They're a glamorous family, the Caseys.
Johnny Casey, his two brothers Ed and Liam, their beautiful, talented wives and all their kids spend a lot of time together - birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, weekends away. And they're a happy family. Johnny's wife, Jessie - who has the most money - insists on it.
Under the surface, though, conditions are murkier. While some people clash, other people like each other far too much . . .
Everything stays under control until Ed's wife Cara, gets concussion and can't keep her thoughts to herself. One careless remark at Johnny's birthday party, with the entire family present, starts Cara spilling out all their secrets.
In the subsequent unravelling, every one of the adults finds themselves wondering if it's time - finally - to grow up?
Review: I really wanted to love this book and even though I did make it all the way to the end, I really don't think this was the book for me. I really loved the opening chapters at the dinner party, but after that I struggled to engage with the characters and the story. I didn't find myself racing to pick this one up as I usually do with Marian Keyes's books.
I really loved getting to meet the Casey Family but there are an awful lot of characters to remember, and to workout how they fit into the story. The marriages, the businesses and children, it was just a bit overwhelming at times. I really liked Cara as character, I feel like I gelled with her most because I feel like she was flawed in a way I could relate to and so I found myself connecting with her scenes more than some of the others in the book. I also enjoyed the relationship that Johnny and Jessie had. I think I found their story arc easiest to follow.
One of the things I did like about this book was the strong family dynamics. This family spends so much time together. We have various birthdays and public holidays as well as trips away together when all the siblings and their children get a chance to mingle and interact. It is through some of these gatherings that we expose the intricacies of what it takes to be a grown up. This book also deals with infidelity, what happens when you struggle with a financial burden and also eating disorders. All of these things are dealt with incredibly well individually, it was just slightly difficult to keep track of things when more than one issues came to the fore at a gathering.
If you are a fan of an epic family saga then you will definitely enjoy the ins and outs of this plot. You will also be a fan of this book if you love a slowly revealing story line with multiple timelines and multiple families involved. Unfortunately this was just a step too far in that direction for my taste and just verges a little too much into the literary fiction territory. The writing was beautiful though and the characters really good fun getting to know. A solid offering from one of my favourites Marian Keyes but just not for me on this occasion.
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