"A Funny, fascinating tale of Friendship"

Ambitious literary agent Jojo Harvey is steadily working her way towards a partnership, while juggling ultra- competitive colleagues and carrying on a torrid affair with her charismatic and much-married boss. But when it becomes a question of career versus personal life, what will Jojo choose? Meanwhile her latest client, Lily Wright's whimsical debut book takes London by storm. But Lily herself suffers pangs of conscience for having stolen best friend Gemma's boyfriend, Anton, and foolishly buys a dilapidated house against hopes of future earnings.

Living in Ireland, Gemma Hogan envies Lily's success and continues to hate her. When her parents split up, its Gemma's life that's turned topsy-turvy. Gamma vents her feelings about the whole situation in a series of imaginative and humorous emails to a friend. These emails ultimately end up with Jojo who quickly takes on Gemma as a client. Will Gemma at long last get her revenge on Lily? Can Lily achieve literary stardom as well as be happy with Anton? How will Jojo deal with her dilemma?

Popular Irish novelist, Marian Keyes brings her trademark humor to, 'The Other Side of the Story', a sprawling tale which covers the intersecting lives and loves of the disparate troika of Gemma, Lily and Jojo. As the title suggests, the book takes a unconventional look at the other side of the story -- how a woman feels and deals with after having stolen her best friend's boyfriend, how selfishly and sometimes casually literary agents make career-making or breaking decisions for their authors, and how a grown-up woman suffers her father's infidelity. Funny, irreverent and yet with an undercurrent of seriousness, Keyes' tale is entertaining, enlightening as well as emotional, although somewhat long-drawn-out. As is usual in most stories of this genre, this tale too is set in and around the publishing industry, but unlike countless others, this one truly gives a fascinating peek at the literary wheelings and dealings that go on behind the scenes. Once again, Marian Keyes justifies readers' faith in her considerable story-telling abilities.

Reviewed by Rashmi Srinivas
Posted May 28, 2004

Summary

Life is a circle, and what goes around, comes around. Just ask a trio of unforgettable women in Marian Keyes's enchanting new novel ... Energetic, ambitious, and sexy, literary agent Jojo Harvey combines Jessica Rabbit's body with a mind like a steel trap. As if watching her back while on the corporate ladder and making million-dollar deals wasn't difficult enough, Jojo's having a relationship with her boss. Her married boss. Tall, slender, and blond, bestselling author Lily Wright, one of Jojo's clients, worries about bad karma and the second novel she can't seem to write but must deliver -- she's already spent the advance. Anton, the Love of Her Life, persuaded her to buy their dream house. Events organizer extraordinaire Gemma Hogan was best friends with Lily -- until the willowy blonde stole Anton, a.k.a. the Love of Her Life. Juggling the demands of her newly separated (and desperately needy) mom, Gemma's social life is flatlining -- a mortifying situation that makes for hilarious e-mails to a friend. Tales so funny, they come to the attention of top literary agent Jojo Harvey, who takes Gemma on as a client ... Written in the charming and chatty voice that has become Marian Keyes's signature style, this hilarious and heartwarming new novel proves there are three sides to every story ... especially in the world of publishing!