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Pieces of My Heart
Sin?ad Moriarty's sixth novel, Pieces of My Heart, is a serious look at a dreadful disease, but it's never a downer because it's filled with Sin?ad's trademark warmth, humour and compassion. With her thoughtful and insightful analysis of what anorexia can do to a family, Sin?ad brings to Pieces of My Heart many of the qualities of a Jodi Picoult novel, while still managing to balance the darkness with a lightness of touch that compares with the writing of Marian Keyes. Ava is juggling a life that seems to have too many pieces. First, there are her chalk-and-cheese daughters, Alison the angel and Sarah the tearaway. Then there's husband Paul. Unfortunately, he seems more interested in work than home - which might explain why her sex life is practically on life support. That certainly can't be said about her Viagra-popping Dad, a loveable rogue who is determined to grow old disgracefully. She would envy her best friend Sally, sassy single singleton-about-town, if she didn't know that behind her polished exterior Sally is as vulnerable as a kitten. Somewhere in there is Ava herself, trying to do her best for all of them but lately feeling like she's running on empty. But that's before she notices Alison is in deep trouble. Now she knows there's no such thing as empty - not if she is to hold on to the most precious pieces of her heart... This paperback book has 440 pages and measures: 18 x 11 x 2.6cm
448 pages, Paperback
First published July 15, 2010
73 people are currently reading
684 people want to read
About the author
Sinéad Moriarty
31 books496 followersSinéad was born and raised in Dublin where she grew up surrounded by books. Her mother is an author of children’s books. Growing up, Sinead says she was inspired by watching her mother writing at the kitchen table and then being published. From that moment on, her childhood dream was to write a novel.
After university, she went to live in Paris and then London. It was at the age of thirty, while working as a journalist in London that she began to write creatively in her spare time – after work, at lunch times … and, truth be told, during work hours.
After a couple of years toying with ideas, she joined a creative writing group and began to write The Baby Trail. The bitter-sweet comedy of a couple struggling to conceive hit a nerve in publishing circles. It was snapped up by Penguin Publishing in the UK and Ireland and has, to date, been translated into twenty languages.
Since writing The Baby Trail, Sinead has moved back to Dublin where she lives with her husband, two sons and baby girl.
Her second book A Perfect Match has been published worldwide. The US version of A Perfect Match is called The Right Fit. Her third novel – From Here to Maternity – is the third installment of the Emma Hamilton series. Her fourth book – In My Sister’s Shoes – is about two sisters who help save each other. Her fifth book has been published under two different titles: Whose Life Is It Anyway? in Ireland and Keeping it in the Family in the UK.
Her sixth book, Pieces of my Heart, about a family dealing with a terrible crisis, went straight in at number 1 in the Irish charts and was nominated for an Irish Book Award.
Her seventh book – Me and My Sisters – went straight in at number 1 in the Irish charts and was nominated for an Irish Book Award.
Her most recent novel Mad About You is the fourth novel in the Emma Hamilton Series.
After university, she went to live in Paris and then London. It was at the age of thirty, while working as a journalist in London that she began to write creatively in her spare time – after work, at lunch times … and, truth be told, during work hours.
After a couple of years toying with ideas, she joined a creative writing group and began to write The Baby Trail. The bitter-sweet comedy of a couple struggling to conceive hit a nerve in publishing circles. It was snapped up by Penguin Publishing in the UK and Ireland and has, to date, been translated into twenty languages.
Since writing The Baby Trail, Sinead has moved back to Dublin where she lives with her husband, two sons and baby girl.
Her second book A Perfect Match has been published worldwide. The US version of A Perfect Match is called The Right Fit. Her third novel – From Here to Maternity – is the third installment of the Emma Hamilton series. Her fourth book – In My Sister’s Shoes – is about two sisters who help save each other. Her fifth book has been published under two different titles: Whose Life Is It Anyway? in Ireland and Keeping it in the Family in the UK.
