Ok so planning a holiday is always fun. From talking about it, booking the fights to finally getting all the holiday essentials. So we have to think about new clothes, sun cream all that malarkey. My favourite holiday purchase is always what book I am taking with me. To me it is the most fun purchase and the one I love getting deep into by the poolside. Holidays should always consist of copious amounts of alcohol, food and plenty of downtime. Downtime by the pool wearing my knockoff sunglasses (as I tend to set my arse on them and break them so no Raybans for Michael!) , listening to some music and soaking up the sun with a good novel.
This years holiday novel is an old favourite of mine. Marian Keyes. Many will remember her as the Irish Novelists who popularised the chic lit genre of the late nineties and early noughties. Her books deal with some serious shit! We have depression, alcoholism, bereavement and divorce. However how She frames these tales is rather light, irreverent and really funny. Her take on this tough subject matter has actually inspired my own writing style to a certain extent. Perhaps its the Irish nature, their may be a shit storm going on however we can actually turn it around and laugh about it. The first book I read of hers was called Angels. It stars Maggie Walsh who is recently separated and decided to move from Ireland to L.A. Keyes recurring characters are the Walsh sisters who usually feature one in each story. Sometimes their is some crossover however the spotlight is usually centred around one in particular. Maggie is the plain jane who is rather unimpulsive and the least likely to take the plunge of moving thousands of miles away. The story takes on her adventures in L.A and whether this move was right in the first place.
The other Keyes novel I am taking with me is called ‘Anybody out there’, which immediately makes me think of the Frozen song ‘do you want to build a snowman’ for some odd reason. This novel actually deals with one of the Walsh sisters (I think she’s called Annie) loosing her boyfriend and how she deals with the grief. I remember how touching this novel was the first time I read it and how potent the journey of her grief was. I think when I started to write this blog I had a few inspirations and this novel was definitely one of them. At the point of reading it I had never dealt with grief and only had a very abstract idea of what the experience felt like. We see grief played out in film and tv and it is over as quick as it began. Lets be honest there is only so much that can be fit into a 20 minute time slot. Even some of the greatest films on the subject matter struggle to tackle the complexity in under 90 minutes. The film that comes to mind is PS. I love you. Also penned by an incredible Irish writer, Cecilia Ahern. The books are always superior to the films. I book can take you on a journey that a film can only scratch the service of.
For me the journey of a book is all part of the fun. It is even better if the full spectrum of emotions can be explored through its pages. Keyes style of writing does just this and I must confess I will probably be sitting by my pool in September laughing one moment reading her novels and crying the next. I am particularly looking forward to re-reading ‘Anybody out there’. The first time I read it I really enjoyed the experience however I was rather green to the idea of loss. This time around I am reading almost from a fresh pair of eyes. It will be like talking to an old friend and comparing notes together. It will also give me a sense of ‘feeling normal’, that this process is very much part of what it is to be human. The fact that I will be working on my tan and getting very bronzed during this process doesn’t hurt either!
Reading these novels on holiday is going to be like connecting with an old friend who I have not spoken to in a long time. A friend who brought me a lot of laughter, tears and a sense of warmth all within 450 pages. The one thing that scares me though is stopping. On holiday I will be stopping my busy schedule. I wont be working. I will be with my thoughts a lot. Its scary but equally I think it will be the best thing. She will be in my thoughts a lot.
I’m glad I have Marian with me.
xxx
A Grievers Guide to the Galaxy 