Spoiler alert: Sushi for beginners is not about sushi...

I adore Marion Keyes. Her books are so Irish and I love that brand of humour. She tackles weighty subjects wrapped up within a bunch of eccentric characters doing mental things (in a good way 😉). I've read all of the Walsh family saga and some standalones, The brightest star in the sky, Lucy Sullivan is getting married and Grown ups.

What's Sushi for beginners got to do with sushi, you ask? Read on to find out...

Sushi for beginners | Published November 2000 | Read September 2024

There are three women at the heart of Sushi for beginners. The first is hardcore magazine editor, Lisa Edwards, a Londoner fighting her way up the publishing ladder in New York. Without warning she is demoted and sent to Dublin to run a new magazine, the hilariously titled Colleen.

Then there's Ashling Kennedy, the assistant editor of the magazine. She's smart and capable but full of self-doubt. She's a world-class worrier despite being the most organised woman on the planet.

Clodagh Kelly rounds out the group. She's Ashling's best friend, living what Ashling thinks is a dream life in a fancy house, with a hot husband and a couple of kids. Clodagh should be happy but she's increasingly dissatisfied and looking for something more out of life.

What can I say, I loved this book! Knowing my penchant for dark thrillers, that might be surprising, but my second love after that genre is quirky and eccentric characters and British and Irish humour. I love books about people, their past histories, their decisions, and their foibles, especially if they are eccentric and a bit bonkers.

I adored Ashling and I was behind her 100%. She reminded me of myself and I felt her insecurities and nerdy vibe. Lisa, while the bitchy boss-from-hell, was the most compelling of the three women. She was fiercely independent and ambitious but also incredibly vulnerable. I thought Keyes did a great job of writing her and she grew on me as the book progressed. I warmed to her in the end and was glad to see how her story ended. I disliked Clodagh from the get-go, but that was the point, I think. She had a seemingly perfect life but was willing to throw it all away because she was unable to recognise what she had. She was completely immature and self-absorbed but authentic in her characterisation in terms of Keyes's messaging.

Keyes is on point in the novel with her exploration of adult life decisions, the consequences of them, and how our pasts shape us. The book is also told in her typical witty style and I had no trouble ploughing through the 500+ pages. There are loads of madcap antics and the book is completely and utterly entertaining. Sushi for beginners is a bit lighter than Keyes's usual offerings, but there are still some serious topics addressed.

Yeah, it was romance-y, but I loved it. Keyes always writes characters who are authentic and it's easy to picture them as real people. The eccentric cast of characters nicely rounds out the women's stories, especially Jack, the magazine's managing director, and the other bonkers (but in a good way) Colleen staff members.

Even though I promised to reveal the reason for the odd book title, I'll leave it up to you to read the book to find out. Suffice to say it's do with trying new things and letting life work itself out.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