Her sixth book, Pieces of my Heart, about a family dealing with a terrible crisis, went straight in at number 1 in the Irish charts and was nominated for an Irish Book Award.
Her seventh book – Me and My Sisters – went straight in at number 1 in the Irish charts and was nominated for an Irish Book Award.
Her most recent novel Mad About You is the fourth novel in the Emma Hamilton Series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
June 26, 2018
The book was interesting in the start. This book felt kind of those mediocre books.
Except Ava and Paul all the characters are just extermly childish. The book have alot of empty dialogues, oh you dont know how to make meaningful reply just say "OK" instead making a proper reply.
Sarah seemed one of promising character but by the end of the book you wont even love her,it's has if her character been overdone.
She was so infuriating by the end. Manipulative and thearthing to her poor boyfriend. Quite self absorbed.
There seem to be no proper ground for the characters. One time they are sweet and all and next they are shouting over each other,saying bad names to each other. Especially both sisters Alison they are told as sweet and kind but they keep fighting.
Sally became annoying by the end,crying and acting like an immature women Dont think about Charlie he was just not acting like his age and his only goal was to have sex. Like he is Old man and should be well aware to know which girl to date and who wont pull his leg again.
Wounldnt really recommend it to be read by anyone.
Although it was a good topic to shed light into. Anorexia is senstive subject somehow admist the chaos of stupidity if the charaters,this one thing was done well.
Except Ava and Paul all the characters are just extermly childish. The book have alot of empty dialogues, oh you dont know how to make meaningful reply just say "OK" instead making a proper reply.
Sarah seemed one of promising character but by the end of the book you wont even love her,it's has if her character been overdone.
She was so infuriating by the end. Manipulative and thearthing to her poor boyfriend. Quite self absorbed.
There seem to be no proper ground for the characters. One time they are sweet and all and next they are shouting over each other,saying bad names to each other. Especially both sisters Alison they are told as sweet and kind but they keep fighting.
Sally became annoying by the end,crying and acting like an immature women Dont think about Charlie he was just not acting like his age and his only goal was to have sex. Like he is Old man and should be well aware to know which girl to date and who wont pull his leg again.
Wounldnt really recommend it to be read by anyone.
Although it was a good topic to shed light into. Anorexia is senstive subject somehow admist the chaos of stupidity if the charaters,this one thing was done well.
May 7, 2021
Sinead Moriarty excels at writing about sensitive subjects and handling them with care whilst using the other characters to provide the humour.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 26, 2011
As a fan of Sinéad Moriarty, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her new book Pieces Of My Heart - and with good reason!
The story is told by Ava, a working mother. With juggling motherhood, friendship, work, saving her marriage while trying to control her troublesome father, Ava is oblivious to her eldest daughter’s growing obsession.
Moriarty tackles the serious subject of anorexia head on. Although, it’s not a depressing read as it’s balanced out with hilarious sub-plots such as Ava’s sixty-eight year old father dating a pole dancer and Ava’s best friend Sally looking for love and not to mention hilarious characters such as Ava’s youngest over confident daughter Sarah and their bulky housekeeper Magda.
It’s a heart-warming read as it shows how important family can be in times of crisis. Overall, the book was clearly well researched, realistic and highly recommended from me!
The story is told by Ava, a working mother. With juggling motherhood, friendship, work, saving her marriage while trying to control her troublesome father, Ava is oblivious to her eldest daughter’s growing obsession.
Moriarty tackles the serious subject of anorexia head on. Although, it’s not a depressing read as it’s balanced out with hilarious sub-plots such as Ava’s sixty-eight year old father dating a pole dancer and Ava’s best friend Sally looking for love and not to mention hilarious characters such as Ava’s youngest over confident daughter Sarah and their bulky housekeeper Magda.
It’s a heart-warming read as it shows how important family can be in times of crisis. Overall, the book was clearly well researched, realistic and highly recommended from me!
