Finished

• Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married by Marian Keyes

  Rating: ****
  
  I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It has its obvious moments, but is very sweet. MK's books all revolve around a young woman's fairly good situation that reaches a crisis. She presents a convincing picture of what life is like during those trying times, with a particularly knowing hand when it comes to writing about depression. Actually, it's a motif in her work. That and writing exquisite drunken dialogue. Let's not forget, though, that these are romantic comedies we are talking about, so naturally life and love and ladies triumph.
  
  The lady of the moment is the eponymous Lucy Sullivan. She's a Light Young Thing with minimal ambition or grand plans. Her immediate concerns revolve around showing up sober-ish for work, finding a new young man, and waiting for the weekend (rather similar to Ashling in Sushi for Beginners). A trip to the psychic has her married in a year and a half, along with a few lesser predictions. When these latter prophecies appear to come true, Lucy starts to panic. In her attempt to embrace her destiny, she latches onto the charming, broke Gus. There is some drama with her nutsy diva roommate, her superlatively dysfunctional parents, and her womanizing best friend. I like to think that the plot isn't completely foregone from page one, but maybe that's just me in denial. I want to be surprised and charmed, which hardly ever happens together in any one book. However, I am not blind, deaf, and mute, so I pretty well knew how the tale of Lucy Sullivan was going to conclude. I wasn't disappointed one whit for noticing, though. Tickled pink.