Marian Keyes: Further under the Duvet

This is the second collection of novelist Marian Keyes' journalism and this time round, seven of her short stories are included.

Keyes, who has written seven novels including her first, Watermelon, and then Sushi For Beginners, is the woman who gave up the bottle and the slide into alcoholic oblivion and saved herself by beginning to write.

That story is told in a piece called Beyond My Wildest Dreams and is a clear example of why she is so successful. She's funny, self-deprecating and can never forget how bad her battle with the booze was.

"Paradoxically, writing about feeling disconnected has connected me."

And it is this understanding to which people relate so well. She tackles our insecurities full on — being fat, having in-grown hairs, the need to shop — with such a healthy dose of paranoia that suddenly you feel really good about yourself.

When you're feeling at your most thin-skinned and need a good laugh, this is the woman to turn to.

She's shamelessly obsessive, has embraced the shallow side of her nature with gusto and you love her for it because she's so entertaining.

At a deeper level she shows great common sense. Her writing fame has also brought her into contact with many charities. In particular the charity To Russia With Love, which has helped transform the lives of orphans in the Russian city of Bryansk. Keyes writes about it in Rebuilding Children, which is a fine piece of journalism.

I'm not a great fan of her short stories. They seem to fall into a nebulous middle ground. If that sounds a bit tough, it's because I have read many of her novels and her journalism and those are the areas where I feel she excels.

* Barbara Harris is a Herald features sub-editor
* Penguin, $25