August 8, 2017
I have read three book by Moriarty, and I have loved them all. She never takes the easy way out with her characters or writing. Moriarty chooses a challenging topic and, through pain-staking research, writes about it with sensitivity and grace. In this book she writes about eating disorders.
Ava, the protagonist, has two daughters, Ali and Sarah, with her husband, Paul. Her father, Charlie, lives with them. Ava's best friend, Sally, is very close with the whole family. Of course, nothing stays peachy for very long. Moriarty handles the family dynamic and trauma excellently. Ali spirals out of control, and no one knows what is wrong. The whole family is in over their heads when they find out Ali is suffering from an eating disorder. The frustration of the characters and how they all behave, especially Ava and Paul, is very realistic.This is where I feel Moriarty shines. The road to recovery is long and arduous, and the whole family suffers with Ali. Isn't that how families operate?
I give this book 4 stars because of Charlie and Sally. Charlie is Ava's overly sex-driven father. From the beginning, he is the comic relief and a breath of fresh air. His happy-go-lucky demeanor makes him instantly lovable. What bothers me is his obsession with having sex. He hits on young girls and even propositions the family's cleaning lady to sleep with him. How is that all right? I do not find it funny; I find it uncomfortable. If Moriarty toned Charlie down, I would have enjoyed his presence more. Sally is Ava's unlucky-in-love best friend. Eventually, Sally meets a man. They are both very much in love, but there is a conflict because he wants children and she does not. I will not ruin the storyline by mentioning how they overcome the dilemma, but I feel that it is silly and unrealistic. I do not know why Moriarty included this since she could have easily made Sally's love interest not want children.
All in all, I throughly enjoyed the book. It is an eye-opening work about how families are changed by eating disorders.
Ava, the protagonist, has two daughters, Ali and Sarah, with her husband, Paul. Her father, Charlie, lives with them. Ava's best friend, Sally, is very close with the whole family. Of course, nothing stays peachy for very long. Moriarty handles the family dynamic and trauma excellently. Ali spirals out of control, and no one knows what is wrong. The whole family is in over their heads when they find out Ali is suffering from an eating disorder. The frustration of the characters and how they all behave, especially Ava and Paul, is very realistic.This is where I feel Moriarty shines. The road to recovery is long and arduous, and the whole family suffers with Ali. Isn't that how families operate?
I give this book 4 stars because of Charlie and Sally. Charlie is Ava's overly sex-driven father. From the beginning, he is the comic relief and a breath of fresh air. His happy-go-lucky demeanor makes him instantly lovable. What bothers me is his obsession with having sex. He hits on young girls and even propositions the family's cleaning lady to sleep with him. How is that all right? I do not find it funny; I find it uncomfortable. If Moriarty toned Charlie down, I would have enjoyed his presence more. Sally is Ava's unlucky-in-love best friend. Eventually, Sally meets a man. They are both very much in love, but there is a conflict because he wants children and she does not. I will not ruin the storyline by mentioning how they overcome the dilemma, but I feel that it is silly and unrealistic. I do not know why Moriarty included this since she could have easily made Sally's love interest not want children.
All in all, I throughly enjoyed the book. It is an eye-opening work about how families are changed by eating disorders.
September 21, 2010
I have read many of Sinead Moriarty's books and I can honestly say this is my favourite of her books so far. This book is a great read.
The story is about Ava, her husband and two daughters, along with her father who is twice widowed and living with them temporarily, while his new appartment is finished. The story starts as a basic story of family life but soon turns to a more storyline when her eldest daughter, Ali, is dumped by her boyfriend, leading her to develop a serious illness, anorexia.
I was surprised that this was not mentioned on the book as it is a great read for showing how this cruel illness affects not only the sufferer but also the whole family and their struggle to treat her in the family home before admitting her to a eating disorder clinic, where Ali stays for several weeks and it is a time of great sadness for her after friendships are formed.
Although the story is of a serious illness, there are times of humour surrounding Ava's father and his Polish girlfriend and also Ava's other daughter, Sarah and her continual spray tanning and adaptation of Romeo and Juliet in modern times.
