William Morrow Company
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

69 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed Watermelon on + 7 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 9
I am not generally a chic lit kind of girl, but this book is really good. It is a perfect book to read on a rainy Saturday afternoon while eating a big bowl of ice cream. When I read this one, I couldn't put it down. I would recommend to anyone of the female persuasion who has ever felt fat, ugly, hopeless, tired, or any of 100 other negative emotions. You will be able to relate because Keyes style is very personal and easy to identify with.
Honey11682 avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 95 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
This book started off good and it got my attention right away, then it sort of slowed down and I was getting bored, but then BOOM!! It just started to get soooo good once again and I couldn't put it down. I loved the way the book was written. I will continue to read the other books about the "Walsh" sisters!
katieanddustin avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 37 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
I have completely fallen in love with Marian Keyes's writing style! Watermelon is about Claire, a young mom of 29, and what happens to her after her husband abandons her and their newborn baby. Keyes manages to take a weighty topic and add just enough humor to keep if from being depressing but not so much that she dismisses the gravity of what happened to Claire. Watermelon is all about Claire learning to live again and figuring out what she really wants in life. The ending is so sweet and unexpected. If you like Sophie Kinsella, you'll like Marian Keyes.
reviewed Watermelon on + 45 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
Veeeeery addicting. I was lugging this around to work and all over the house. I loved it! I love most of her books.
reviewed Watermelon on + 22 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This wasn't my favorite Marian Keyes novel but it was a good one nonetheless. As usual, Keyes spins an insightful, amusing story about a jilted woman that manages to regain her self-respect and cobble together a new and ultimately better life for herself from the shambles of a broken marriage. Told with this author's trademark incisive wit and self-deprecating humour, this book will be enjoyable for those who enjoy the branier side of chick-lit.
reviewed Watermelon on + 62 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Wonderful story. Couldn't put it down.
reviewed Watermelon on + 18 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Well-written story of a woman whose husband abandons her on the day she gives birth. Does not sound like it would be a funny story but this author is hilarious. I could read it again.
reviewed Watermelon on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Fun read, a woman learns to live again and stand up for herself after her husband leaves. I enjoyed it.
reviewed Watermelon on + 18 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I had to read this for a light read for a book club. I actually enjoyed it. Very witty and sarcastic. You have to enjoy English/irish humor to get this one.
reviewed Watermelon on + 43 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Laugh-out-loud funny, easy but engaging, read.
reviewed Watermelon on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I've read 2 of this author's books--I'm having a hard time with the main characters. I just want to yell 'You are a moron! Get a clue!'
They are very shallow-I guess I like the people in the books I read to at least LEARN something by the end instead of falling into a new relationship with another shallow male.
reviewed Watermelon on
Helpful Score: 1
Witty and enjoyable, with a richer plot than many of its chick lit peers.
jillybean7682 avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 19 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
What do you do with a sad, lonely woman and her baby, whose husband left on the day of their daughter's birth? Why, you plop her and her baby in Ireland, with a group of witty, unique, and supportive people!

