Review: Bad Marie by Marcy Dermansky

Marie spent six years in jail, charged with aiding and abetting after her boyfriend robbed a bank, killing one individual. She was convicted on the charges of accessory to murder and bank robbery. Said boyfriend hung himself in jail, so Marie is alone.  She survived her time spent in jail in part due to a book she read, Virginie at Sea. 

Despite her checkered past, Marie’s  childhood friend, Ellen, hires her as a nanny for her precocious daughter, Caitlin. Ellen’s husband, Benoit Doniel,  just happens to be the author of the book Marie cherish while in prison.

Marie is a very rude, selfish, manipulating character.  Her one good trait is that she truly loves Caitlin.  But when Ellen & Benoit discover Marie & Caitlin asleep in the bathtub, Marie is fired.  The only “real” life she has is spinning out of control and she desperately attempts to retain it. When Benoit suggests that they take off for Paris together, Caitlin in tow, Marie readily agrees.

The life she was struggling to hold on to continues on a downward spiral, and Marie soon discovers the only person she can rely on is herself, and the love of a little girl.

Let me start by saying that there are times that I curse myself for not reading a book sooner.  That happened in this case.  Within the first few pages, I was hooked, I couldn’t stop reading.  I read BAD MARIE in one sitting. It took me two hours to read; I simply couldn’t tear myself away from it.  Marie is a character with traits one is meant to dispise, but I found myself enjoying and appreciating her crude behavior. 

The book starts off with the line: “Sometimes, Marie got a little drunk at work.” Talk about an attention-getting lead sentence!  Based on the title alone, one would tend to think that Marie is a bad person.  In reality, she is not, just a victim of circumstances.  The time she spent in prison, six years of her young life, forever altered how she views friendships, love, relationships as a whole.  I feel that she reacted as best she good, given her history and her experience.

So, go out and pick up a copy of BAD MARIE now.  You won’t regret it.

Here are some other reviews of BAD MARIE:

Devourer of Books

Linus’s Blanket

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