I found this book a great read and wanted to continue to read until i had finished. the chapters are quite short and these lend themselves to an easy read. The topics within the book are of a serious nature but as I said above, there were also times to laugh with the characters aswell as cry with them too.
If you are a fan of Sinead Moriarty's books I would recommend this to you all.
Thank you to Penguin Books for sending me a copy to review
The story is about Ava, her husband and two daughters, along with her father who is twice widowed and living with them temporarily, while his new appartment is finished. The story starts as a basic story of family life but soon turns to a more storyline when her eldest daughter, Ali, is dumped by her boyfriend, leading her to develop a serious illness, anorexia.
I was surprised that this was not mentioned on the book as it is a great read for showing how this cruel illness affects not only the sufferer but also the whole family and their struggle to treat her in the family home before admitting her to a eating disorder clinic, where Ali stays for several weeks and it is a time of great sadness for her after friendships are formed.
Although the story is of a serious illness, there are times of humour surrounding Ava's father and his Polish girlfriend and also Ava's other daughter, Sarah and her continual spray tanning and adaptation of Romeo and Juliet in modern times.
I found this book a great read and wanted to continue to read until i had finished. the chapters are quite short and these lend themselves to an easy read. The topics within the book are of a serious nature but as I said above, there were also times to laugh with the characters aswell as cry with them too.
If you are a fan of Sinead Moriarty's books I would recommend this to you all.
Thank you to Penguin Books for sending me a copy to review
February 15, 2017
This Review us actually a 3.5, except of course, there is no 0.5 option on Goodreads.
I recieved this as a "Blind date with a book" and this really is something I would have grimaced at the cover (and blurb description of) had I seen it in a bookshop: It's really not my sort of genre.
HOWEVER I was pleasantly surprised. the book was well written, and raised some very important issues that were clearly well researched and thought out.
It is very much worth a read from everyone. whether or not you like contemporary novels about the life of a middle aged woman (something I normally can't stand!)
The characters were relatable, but never boring, and it was easy to immerse yourself in the story.
I nearly gave this a 4/5 but it was downgraded slightly by the ending (which I liked, but it seemed a little bit rushed) and the fact that I personally would not gravitate towards this for a re-read. Although I suspect contemporary fans probably would: It was realistic, funny, warm and in some places, very emotional. I thoroughly enjoyed this (at least more than I thought I would) and I hope I learn not to 100% judge a book by it's cover and/or blurb.
I recieved this as a "Blind date with a book" and this really is something I would have grimaced at the cover (and blurb description of) had I seen it in a bookshop: It's really not my sort of genre.
HOWEVER I was pleasantly surprised. the book was well written, and raised some very important issues that were clearly well researched and thought out.
It is very much worth a read from everyone. whether or not you like contemporary novels about the life of a middle aged woman (something I normally can't stand!)
The characters were relatable, but never boring, and it was easy to immerse yourself in the story.
I nearly gave this a 4/5 but it was downgraded slightly by the ending (which I liked, but it seemed a little bit rushed) and the fact that I personally would not gravitate towards this for a re-read. Although I suspect contemporary fans probably would: It was realistic, funny, warm and in some places, very emotional. I thoroughly enjoyed this (at least more than I thought I would) and I hope I learn not to 100% judge a book by it's cover and/or blurb.
September 27, 2014
One of the best books I've ever read! I was really engaged & I couldn't let go of the book until I finished it. The story felt so real, & truly eye-opening of how people's lives are affected by a mental illness. It didn't end with sunshines & rainbows, but rather with a realistic ending. A hopeful one, that is.
December 14, 2020
I've given this book 4 stars because I found it hard going especially at the beginning and then it perked up but I had to put it down a couple of times because it was slow.
