A Much Married Man: A Novel (Thomas Dunne Books)

Loved he story . Kept me interested right Fred the start. Nicholas Coleridge is such a great author. I am currently reading his follow up and loving that as well. A much married man has so many interesting characters, very disappointed to reach the end.

There's no accounting for taste, and I must say that the reviewers who post 4 or 5 stars for "A Much Married Man" have very different taste from mine. The folks at Kirkus reviews used the phrase "overlong and overplotted" to describe Coleridge's book "With Friends Like These", and I find this to be an apt description of "A Much Married Man".The story starts well enough, with a young Anthony Anscombe falling head over heels in love with the ethereally beautiful Amanda Gibbons, pursuing her across the continent to the south of France to win and marry her, but well before the halfway point it has bogged down amid a welter of characters and plotlines--and I found myself wishing that the protagonist, Anthony Anscombe, would grow a spine and tell some of his ex-wives and their variously clueless, grasping, over-bearing, and needy relatives to piss off. The final straw came, for me, with Anthony's remarkably-ill-advised 3rd marriage to Eurotrash millionaire-husband collector Dita, who eventually overturns and overruns his world. I started skimming pages just before their wedding, and what little enjoyment I had gleaned from the book up to that point was quickly siphoned away by these poisonous characters. I only finished the book, ultimately, to find out how Anthony's oldest child, Jasmine, and his not-quite-stepdaughter, Katie, would turn out--I had long since stopped caring about any of the other characters.I have previously read only one of Mr Coleridge's books, "Godchildren". Similarly densely-plotted and heavily inhabited with a plethora of characters, "Godchildren" at least has a few characters with whom one can feel sympathetic, and who prevail over circumstances to come out of the story in good shape. The Anthony Anscombe character in "With Friends Like These" has the admirable quality of having the desire and intention, if not always the ability, to be a caring and loving father to his children and his step-children, though at least one stepson is a spoiled, detestable Eurotrash creep--unfortunately, he hasn't the strength of will to stand up to any of the adult women in his life, from his snobbish, over-bearing, married-up and now "plus catholique que le pape" mother to his various wives and one singulary ill-advised mistress.Even in a story which is set in the quiet Oxfordshire countryside, on one of the last semi-feudal demesnes where the local "squire" rules a great estate and the accompanying village, Coleridge cannot resist the temptations of the glitter and flash of London and European high society, though he would be well-advised to try. Mr Coleridge seems determined to ensure that his readers are constantly reminded of his position in the glitzy "Ugly Betty" world of Conde-Nast's frothy glossy-cover society magazines, not by anything so crass as direct reference, but by never failing to introduce that world into his storylines. If he were to turn down the intensity a bit, Coleridge's stories would be much more satisfying reads--but I fear that subtlety is not within his power.For readers who are interested in reflections on British society and class distinctions, I heartily recommend Julian Fellowes' books "Snobs" and "Past Imperfect" -- both of which are quieter, more thoughtful--and to my mind, truer--portraits of that world -- over Mr Coleridge's books. What a pity that Mr Fellowes has written only the two...

Started slow. Ended great. Loved it.

Starts out very promising and entertaining with Amanda the wild bride who runs away, then Sandra, the nanny turned bride, then Nula, the new age nut case who he doesn't marry, but just becomes irritating when he married the social climber Dita, especially with her rapist son Morad. The "hero", Anthony Ascombe, is a good but weak man who puts up with way too much from his weird women, but this finally becomees too much with Dita and Morad, although they are both very good character studies, one of the nasty side of adolescent lust in a spoiled rich kid, and the other in the spoiled but very polished social climbing wife Dita. WSpoiler Alert for comments below:hen one of his step sons ruins his bank with out of control spending, and Morad gets acquited for rape, and Anthoney loses his bank and then immediately rebounds to host the music fair on the property, it shows that this author has no concept of crime and punishment, morality, etc. I did not even finish the very end, I was so disgusted. First 3 quarters, or a 7.5, last quarter is 2.5

I agree with a previous review, that it starts out promisingly enough. But soon, it becomes increasingly boring, with a long list of characters, none of whom I cared about. There is endless detail about the dullest aspects of their lives for a 40 year timespan. In the end I was just so fed up with the main character for being spineless and weak. For example, his business is ruined by an ungrateful stepson,a first wife leaves him with a newborn baby, another stepson commits date rape and he doesn't even raise his voice. I was looking for a light summer read, but just found this to be a waste of my time. Just finished " Water for Elephants" which I highly recommend for a very enjoyable summer read.

It was okay, kept me entertained.I thought it on and on to make a point.

This was one of the best books I've read in a long time. Before I get to what I loved about it though I have to comment on the confounding marketing job on this book! The langorous youths on the cover implied something like Brett Easton Ellis set in England. Then the comments - "witty look at British moneyed class" -- had me thinking Julian Fellowes. Totally confusing! This book was nothing like either genres.Instead what we have is an unpretentious but fun rompish read about a sweet but plainly somewhat muddled man, Anthony Anscombe, who is refreshingly honest and straightforward and an altogether lovely protagonist, if a little infuriatingly short-sighted at times. But that's what we come to adore about Anthony, in particular his predilection for totally unsuitable women. As his life unfolds over the years, you may love/hate his wives but you'll always love him. I felt like his poor mother by the end of the book, like I'd lived a lifetime of hopes and disappointments with him. Yes, the plot details are a bit fantastic in places, and the women sometimes too unbelievable in their idiosyncracies. But they're never boring and defy stereotypes just enough to put them on the fine line between fascinating and acceptable.What is lovely about Anthony though is his wonderful relationships with his children. He may be terrible at reading women but he's great at understanding his children. There is nothing jaded in this book at all about Anthony's attitudes towards family loyalty.In all, a great read. Yes, it's witty and funny, but wittiness and mirth do not a great book make. It's much deeper than its frothy marketing job implies and it's much sweeter. If you yearn for that sweet old-fashioned age-old corner of the English countryside; and that sweet old-fashioned age-old corner of the human heart, look no further.

Well i can never been certain of the ending because it was brought for my friend because she got the book from a charity shop and the last two pages were torn out. Unfortunately she passed away suddenly and we dont know if she had read the last pages.

I have admired Nicolas Coleridge's non-fiction and was looking forward to this but was sadly disappointed.

I love this author’s storytelling , interesting, very witty , very enjoyable and holds your interest from the first page

As usual an excellent book by Coleridge. I found this author quite by chance having picked up Godchildren in a charity shop in Spain and was immediately a fan. I like the characters he introduces as they are usually quite glamourous. His books are always an enjoyable and relaxing read.

I enjoyed every page of this book. Easy reading, intriguing well knitted plot and excellent research .Brilliant.