Her emotional wounds slowly heal, as she discovers the strength to continue with life. She has found love in the unlikeliest of places, with an unexpected bunch. The author uses dark humor, clever dialogue, and intriguing situations to tell Claire's story. To anyone who's ever felt abandoned, lost, and alone I recommend this read.
reviewed Watermelon on
Helpful Score: 1
It looked pretty good but I must have been in a mood and just couldn't get into it! happy reading!
fullybooked avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 61 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I read my first Keyes book - her more recent "Angels" and found it quite enjoyable. I'm not a chick-lit fan, but it was such a fun book to read that I went back to the first of the series of stories of these sisters. "Watermelon" was a delightful summer read. (Note: the next one in series, "Rachel's Holiday," was very boring and I would recommend skipping)
getinmybellykelly avatar reviewed Watermelon on
Helpful Score: 1
I really liked this book from the beginning as the writer's style is very unique and very entertaining. As soon as you hear her humor it's hard to put the book down. I did get a little discouraged as I neared the end because it seemed to drag a bit and Claire's lack of self-esteem was just dizzying. All in all though, a very good book and very funny. I laughed out loud all the way through.
jazzysmom avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 907 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Found this book to be rather amusing. Really just the run of the mill story with a cute twist here and there. Was well written, but doubt if i'd read it again, to much else out there with more depth. If you are looking for something to just sit, read, and not get into to deeply,{ as we all want sometimes} you will like this.
reviewed Watermelon on + 25 more book reviews
Simply delightful.
Revenge is sweet has never been more true as in the story's ending.
I felt all the anguish, anger and angst that the main character experienced.
Easy read, holds your attention and great story.
reviewed Watermelon on + 62 more book reviews
I laughed and cried with this book. I really felt with Clair her feeling after her husband left on same day their child was born for another woman. Marian Keyes really hit the nail on the head with this book about lossing love, find self esteem and find yourself and center again after devistaing lost.
I myself has something similar happen to me, tho, thank goodnes there was not a newborn. But I felt just the same. I felt Marian Keyes was looking into my life a bit. LOL.
A great read, there are some very funny part, the family seem a bit like my own. I don't know if it is an Irish thing or if all families are like this. The Youngest sister Hellen is a dead ringer for my younest sister and she even has that for her middle name, spookie.
reviewed Watermelon on + 19 more book reviews
Marian Keye's first novel, and the first in a series about the Walsh sisters. Funny and thought provoking. Her characters are outrageous, flawed, hilarious, and real.
reviewed Watermelon on
Cute book. About another member of the Walsh family, Claire, sister of Rachael (Rachael's Holiday) and Margaret (Angels).
reviewed Watermelon on + 7 more book reviews
This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting. It is chick lit, which isn't my favorite genre of reading. The character/author rambles on and on. It is story that could be told in much fewer pages. All in all it was a good read and I was able to connect to the characters well. If you are a fan of chick lit this book is for you.
reviewed Watermelon on + 16 more book reviews
Marian Keyes brings much more depth to her writing than the typical "chic-lit".
flyinggems avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 451 more book reviews
I could not even make it through the first 100 pages, I tried and tried. It was so boring. I stopped after 130 pages, I could not read anymore, it kept putting me to sleep. The story sounded good and there were a couple of good parts but it was like listening to a friend you have not seen in a long time and lost touch with and not really caring what they have been up to. You are only half listening. I see that there are many reviews and all say the book is good, maybe after the first 150 it gets better but it took forever for me to get to 130 and I could not see wasting my time on a book till I got to page 400.
zest4123 avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 6 more book reviews
GREAT story--loved it all the way through! Recommend it highly!
katzpawz avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 281 more book reviews
Seeing the world with a wry sense of humor and a strong sense of self, this author created a character to whom I could really relate. Claire is a woman who believes she has it all - right up to the day she gives birth to a beautiful baby.....the same day her husband tells her he has fallen in love with another woman - "and - oh by the way - I'm leaving you. Have a nice life. Ta-ta."
Where she goes, how she copes - or sometimes does NOT cope makes a wonderful story.
reviewed Watermelon on + 2 more book reviews
I read this book shortly after having my baby. Keyes has a very sarcastic sense of humor which left me laughing out loud in parts. The book is about a woman and her self discovery after she gives birth to her first child and the man she is married to announces he is leaving her.
escapist avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 70 more book reviews
Good book. Not a great title and not sure why I picked it up but I'm glad I did.
reviewed Watermelon on + 7 more book reviews
I almost stopped reading this book because of how whiny Claire was at the start of the book, but I pushed on and was pleasently surprised. She really comes into herself and finds a backbone. I did not like how the book just ended though, wished for more of a closure.
momof3boysandagirl avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 58 more book reviews
There were some funny moments in the book, her descriptions in some cases are spot on. Overall I dont think I truly enjoyed this book. I became frustrated with the characters and annoyed with Claire. I struggled to finish this book and that isnt something I usually have trouble with. I've tried to come up with an eloquent way to express that i simply wanted more from this book, I kept turning the pages thinking something would make Claire more vibrant or there would be more depth to be the men.
JTG avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 280 more book reviews
Keyes is a very good writer of 'chick lit', Great Brit style. I like her sense of humor...
reviewed Watermelon on + 141 more book reviews
Laugh out loud good.
noisynora avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 130 more book reviews
This book was okay - good beach read. Very predictable and the main character tended to go on and on and on about one thing or another, but fun enough.
dancingqueen18 avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 77 more book reviews
Cute story of single mother on the rebound of being left by her husband. As sad as it sounds, its actually quite funny!
reviewed Watermelon on + 22 more book reviews
I know Keyes is "hip," but I don't enjoy her writing much.
eadieburke avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 1639 more book reviews
Book Description
February the fifteenth is a very special day for me. It is the day I gave birth to my first child. It is also the day my husband left me...I can only assume the two events weren't entirely unrelated.
Claire has everything she ever wanted: a husband she adores, a great apartment, a good job. Then, on the day she gives birth to their first baby, James informs her that he's leaving her. Claire is left with a newborn daughter, a broken heart, and a postpartum body that she can hardly bear to look at.