June 11, 2017
Ava struggles to keep up with all the demands on her time, from her workaholic husband, Paul, her eccentric father Charlie, opinionated younger daughter Sarah and her friend and business partner Sally. As if that wasn’t enough to cope with, she finds that elder daughter Alison, the more level-headed of her two daughters is suffering from an eating disorder. While the nightmare of anorexia does dominate most of the story (and my sympathies go out to sufferers and their families), this book does have its laugh-aloud moments, from the over-the-top children’s parties she and Sally are paid to organise for rich families to her father’s misguided affair with a Polish pole-dancer. I did find the younger daughter’s speech habits a bit too over the top, especially when she kept saying ‘Hello?’ in such a way as to be disparaging. Overall though, an enjoyable novel.
April 21, 2019
4.5 out of 5 stars
Well I read this 430 page book in pretty much two days which goes to show you how much I enjoyed it. Ava is a mum of two very different girls, she had a workaholic husband, an out of control dad and a sassy best friend. So many people need her and she struggles but it’s when her eldest daughter goes through a major trauma that she realises she can’t do it all. It is so hard watching the family struggle as they are all so different but loveable and I totally related to the how much a mum has to do. I think that the writing is so good that you grow with it. The only thing that let it down by half a star was that I could predict Alison’s trauma before it was actually named which took away some of the intrigue. Still it was a gentle and lovely chic lit that tackles modern day problems that both young girls and their mums face.
Well I read this 430 page book in pretty much two days which goes to show you how much I enjoyed it. Ava is a mum of two very different girls, she had a workaholic husband, an out of control dad and a sassy best friend. So many people need her and she struggles but it’s when her eldest daughter goes through a major trauma that she realises she can’t do it all. It is so hard watching the family struggle as they are all so different but loveable and I totally related to the how much a mum has to do. I think that the writing is so good that you grow with it. The only thing that let it down by half a star was that I could predict Alison’s trauma before it was actually named which took away some of the intrigue. Still it was a gentle and lovely chic lit that tackles modern day problems that both young girls and their mums face.
May 18, 2019
2.5 really.
It's a perfectly enjoyable read but I couldn't help feeling it's a poor immitation of Rachel's Holiday.
The characters are likeable but the key plot line is far too obvious very early on and one of the 'twists' mid-way was just a little too convenient.
I've read worse chick-lit by far so there's no real reason for you not to read this but just make sure you read Rachel's Holiday if you haven't already...and you'll see what I mean.
I would love Ava's job though...except I've Sally's attitude to kids!
It's a perfectly enjoyable read but I couldn't help feeling it's a poor immitation of Rachel's Holiday.
The characters are likeable but the key plot line is far too obvious very early on and one of the 'twists' mid-way was just a little too convenient.
I've read worse chick-lit by far so there's no real reason for you not to read this but just make sure you read Rachel's Holiday if you haven't already...and you'll see what I mean.
I would love Ava's job though...except I've Sally's attitude to kids!
January 29, 2022
I thought the story was pretty good, although you could see Ali’s issues coming a mile away. But although so much of the book revolves around her, she was a two dimensional secondary character. Ava and Paul and their reaction to Ali’s issues seemed more about them than her and Sarah came across as selfish and annoying. I also kept forgetting that the characters were Irish - they seemed mostly American generic. I found myself anxious to just finish the book. Three stars for addressing anorexia fairly well, but otherwise it would have been two.
September 27, 2017
I wanted to like this book more...but it seemed to drag. I thought it took at least 80 pages before it finally grabbed my interest. It easily could've been at least 100 pages shorter. There was so much dialogue that just seemed repetitive and I couldn't keep reading the characters having the same conversations over and over again. Honestly I skimmed through the last 60 or so pages.
April 13, 2024
I enjoyed this book but I felt it was trying to combine too many things into the same family life. It did do a good job of portraying how a teenager can develop anorexia and how it affects all the family but I'm not sure it needed all the antics of the Grandfather particularly as they seemed less than credible.
March 4, 2019
Very annoyed by the author's renditions of French and Polish accents! It was distracting for the reader and lacked respect. It also took me ages to get into that book which had a lot of clichés and lacked imagination. Quite a disappointing read.
