Metro North
There's something wrong with all of Marian Keyes' (pictured) heroines. They're not two -dimensional, unlikeable or difficult to believe in, but they do tend to have a few little problems.
Drink, drugs and mental illness are shadowy presences in the lives of her women: Rachel's Holiday follows the painful rehab of a party girl who just loves being in denial, while the heroine of Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married (which was serialised for ITV) has to battle with her father's love of the bottle.
The plotlines sound unappealingly heavy, but Keyes has a brilliant lightness of touch, which turns her characters into people who, flawed as they may be, are very good company.
Unsurprisingly, three women and their unconscious quest for happiness dominate Keyes's fifth novel, Sushi for Beginners, which she'll be reading from today. Lisa is a ruthless magazine editor who despises her working-class roots almost as much as she hates Dublin, where she's been sent to launch a new glossy.
Ashling, her assistant, wants to heal the world and have a waist, and her friend Clodagh has discovered that being married with two gorgeous kids isn't necessarily fun.
Populated by cleverly-sketched stand-up comedians, taxi drivers and even the occasional love interest, Sushi for Beginners allows Keyes to show off the Irish wit that sets her apart form the current of young female novelists.