As I always do with Sophie Kinsella books, I loved “My (not so) Perfect Life.” I highly recommend it!
Here’s the Amazon synopsis:
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.
My review:
This book is classic Sophie Kinsella: funny, whimsical, and ultimately, touching. Kinsella is a master at creating deep, multi-faceted characters, and the ones in this book are no exception: from Katie to her “mean” boss Demeter, I fell in love with all the people in this story. It’s a coming of age tale with a touch of romance, and a sprinkling of family dynamics, too. From Katie’s desire to make the most of her adult life, to fit in with her co-workers, to earn her parents’ respect, and maybe even fall in love, her journey is something most of us can relate to. Bottom line: read it! It’s fun, funny, and heartwarming.
Here’s a little snippet that had me in stitches:
Katie has just come home to the flat she shares with a roommate, Alan.
“Alan!” I rap on his door. “What’s all this in the hall?”
A moment later, Alan’s door swings open and he gazes down at me. (He’s quite tall, Alan. But he also has a very big head, so somehow he doesn’t look very tall. He actually looks weird.) He’s wearing a black singlet and shorts and has an earpiece in, which will be some inspirational app like Master Your Body, Master the World, which he once tried to get me into.
“What?” he says blankly.
“These boxes!” I gesture at the crammed hall. “Are they yours? This is a fire hazard!”
“It’s my way,” he says, and I peer back, confused. His way? His way to fill our flat with boxes?
“What do you mean, your way?”
“My way.” He reaches into an open box and thrusts a plastic pouch at me, which has an ORGANIC WHEY: VANILLA printed on it.
“Oh, whey. Right.” I squint at the cardboard boxes. “But why do you need so much of it?”
“Business model. Gotta buy in bulk. Profit margins. It’s a fierce business.” He pounds a fist into his hand, and I flinch. Alan has this aggressive way of talking which I think he reckons is “motivational.”