July 10, 2020
Don’t get me wrong I did enjoy reading this but felt that it was a bit repetitive in places and went over the same thing too many times. I really liked Sally & Sarah who were great characters and made me laugh.
Felt the end was a bit rushed.
Felt the end was a bit rushed.
May 29, 2023
4.5 out of 5 stars, but rated 5 because we don’t have the option to give .5 stars on here yet.
I liked this one more than “the good mother” which I rated 4 stars, but didn’t like it as much as “seven letters”, which I gave 5 (I wish I could have given it 50) so this one gets 4.5 from me!
I liked this one more than “the good mother” which I rated 4 stars, but didn’t like it as much as “seven letters”, which I gave 5 (I wish I could have given it 50) so this one gets 4.5 from me!
November 13, 2017
Very basic storyline and not the best written book of hers I️’ve read, but still couldn’t put it down!
July 19, 2018
Loved her writing style. There was laughter and tears. Want to read more by this author.
October 24, 2018
A very good read about a difficult subject.
January 16, 2019
Loved it. Another great book by Sinead Moriarty.
June 9, 2019
The harrowing story of a daughter with anorexia, and the pain the rest of the family must endure.
January 12, 2021
Well written as always
Read
September 28, 2021Most books surrounding eating disorders are so clichéd but this one nailed it! Very impressed. I hated charlie and his stupidity and misogyny.
November 25, 2021
Loved this book. Mix of happiness and sadness, well written and was into it till the end 😃👌
June 24, 2024
3.5 stars
March 15, 2017
An eye opening view into the world of anorexia and a reminder that no family is perfect.
January 17, 2011
The modern woman is a Jill of all trades . . . Ava is a wife, lover, mother, daughter, friend, fixer, boss … so many different people, in fact, she no longer knows what it means to be herself. Not that anyone will let her – not her work-obsessed husband, nor her tearaway younger daughter, nor her out-of-control Dad, nor even her sassy-but-lonely best friend. There’s always someone wanting something from her.She’s trying to do her best for all of them but lately feels like she can’t make everyone happy. And that’s before she discovers that her elder daughter Alison is in deep, deep trouble. Can Ava keep a hold of the most precious pieces of her heart? And what will happen if she loses one?
I quite liked the plot of Pieces of my Heart and the main focus of the plot is the fact Ava spends all of her time looking after everybody else. Her eccentric father moves into her house after his second wife dies, before inviting a Polish stripper into the house, too. Her best friend Sally is worried she’ll never find a man and uses Ava to relay all her dating disaster stories to, Ava’s own love life with her husband Paul is flagging and her two daughters are complete opposites of each other: Sarah is a bit of a wild child whereas Ali is quite and studious. And when Alison becomes anorexic, that takes up a lot of the plot focus, too.
As for the characters, I found them a real mixed bag. I liked Ava, in as much as you can like someone who lets her family and friends run all over her without a thought to her own life. I could see why she was the way she was, but I wanted her to take hold and be able to blow off steam herself for once. Paul, her husband, seemed negligent at best, leaving Ava to keep the family going whilst he spent time at his pub. Despite Sally, Ava’s best friend, being a bit desperate, she was one of my favourite characters. I also loved Sarah, Ava and Paul’s youngest daughter. Yes the way she was written was very teen-cliche, but she was hilarious. Along with her boyfriend Bobby they were quite the double act. I didn’t particularly take to Ali, and I’ll explain why a bit more later. Finally there’s Charlie, Ava’s father. He was very eccentric, but I thought he was sweeet.
Pieces of my Heart is very well written. It’s told from Ava’s point of view, meaning that although we don’t get a first-hand account of Ali’s illness, we see how it affects the wider family. There’s absolutely no doubt that Moriarty must have put a lot of research and time into getting Ali’s illness correct and it came across as very well done as I read it, but I did at times find it a bit contrite. Because despite Ali starving herself and making herself anorexic, she did seem to blame it on everybody else. I’ve got absolutely no experience on eating disorders, and maybe blaming everyone around you is the norm but I just found it irritating. Much like Sarah, I just wanted to yell at Ali to stop being so selfish and just eat.
