My Not So Perfect Life: A Novel. Sophie Kinsella. Bantam Press/The Dial Press. February
2017. 448 pp. ISBN #: 9780812998269.
Katie
Brenner is living the dream! She’s
escaped her small-town Somerset life, dumped her accent, and is living in
London in a flat she shares with two other workers. She’s working for a chic London company which
specializes in unique marketing strategies.
Her boss, Demeter, is a genius in branding products, even if she is a
hyped up, selfish and demanding woman whose key interest, outside of her
skilled choices of advertising, is being the first to do whatever is trending
in food, clothing, etc.
Initially,
Katie is hired as a research assistant, putting survey data into a computer,
hardly a blip on Demeter’s interest screen. Katie, who is now calling herself
“Cat” is starting to yearn for more.
She’s got what she thinks are some brilliant design and advertising
schemes and wants the chance to become acknowledged as someone worth
encouraging to become an integral part of Cooper Clemmow, a famed company.
She
then accidentally meets Alex and he shares with her some wacky adult toys (no,
not sexual). As time passes, Katie and
Alex become close but this goes nowhere fast as a dramatic error happens at
Clemmow and Katie is fired. No, this
isn’t a downer, although Katie is deeply upset.
Katie’s such a spunky character that she takes it in stride and returns
to live in Somerset with her caring Dad.
He and his new wife has opened a country resort. Lo and behold, who should arrive as guest but
Demeter, her husband and her children.
And not too long after, Alex appears but not to woo Katie. Before his arrival, Katie sees another side
of Demeter which throws her plan to spike some revenge on her. Alex has the same plan and the remainder of
the novel brings some surprises and shows Katie maturing and making some
startling choices!
Sophie
Kinsella has done a marvelous job in creating this feisty character,
Katie. The plot is simple but there are
enough snarky, funny moments to lighten the plot and give the reader a
delightful experience. Smart, humorous
and satirical look at fame and fortune, laced with a bucket of old-fashioned,
spot-on values. Nicely crafted, Sophie Kinsella!
