Watermelon

Written by Marian Keyes, the book is the story of a woman, with a new-born baby, dumped by her husband.
Claire is rudely awakened to reality by her husband, when he leaves her for her neighbour, just after she has given birth. She returns to her parents' home in Dublin, where divorce is unheard of, and keeps believing that James will return back to her, but he doesn't. Over time, she recovers bit by bit. She also discovers a new admirer - Adam, who seems to having a secret past. Just when things are going well with Adam, James returns to get her back. With great difficulty, she decides to give her marriage another chance for her baby, hurting Adam. But she starts discovering other things about James that eventually snaps her and she returns back to her parents' home. When Adam drops by a few days later, it's a joyful reunion.
Although the book started off a little annoying, with Claire constantly saying 'sorry' to the reader, it was a quick joyful ride. The imagined entanglements of Claire was definitely a joy to read. It was almost like having Austen's Emma in a modern situation, except she was thinking of herself and she was much more screwed than any of the ladies in Austenian eras could have been. The attractions of Adam was slightly dream-like, but I suppose it is so rare to see nice guys that it is bordering disbelief. The accusations that James was heaping on Claire, as much as it seemed excessive - some of it might have been true. Looking at the other Walsh girls in the book, it was kind of hard to imagine that Claire might have turned out slightly different. Of course, the way James was blaming Claire entirely was wrong, but she was also a reason for their breakup, yet that didn't justify James' choice of having an affair.
Anyway, a quick and joyful read. But don't except any enlightenments or philosophical thoughts in here.