She decides to go home to Dublin. And there, sheltered by the love of a quirky family, she gets better. So much so, in fact, that when James slithers back into her life, he's in for a bit of a surprise.

My Review
This book was hard to put down. Marian Keyes writes in a way that is very relatable. She has a way of expressing humor in tragic experiences that makes you feel exactly how her characters are feeling. The plot is very realistic and the characters are well-drawn. I have never read Marian Keyes before but I look forward to reading the 2nd book in this series, Rachel's Holiday, and I would highly recommend Watermelon to those who love to read chick-lit.
reviewed Watermelon on + 82 more book reviews
Hilarious! Typical of Marian Keyes, whom I think is a great author : )
Caryn9802 avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 91 more book reviews
This is my first book by Marian Keyes but certainly not my last. A wonderful story filled with lots of laughs!
reviewed Watermelon on + 10 more book reviews
I thought this book was hilarious, there were many LOL moments. A true gem!
reviewed Watermelon on + 9 more book reviews
This book was funny and kept my interest. I am now reading her next book, "Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married", and find that here she also mixes everyday life with humor.
reviewed Watermelon on + 192 more book reviews
I laugh all the way through her books
reviewed Watermelon on + 17 more book reviews
Great chick lit, quick reading.
reviewed Watermelon on + 77 more book reviews
This is a good summer read. It's about Claire who has the perfect life--until her husband leaves her after she has their baby daughter. She goes back home to her family to recover. Sounds sad, doesn't it--but the book is actually funny. You will laugh while reading it.
reviewed Watermelon on + 26 more book reviews
I loved this book!I would recommend this book as a must read!
reviewed Watermelon on + 31 more book reviews
This was really cute. I enjoy most of her books.
MissC avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 100 more book reviews
Another great read by Marian Keyes about another sister in the Walsh family. This was my second time reading this and enjoyed it once again. Great characters that are easy to relate to.
reviewed Watermelon on + 73 more book reviews
Very witty book.
skywaywaver avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 148 more book reviews
Keyes' best! I read it at a very rough time in my life, but it really lifted my spirits. One of my all time favorites!
reviewed Watermelon on + 24 more book reviews
Really great book. Marian Keyes is a talented writer, with a gift for capturing the humorous in the lives of the five Walsh sisters.
reviewed Watermelon on + 4 more book reviews
The book is about a wife who just gave birth and her husband left her. It is a wonderful book that I couldn't put down.
reviewed Watermelon on
Cute story..fast read.
reviewed Watermelon on + 26 more book reviews
Pretty darn funny.
DaniLynn avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 28 more book reviews
A really cute book. Would make a great beach read!
reviewed Watermelon on + 293 more book reviews
I've read other books by Marian Keyes and have enjoyed all of them. In this one, Claire gets dumped by her husband on the day she gives birth to their daughter. She decides to go back and live with her parents while she is taking her leave of absence from work. Her very dysfunctional family manages, in their odd way, to help her get through. And when her husband decides he made a mistake, well, read the book and see!
goldnyght avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 17 more book reviews
Keyes is a great author and I usually find her books irresistible, but Watermelon somehow fell a little short: the book was good, but lacked that magnetic appeal that keeps you from putting it down. A good summer read.
