So predictable and quite dim-witted
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I've read the Shopaholic books and have found them quite amusing, but something about them has always left me feeling a little uneasy. Reading this book over the weekend has crystallised my problem with Kinsella's writing: her main character is always stupid! Becky Bloomwood never learns to avoid living within her means, and Samantha, the supposedly intelligent lawyer in this book behaves like an idiot for most of the story. It's very frustrating - does Kinsella believe that her readers will only relate to dim characters who can't learn anything or figure anything out?
A perfect example of my problem with this book was in the scene where Samantha is thrown a birthday party - she makes a Waltons-referenced joke, and is then supposedly 'rooted to the spot with embarrassment' or somesuch rubbish? What? This superstar lawyer who has dealt with important clients doesn't have enough self-confidence to make a mild joke at her own party? It doesn't make any sense.
I do like some parts of Kinsella's writing: she weaves a passable story of legal intrigue. But her characters are shamelessly two-dimensional - the love interest is like a cardboard cutout, and it's screamingly obvious from the first three chapters that all the 'goodies' will be 'baddies' by the end of the story.
After finishing the book several questions remained with me: if she can't work a washing machine or make toast, who fed and clothed Samantha Sweeting during her time at Cambridge? Why is there a reference to Nathaniel's brother if we never hear about him again and he's totally irrelevant to the story? Why bother telling us about Samantha's busy brother and titled best friend when they have virtually no impact on the story? Doesn't the brother even wonder where his sister has gone? He isn't mentioned after he fails to make her birthday dinner.
In my opinion Kinsella needs to write fewer books, but craft them a great deal better.
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One of my fav books
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This Book was brill, I loved it and couldnt put it down. I called in sick to work to finish it!!
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The Undomestic Goddess
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I agree with your reviewer from Tempe, AZ; I did not like the "Shopaholic" books at all, which almost caused me to miss out on "The Undomestic Goddess". That would have been a shame because it really was a fun read - one of those curl up in your rattiest jammies in your fav chair late at night escapes. OK, so it's a full-blown modern day fairytale. So what? I had just finished "The March" and needed something frothy. I did not give it 5 stars (only because I compared it to Katie Fforde's "Stately Pursuits") but it was still cuppa hot chocolate good reading.
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Couldn't put it down......so I didn't !!
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I had become a bit tired of the Shopaholic stories and had enjoyed 'can you keep a secret' so much I had to get this book. Well it was so good I couldn't put it down and read it in two sittings - only stopping to sleep in between. A bit far fetched maybe but so amusing I was laughing out loud all the way through. A great book to escape your own life. Perfect for a holiday read.
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The Secret to Kinsella...
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The dirty little secret I have about Sophie Kinsella books is that I don't like the "Shopaholic" ones at all, but I absolutely adore her other books. "Undomestic Goddess" is so much fun! She's funny, she writes unusual plot lines but in familiar territory, and she has a great handle on dialog. Of course, the scenario is entirely far-fetched, but this is escapist fiction! Samantha is the stressed out part of all of us, and secretly we all wish we could derail and somehow end up better off than when we started off! It's a modern fairytale, enjoy!
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