The Break

by Marian Keyes

THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF GROWN UPS, MARIAN KEYES

'JUST BRILLIANT' SUNDAY TIMES
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'Myself and Hugh . . . We're taking a break.'

'A city-with-fancy-food sort of break?'

If only.

Amy's husband Hugh says he isn't leaving her.

He still loves her, he's just taking a break - from their marriage, their children and, most of all, from their life together.

Six months in South-East Asia. And nothing she says can stop him.

But when does a break become a break-up?

A lot can happen in six months. And it's enough to send Amy and her family of gossips, misfits and troublemakers teetering over the edge.

When Hugh returns, if he returns, will he be the same man she married?

Will Amy be the same woman?

Because if Hugh is on a break from their marriage, then . . . isn't she on one too?
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'Mercilessly funny' The Times

'I laughed . . . I cried' Daily Mail

'Full of darkness and light, this is Keyes at her classic and most brilliant best' Red

SHORTLISTED FOR A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

• ISBN10: 0718179722
• ISBN13: 9780718179724
• Publish Date: 7 September 2017
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 7 April 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Imprint: Michael Joseph Ltd
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 576
• Language: English

Reviews

[celinenyx]

I'm not entirely sure why Marian Keyes is often heralded as a comic writer. If anything, I think she is witty rather than laugh-out-loud funny. The Break is one of the best books I've read from her so far, and its in-depth portrayal of a marriage at its breaking point is tragic and poignant. Of course there are moments for laughter and silliness, and a broad cast of Irish family members make an appearance to lighten the mood. Yet I feel like The Break is quite dark and bleak at times, dealing with heady emotions and themes like adultery, breakups, abortion, fear of abandonment, caring for a family member with Alzheimer's...

Calling The Break funny, in my opinion, sells it short. It's an excellent introspective novel, and at the end of it I felt like I had grown along with the main character.