Overall, I did enjoy Pieces of my Heart. It had a nice cast of characters, it kept me reading because despite everything I felt about Ali’s illness I did want her to get better, or at least see if she was able to overcome it in any way. I also found Sarah added some much needed light relief during the book because sometimes the heart-to-hearts got a little too long-winded and Sarah and Bobby were the perfect anti-dote to that. Sinead Moriarty definitely gets to the heart of the story, there’s no doubt about that and I applaud the fact she doesn’t shy away from using difficult, sometimes taboo, topics in her novels. Sinead is a huge talent in Chick Lit and long may she continue to publish novels.
I quite liked the plot of Pieces of my Heart and the main focus of the plot is the fact Ava spends all of her time looking after everybody else. Her eccentric father moves into her house after his second wife dies, before inviting a Polish stripper into the house, too. Her best friend Sally is worried she’ll never find a man and uses Ava to relay all her dating disaster stories to, Ava’s own love life with her husband Paul is flagging and her two daughters are complete opposites of each other: Sarah is a bit of a wild child whereas Ali is quite and studious. And when Alison becomes anorexic, that takes up a lot of the plot focus, too.
As for the characters, I found them a real mixed bag. I liked Ava, in as much as you can like someone who lets her family and friends run all over her without a thought to her own life. I could see why she was the way she was, but I wanted her to take hold and be able to blow off steam herself for once. Paul, her husband, seemed negligent at best, leaving Ava to keep the family going whilst he spent time at his pub. Despite Sally, Ava’s best friend, being a bit desperate, she was one of my favourite characters. I also loved Sarah, Ava and Paul’s youngest daughter. Yes the way she was written was very teen-cliche, but she was hilarious. Along with her boyfriend Bobby they were quite the double act. I didn’t particularly take to Ali, and I’ll explain why a bit more later. Finally there’s Charlie, Ava’s father. He was very eccentric, but I thought he was sweeet.
Pieces of my Heart is very well written. It’s told from Ava’s point of view, meaning that although we don’t get a first-hand account of Ali’s illness, we see how it affects the wider family. There’s absolutely no doubt that Moriarty must have put a lot of research and time into getting Ali’s illness correct and it came across as very well done as I read it, but I did at times find it a bit contrite. Because despite Ali starving herself and making herself anorexic, she did seem to blame it on everybody else. I’ve got absolutely no experience on eating disorders, and maybe blaming everyone around you is the norm but I just found it irritating. Much like Sarah, I just wanted to yell at Ali to stop being so selfish and just eat.
Overall, I did enjoy Pieces of my Heart. It had a nice cast of characters, it kept me reading because despite everything I felt about Ali’s illness I did want her to get better, or at least see if she was able to overcome it in any way. I also found Sarah added some much needed light relief during the book because sometimes the heart-to-hearts got a little too long-winded and Sarah and Bobby were the perfect anti-dote to that. Sinead Moriarty definitely gets to the heart of the story, there’s no doubt about that and I applaud the fact she doesn’t shy away from using difficult, sometimes taboo, topics in her novels. Sinead is a huge talent in Chick Lit and long may she continue to publish novels.
February 20, 2015
It took me a gracious 3 weeks to complete the whole novel which after reading the first few chapters, I’m partly engaging and moving by its opening story-line It started off with Ava, a mother of two who was also a wife, daughter, friend, fixer, boss and a lover gazing into the reflection of herself in a mirror. She was in a situation which most women in the whole wide world would be in; dazed and stuck in her multiple roles in life. Just by reading the first few passages on Ava who was self-aware about how old she looks, I felt like I’m being pulled into her sad life story immediately. Then the novel goes on by introducing the other important characters such as Ava’s daughters, dad and friend with a light, humorous and bubbly way. The author had done a majorly good job on describing each characters in such a way which are easy to understand and non-ironic. She had chosen a simple yet meaningful vocabulary.
