Beyonce has the Beyhive, Franz Fanon has the Fanonists, and Marian Keyes has the Keyesionists(I made that up). Either way, Marian Keyes fandom would have to come up with an official name for themselves, because there seems to be many out there.
And I must say that you must be an A+ plus superstar if other superstars can write a book about their failed plan to meet up with you.
In Chasing Marian, celebrated authors, Army Heydrenrych, Qarnita Loxton, Pamela Power, and Gail Schimmel tell a story of four individuals of different age, gender, background, class, and geographical locations who have one common objective; to meet their favourite literary goddess, Marian Keyes.
Now I need to admit that before I read this book I had never read any of Marian Keyes’ works(yes, I am ashamed of myself).
However, perusing through the pages of this book, I did not only get a full understanding of what it means to be a fan of Marian, but through the characters, I was introduced to her works, her influence in the literary space and what a role model she is to so many people through her books.
As a reader, you can easily feel the excitement of the authors in telling the story through these characters, because they are super fans of Marian. I even thought maybe the characters somehow represent them, but then again, who will be Matt?
Chasing Marian is one book that reminds us about the power and influence of books. And it is through these relatable characters where we see how books have that ability to build friendships and relationships beyond race, age, gender, and class lines.
And I like the fact that through the character of Matt, the authors in a way debunk the myth that men do not read the works of women. I strongly believe men like reading the works of women more than women.
I need to admit that this book truly surpassed my expectations, because I had questions on how the book will be styled, because the four authors each have their own different writing style. But I like how their managed to come up with one style throughout to deliver this feel-good novel.
I think if there is one thing that will be on every reader’s lips after reading this book is: which author wrote which character. I think Qarnita gave us Queenie, Army gave us Jess, and Matt was written by Pamela and Ginger was Gail. Either way, your guess is good as mine.
Chasing Marian is such a warm read and with relatable characters. And if you are a Marian fan, you will definitely see yourself in the characters too.