My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella Published by Bantam Press on February 7, 2017
Pages: 448
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Bantering Books Rating:
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - Part love story, part workplace drama, this sharply observed novel is a witty critique of the false judgments we make in a social-media-obsessed world. New York Times bestselling author Sophie Kinsella has written her most timely novel yet.
Everywhere Katie Brenner looks, someone else is living the life she longs for, particularly her boss, Demeter Farlowe. Demeter is brilliant and creative, lives with her perfect family in a posh townhouse, and wears the coolest clothes. Katie's life, meanwhile, is a daily struggle--from her dismal rental to her oddball flatmates to the tense office politics she's trying to negotiate. No wonder Katie takes refuge in not-quite-true Instagram posts, especially as she's desperate to make her dad proud.
Then, just as she's finding her feet--not to mention a possible new romance--the worst happens. Demeter fires Katie. Shattered but determined to stay positive, Katie retreats to her family's farm in Somerset to help them set up a vacation business. London has never seemed so far away--until Demeter unexpectedly turns up as a guest. Secrets are spilled and relationships rejiggered, and as the stakes for Katie's future get higher, she must question her own assumptions about what makes for a truly meaningful life.
Sophie Kinsella is celebrated for her vibrant, relatable characters and her great storytelling gifts. Now she returns with all of the wit, warmth, and wisdom that are the hallmarks of her bestsellers to spin this fresh, modern story about presenting the perfect life when the reality is far from the truth.
Bantering Books Review
Better.
That’s how I feel now for having read My Not So Perfect Life.
After all of the heaviness of my last read, American Dirt, I needed a little light in my life. I needed fun. I needed fluff. I needed to feel good.
And My Not So Perfect Life delivers all of the above– and more.
The story is pretty much your standard chick lit fare. Young Katie Brenner is trying to desperately succeed in her new marketing job in London. She thinks that everyone around her has the perfect life — her friends, her co-workers, her horrible boss — and she works hard to hide everything that is not so perfect about her own life from those who know and love her.
Just when Katie is beginning to feel secure in her life in London, her boss fires her, turning her world upside down. With nowhere else to go, she returns to her Dad’s farm in Somerset to help him and her step-mom start a glamping business. Much hilarity and many shenanigans follow, as Katie learns who she is and how to love herself — and that people are not always who they seem to be.
Sophie Kinsella writes better-than-your-average chick lit. I believe this is either the second or third novel of hers that I have read, and I must say, I do enjoy her writing. It’s as I mentioned before– it’s light, it’s fun, the characters are (usually, mostly) endearing, and her stories are peppered with many laugh-out-loud moments.
But if you pause to peel away all of the silliness and the crazy antics, you will find that Kinsella’s novels have a certain level of wisdom and emotional depth that is often times absent in more typical, run-of-the-mill chick lit. And My Not So Perfect Life is an excellent example of this.
It has heart. It has joy. The life lessons that Katie encounters are ones that we have all had to learn and are, possibly, still learning. I believe most readers will find something relatable in Katie’s journey, regardless of where they are on their own life path.
And never fear –the story does have a touch of romance. Personally, I could’ve done without the added element of a love interest. I think the inclusion only serves to weaken the novel, and Katie’s story would’ve been much more powerful without the unnecessary distraction.
All in all, though, My Not So Perfect Life truly is an enjoyable read. It is one that I will always remember fondly.
So go ahead, give it a go . . . you may find it makes you better, too.
