Apart from the Crowd

Anna McPartlin is someone I found perusing book blogs from the UK. I figured if I could be so enamored with Cecelia Ahern, maybe I would love to read some of her countrymen (errr, women). In truth, I'm kind of in love with all things Irish, and her covers grab me so I gave it a shot. The first book I bought was Pack Up the Moon, about a year ago. Shamefully, it's on my bookshelf somewhere calling out for my attention. After grabbing this one at the Waldenbooks store closing sale (damn you economy, and ghost mall. I blame both of you) for a song, it's safe to say the other one won't be waiting to be read for long now. Mary's been called Mary of the Sorrows for years. She's lost her mother before she ever had a chance to know her, her first love, and their child. Unaccountably, she's still the rock for all of her friends. Beyond her friends, she's understandably closed herself off to other people. Sam's a record executive from America who walked away to save his life and salvage what he could of who he once was. Where better than the place his grandmother, the person who mattered to him the most, left behind in the 1930s. Of course, Sam becomes Mary's neighbor and they get off to quite the rocky start. When Mary's confidante Mr. Monkles (her dog) needs to be lifted, Sam comes to help. Predictably this throws his back out and he's relegated to Mary's floor for some time giving them the opportunity to bond. This novel is definitely chick lit, but I highly recommend it! McPartlin injects much seriousness and sadness into a love story and you find yourself really rooting for the the characters (several more characters and plotlines I didn't mention). In the end, it doesn't seem at all predictable, and I was close to speaking aloud urging characters to reconsider their decisions. The last three paragraphs put a huge grin in my face. Ms. McPartlin is definitely one I'll be looking forward to in the future!

What "Apart From the Crowd" lacks in lyrical quality or impressive writing it more than makes up for with a captivating story, warm characters and substance. Mary is an incredibly flawed but beautiful character as she learns how to release herself from the many hurts life has offered her, and Sam arrives in town to remind her what it is to feel truly connected to another person. She, in turn, brings him back to life. They're not the central "tenants" of the story, though -- many other people in the small Irish town of Kenmare journey through Mary and Sam's lives while trying to figure out their own. I especially loved the story of Ivan, Mary's cousin, and his own release from past hurts. While I was a bit distracted by the clunky prose at points, "Apart From the Crowd" was an engrossing story of love, loss and redemption. It managed to explore many personal, romantic and professional issues without belaboring them -- and was far less predictable than I originally feared. An enjoyable read!

Fans of Irish writer Marian Keyes will enjoy Apart from the Crowd by Anna McPartlin. I definitely did not feel the angst was piled on and her humor helped to offset it. Books with great character development and dialogue rise above the rest, and this one definitely did that.

Life to Mary is an archipelago of tragedy as one island of loss leads to the next island of loss. Usually this means the death of a loved one like her child, but she muses that it can be less final for instance when she was twelve, her new puppy Mr. Monkels lost a part of an ear in a freaky fishing accident. However as Mary needs to move past the latest trauma, her cousin Ivan's wife dumped him and took their kids with her. Her best friend Penny loves married alcoholic Adam, who happens to love his wife and Penny; and plans to keep both women in his life. Then there is her new neighbor Sam, a former music world VIP until drugs destroyed his career and his life. He is trying to remain clean, but like the other people in Mary's life and even herself, hide their indiscretions from one another. Although with five you get the entire buffet not just an egg roll; this well written character study is overwhelmed at times with too much angst oozing from each player. The story line engages the audience who empathizes with each key character; however also the weight of the collective quintet feels overwhelming. Still Anna McPartlin makes a strong case that Dean Martin was right that "Everybody Needs Somebody Sometime" to share the joy and sorrow of life.