As I aware, there are 3 stages of emotions which would run across to the reader when reading this novel. These are; amusement with a little dust of sorrow due to Paul’s laxity over Ava, miserable and probably thought-provoking when Alison was confirmed to have anorexic and finally joyfulness as the novel ended with a cliché happy ending. In my opinion, I adored the first and the middle bit of the novel but I’m not so satisfied with how it ends. I would have thought that the author would put in some sort of minor tragedy in the story-line so that the near endings would appear as engaging as the opening.
So for that I applied 3 stars out of 5. Despite from the cliché endings, I also disagree on most vibes which the author had created in the novel. The sparkling clear idea of sarcasm the author had put across when she mentioned one or two things about Afghanistan and Taliban made my stomach turned. I strongly felt that there’s no need to mention anything about a sensitive and debatable topics such as Taliban while there are a lot other things which she could write about. For example when Sarah was disputing with her dad, Paul the minute he found out the fact that she’d went into a nightclub, she said “Hello! We are not living in Afghanistan! You can’t lock me up for having a good time. What are you? The freaking Taliban?” I’m curious on why would the author choose to write this instead of some other ironic discrepancy style between a daughter and a father?
Other than that, this novel had opened my eyes to many surreal things about anorexia and the way she arranged the step by step process Alison has got to go through in order to beat anorexia, was fascinating!
As I aware, there are 3 stages of emotions which would run across to the reader when reading this novel. These are; amusement with a little dust of sorrow due to Paul’s laxity over Ava, miserable and probably thought-provoking when Alison was confirmed to have anorexic and finally joyfulness as the novel ended with a cliché happy ending. In my opinion, I adored the first and the middle bit of the novel but I’m not so satisfied with how it ends. I would have thought that the author would put in some sort of minor tragedy in the story-line so that the near endings would appear as engaging as the opening.
So for that I applied 3 stars out of 5. Despite from the cliché endings, I also disagree on most vibes which the author had created in the novel. The sparkling clear idea of sarcasm the author had put across when she mentioned one or two things about Afghanistan and Taliban made my stomach turned. I strongly felt that there’s no need to mention anything about a sensitive and debatable topics such as Taliban while there are a lot other things which she could write about. For example when Sarah was disputing with her dad, Paul the minute he found out the fact that she’d went into a nightclub, she said “Hello! We are not living in Afghanistan! You can’t lock me up for having a good time. What are you? The freaking Taliban?” I’m curious on why would the author choose to write this instead of some other ironic discrepancy style between a daughter and a father?
Other than that, this novel had opened my eyes to many surreal things about anorexia and the way she arranged the step by step process Alison has got to go through in order to beat anorexia, was fascinating!
January 15, 2013
I am confused between a 3 and a 4...and I would rather go with 3...this book would make you wonder what the main theme was...and yes, though it comes to it, n it's one sad theme, thanks to the awesomely good Sarah, it ensures you never end up with wet eyes...
That's the whole plus and the minus of the book...it had to make u either happy or sad...what I couldn't understand is how anything said by Sarah doesn't shake Ali but even they eyes of her dad shake it...but then, honestly Sarah is the steals the show...though the book is about Ali (I certainly hope not Ava), it's Sarah you connect to...and then she isn't too wrong to...why do the ones who are all happy n don't give in to tears or show hurt r d ones totally ignored...
All in all, a nice read by Moriarty...which might make me pick few more by her :)
That's the whole plus and the minus of the book...it had to make u either happy or sad...what I couldn't understand is how anything said by Sarah doesn't shake Ali but even they eyes of her dad shake it...but then, honestly Sarah is the steals the show...though the book is about Ali (I certainly hope not Ava), it's Sarah you connect to...and then she isn't too wrong to...why do the ones who are all happy n don't give in to tears or show hurt r d ones totally ignored...
All in all, a nice read by Moriarty...which might make me pick few more by her :)
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