Customer Reviews
Poor - By: Anon, 07 Aug 2008 
I agree with everyone who has given a low review of this book.
I too expected much better from such a good author.
Lola & her text speak English is awful, very tedious. I began to skim her sections, it was hard work trying to rewrite the textin my head & put it into a decent normal sentence.
A shame, as some of her observations were very funny.
The other two main characters were not particularly likeable, simply rather stupid, so I ended up really not caring what happened to them.
And as someone else has already said, many sub plots re families were introduced then simply dropped, as though the author had to rush on to the ending with no time to develop these side stories.
As for the charming man, who of course was anything but, he was transparent from the beginning, it was clear who was doing what & the identity of the fourth character was also obvious from the start.
Allin all a huge disappointment.
Really good read - By: Mrs. Jane P. Mason, 03 Aug 2008 
I really enjoyed this book! The fact that it is so long meant that you got real depth to the characters & the story developed over time. Apart from the trannie sideline, i found the characters believeable & parts of the book made me laugh out loud. It was also dealing with a very real problem & it showed that Marian had done a lot of research. I would recommend it.
Fantastic! - By: K. Crooks, 02 Aug 2008 
This book is excellent. Have read all Marian Keyes & this did not disappoint. However, did take a while to get into but once I wasin the flow it was great. I loved, loved Lola. At first she was a bit silly & the narrative was annoying but then it was sooo funny. As Lola would say "Was LOL on the train. Must learn to stop. People are looking. Am worried I look a bit strange". The 4 narratives are different & you just get into one character & the story of the next begins. Brilliant! Keeps you interested. Ignored my kids for 2 days to finish this book. Will take them to the park now. Marian really needs to write Helen's story to make me happy.
Hard work, but gets there in the end - By: L. Wormwell, 28 Jul 2008 
I have read all of Marian Keyes books & loved them, but i was completely drained by the time i finished this one. The themes of addiction & domestic violence are dealt with very well & depict the horrific consequences of both. The story is told by four women who are all connectedin some way to a politician the 'Charming Man. The four women's stories are interwoven to some extent & each relate their 'story'in their own way. I found the way the book was written(through the different characters & different writing styles) quite demanding, although interesting & clever it is not a relaxing book to read & not one to read if you want cheering up. There is some light heartedness which is told through Lola's unusual diary entries & i won't spoil it but i did laugh out loud at some of the images the words created. It is a bit of a departure from the 'normal' Marian Keyes but brave of her to try something a little different.
Full of humour and characters to relate to - By: Gilly D, 27 Jul 2008 This Charming Man was the first Marian Keyes book I had read & I absolutely loved it. It was full of believeable characters & was so funny, a real book to lose myself in. I couldn't get to sleep at night as I kept wanting to read just a bit more. I've now read a second of her books which is just as gripping & beliveable. My third is on my bedside ready to be started.
