The Brightest Star in the Sky - a Review

Marian Keyes takes us to her hometown of Dublin, Ireland in The Brightest Star in the Sky. Her story reveals to us both the humor and the tragedy in the characters' lives – humor and tragedy that could easily exist in our own lives. With the characters, you feel their pain and their joy. You even see the reasons behind why they act in certain ways. You rejoice when their difficulties are overcome.

The plot in this exceptionally well-written novel is continually driven forward by the characters and what happens with them. Their intertwined lives make for a lot of laughs, as well as a lot of tears. When the story opens, there is a mysterious spirit flying over Dublin. Its destination is the group of flats at 66 Star Street. At the moment, there are 7 tenants living there, with an eighth resident to be added soon.

Forty-something Katie is one of the residents. Her current boyfriend is Conall, a really rich dude who is so involved in his business that he just doesn't seem to have time to do all the little things that he promises Katie he will do. Does this workaholic's love for Katie win out over his love for his business?

Jan and Andrei are two Polish immigrants. Their flatmate is a very petite Lydia. Lydia absolutely refuses to do any of the cleaning, but she does have her reasons. Keep an eye on the relationship between Lydia and Andrei. They profess hatred and contempt for each other, but what happens between them is absolutely hilarious.

Jemima is a lady who is in her eighties. She answers the phone for one of the psychic hotlines and is bluntly honest with those she talks to and tells them that they are wasting their money with the phone call. She reads the cards, but at the same time gives them honest advice. Her dog, Grudge, is able to sense the presence of this mysterious spirit whenever it drops into their flat. Fionn, Jemima's adopted son, moves in with her for a while. The star of a gardening show, he immediately falls in love with just about every woman he sees.

Matt and Maeve are a very interesting couple. There is definitely something going on in the lives of this husband and wife. They entwine their bodies together so much while they are watching television that it is hard to tell there are two people. Yet, when they go to bed, they bundle up in layers of clothing and refuse to touch each other. Obviously, there are no intimate relations going on here. Why not?

The friends and families of the tenants of the flats also play a part in the story, but the ones who live at 66 Star Street are the focus. This mysterious spirit is about to change the lives of one them forever, it just needs to find out which one. You become so wrapped up in the lives of the tenants on Star Street that you almost forget there is a mysterious spirit with some unknown purpose flitting in and out of the lives of these people.

I would love to tell you what this spirit aims to do for one of these tenants, but I don't want to ruin the surprise. That wouldn't be fair to you.

This is a women's commercial fiction book, but in my eyes, it is just some really great fiction. I see it appealing to you whether you are male or female. My copy of this book was sent to me free of charge by the management of BellaOnline. If you would like your own copy of this book, below there is a link to the book on Amazon.

If you choose to buy the book through the Amazon link below, it will not affect your cost any, but will supplement my income just a little.