reviewed Watermelon on + 32 more book reviews
I laughed out loud and cried at the same time...great weekender book...the one you pick up friday evening and waste away your whole saturday finishing
reviewed Watermelon on + 19 more book reviews
A very cute story. Hard to put down. A good summer book.
reviewed Watermelon on
This is the first I've read of Marian Keyes and I cannot wait to read another!!!! I really enjoyed this book. Sometimes, her inner dialouge was a little annoying but none the less I thought the book was great.
reviewed Watermelon on + 42 more book reviews
Another great one by Marian Keyes. Her books are totally addictive and this one is no exception!
reviewed Watermelon on + 2 more book reviews
Read all her books!
reviewed Watermelon on + 49 more book reviews
I have not completed reading the book yet. It has gone visiting for a while, but when it returns I will finish reading it. So far it is sad and funny at the same time. It seems to be a life lesson for this woman Find out the rest for your selves!!!! Lol!!!! For me this one is a keeper.
reviewed Watermelon on + 32 more book reviews
From the back cover: "February the fifteenth is a very special day for me. It is the day I gave birth to my first child. It is also the day my husband left me...I can only assume the two events weren't entirely unrelated." Another fun and satisfying chick-lit read from Marian Keyes!
reviewed Watermelon on + 15 more book reviews
This is light summer reading about love, relationships and single parenthood
reviewed Watermelon on + 9 more book reviews
Claire has everything she ever wanted: a husband she adores, a great apartment, a good job. Then, on the day she gives birth to their first baby, James informs her that he's leaving ehr. Claire is left with a newborn daughter, a broken heart, and a postpartum body that she can hardly bear to look at. She decides to go home where she gets better, but when her husband comes waltzing back into her life he's in for a bit of a surprise.
reviewed Watermelon on + 4 more book reviews
Loved this book!
reviewed Watermelon on + 33 more book reviews
5 star book.
Claire Webster, heroine of this breezy Irish bestseller, thinks hubby James is the man of

her dreams until he ditches her for an older woman (Claire herself is 29) two hours after

their daughter is born. Mother and child repair to Dublin, where there's hope of solace and

sustenance in the bosom of an eccentric family, while Claire downsizes from watermelon to

wisp and struggles over the hurdles of blues and booze. When she attracts a handsome young

lover and considers dumping the suddenly repentant James, it's clear a happy ending's in

sight. Or is it? There are a few surprises that you wouldn't want to miss.
Claire Webster's got it all-a perfect marriage to a handsome husband who provides well and

now a darling baby girl-until the morning after she gives birth, when her husband, James,

informs her that he's having an affair with their downstairs neighbor and deserts her and

his child. Claire flies back to Dublin and the dubious security of her wacky family to sort

out her life.
reviewed Watermelon on + 14 more book reviews
I love Marian Keyes! So, of course I loved this book too. I can totally relate to everything she writes.
reviewed Watermelon on
My book has a different cover than this one....but it doesn't affect the cute story. =)
StacyJ avatar reviewed Watermelon on + 87 more book reviews
After her husband, James, leaves her on the day she gives birth to their daughter, Claire returns home to Dublin to her family: her man-eating sister, Helen; her soap-watching mother; her bewildered father. There she gets so much better that when James slithers back into her life, he's in for a bit of surprise!