My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella
Sometimes in life, the only book that will do is a book that is derisively known as “chick-lit.” It’s a label I am not really down with because of its reductive absurdity. It is a moniker usually attached to books about women, written by women, that deal with women managing everyday challenges – work, life, romance, money – often with humor. They are marketed with bright, breezy cover artwork, usually a rendering of a stiletto, a purse and lipstick or a big city skyline, silhouette of a woman and a cocktail glass. The colors tend to be vibrant and bold and the typeface is modern yet somewhat whimsical. You know exactly what I am talking about and you can see them in your head as you read this. They are often treated as somehow “lesser” as if reading such a book somehow reveals your lack of seriousness about Literature with a capital L.
For me they are books about women, written by women, that deal with women managing everyday challenges that are usually well written, tightly plotted, reflective of a particular social zeitgeist and thoroughly entertaining. Whenever I’ve read a book that is filed under “chick-lit” I’ve never felt that I’d wasted my time by the end. In fact, I am in awe of Marian Keyes, Jennifer Weiner, Jane Green, Helen Fielding and co. at their ability to write books that are successful and that have captured a huge market and that clearly speak to millions of people. Yay for every single one of them.
One of the most successful writers in this genre is Sophie Kinsella. She is the mastermind behind the hugely successful Shophaholic franchise as well as several standalone novels. I just finished her most recent, My Not So Perfect Life and enjoyed every minute of it.
Katie Brenner is like millions of other millennials, headed to the big city (in this case London), trying to make the best of her entry level job in a creative branding agency with dreams of breaking through and emulating her super successful, somewhat bitchy boss Demeter. She has dreamed of making it in London her whole short life. “The skyline. The history. Walking past Big Ben and hearing it chime, in real life. Standing in the same Tube stations that you’ve seen in a million films about the Blitz. Feeling that you’re in one of the best cities in the world, no question, hands down. Living in London is like living in a movie set, from the Dickensian backstreets to the glinting tower blocks to the secret garden squares. You can be anyone you want to be.”
Her life may not be picture perfect yet, with the crushingly long commute, the box room of a bedroom in a flat-share and the oh so tight budget. But the world doesn’t need to know that. Lucky for her, instagram has afforded her the ability to portray a life that she wants people to believe she is living. In London she is Cat, not country girl Katie, brought up by a single dad in the dull hinterlands.
Kinsella convincingly captures how easy it is for Katie/Cat to convince so many people that she is living the dream. Instagram appears to be one of the most important tools in carrying out that con. Her best friend is living in New York indulging similar tools of the trade, bragworthy pictures of life in their respective big cities, fun meals, exciting landmarks and comments with a sprinkling of exclamation marks and emojis to emphasize the awesomeness of their lives. Katie/Cat stalks the city for instagram worthy pictures like a hot chocolate on the outside table of a cafe (not hers, but the owner had retired to the ladies’ room). She has created an ideal life for herself, or the ideal she has imagined that the London life of a successful young professional should be “it’s something to aspire to, something to hope for. One day my life will match my instagram posts. One day.”
Cat meets a mysterious, handsome guy at work with whom she feels a spark and then finds out who he really is and knows it could never go anywhere. She gets fired by her bitch of a boss and keeps it from her parents who she doesn’t want to disappoint. She retreats to the purgatory of the countryside where she uses her considerable branding and creative skills to help her parents set up a glamping business. A beautifully designed website, creative brochures and yes, gorgeous instagram posts and the business takes off, becoming the destination for the urban elite to experience life in the country.
All is going well until Demeter and her family arrive for a vacation at the farm. Katie has an opportunity to exact revenge on said boss, but is the boss a bitch really? Oh yeah, and the guy who she fantasizes about turns up to. The plot does not tax and you know exactly where you are going in this book.
But along the way Kinsella demonstrates an eye for detail that is hilarious as it is astute. Her portrayal of the hip, creative branding agency is just spot on, mocking all the conventions of these places with fun, not meanness, from the clothes, to the office space to the pitch meetings these are scenes that make you laugh. One branding campaign is for a moisturizer called Drench. The brainstorming session for an organic yogurt product is priceless. The urban elite, coming to the countryside to experience nature (without the discomfort, 400 thread sheets on the platform beds in the yurts please!) are easily convinced by some enhanced photos and liberal use of words like authentic, organic and artisan.
Before you know it, you have devoured the whole book and you feel good. You feel good to have left behind the messy news of the world outside. You feel good that you have taken a break from whatever tiresome chores you were supposed to do. And you feel buoyed by a story with a happy ending. You are a smart accomplished woman, you can read more than one type of book. So, check your superiority and snobbishness at the door, ignore the arbiters of high culture and read this book completely guilt-free as part of a balanced reading diet.
BEFORE YOU READ
Length: 390 pages
Genre: fiction, romantic comedy
Themes: aspirational lifestyle, romance, relationships, career
Commitment: A wonderful diversion from the day to day
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