August Books

Two books this month. I recently watched the old Joanne Woodward movie, 'The Three Faces of Eve' & it reminded me of Sybil, a book I first read in the 70's. I still had the copy so I reread it. It was still as incredible as ever, 1 lady with 17 different personalities. The book covers her psychoanalysis over many years. It is certainly easy to see how her condition developed when you read of her upbringing, & sadistic mother, & aloof father. I Googled Sybil to see if there was any info on her since the book was written & I found an article claiming that the whole thing was a hoax simply made to make money. I don't know if that's true or not, but I felt the claimant, who has since written a book herself about the whole thing, may well just be the hoaxer cashing in on someone else's story. The fact that Sybil, her psychoanalyst & the book's author, have all since passed away means there is no one left to confirm or deny this person's claims.

To be honest I needed something light after Sybil as it is a very dark book so I reread 'Watermelon.' I LOVE this book, it's the first Marion Keyes book I ever read, it is her first book & it introduced me to the Walsh Family. Marion has written several books about the Walsh family, each time focussing on another of the sisters, & their lives, & I've loved them all. This is a very funny book, a real laugh out loud book. It's actually starts out a sad story, & you may shed a few tears as the main character's husband walks out on her the day she gives birth to their first baby, but the way she deals with this, & how it all pans out is very entertaining & not depressing. I just love Marion Keyes, she is an Irish author, I seem to have a weakness for Irish authors, & all her books are fun & funny.