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(More customer reviews)Under the Duvet is the latest of a small genre that consists of the short non-fiction works (columns, essays, random thoughts) of writers who are better-known for their novels. Alice Thomas Ellis, who is best-known for The Summer Trilogy novels, also wrote the Home Life series, a collection of columns about her everyday life in Wales. Sue Townsend wrote the Adrian Mole stories and recently published a collection of columns about her everyday life called The Public Confessions of a Middle-Aged Woman. Amy Tan collects her musings and thoughts in The Opposite of Fate. Writers who are successful in spinning good stories seem to be able to take mundane situations and turn them into good stories. This is a real treat for people like me who read very little fiction.
So how does Marian Keyes's new book measure up? Under the Duvet starts promisingly, with a short piece about her life as a not-so-glamorous novelist, and a previously unpublished essay about the eight months she wrote a cosmetics column for a magazine. These are probably the best bits in the book.
Maybe you do have to enjoy the fiction of the author to also enjoy their non-fiction. I confess I have not read any of Keyes's fiction. There's too much in Under the Duvet about shopping and shoes for my taste, but readers of Keyes's fiction might find that a plus.
Some of the pieces are on subjects that desperately need an original angle, but are not getting it here. For instance, on her trip to Los Angeles, Keyes predictably mentions the smog, silicone enhancements, and botox, and the fact that no one walks. I probably wouldn't have noticed her over-fondness for the word "eejit" (idiot) if I had read these pieces over time, rather than in two days.
Still, I enjoyed reading these essays and columns, and although they haven't inspired me to read Keyes's fiction, I will continue to hunt down books like this. Anyone know of any others?
Click Here to see more reviews about: Under the Duvet : Notes on High Heels, Movie Deals, Wagon Wheels, Shoes, Reviews, Having the Blues, Builders, Babies, Families, and Other Calamities
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