More Kinsella

I just finished reading The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella. I have also previously read Remember Me? and Confessions of a Shopaholic (just the first one). Amanda, like you, I think I prefer the other books to the Shopaholic story (even though I've only read one book of the series). I had a hard time relating to Becky because personally I'm so not a shopaholic. I'm unwilling to spend huge amounts of money on things and I don't care about those fancy brand names. I'm sensible, and she made no sense to me.

The Undomestic Goddess made more sense to me. It's about a girl who works too much, and learns to slow down. It's about doing what's good for you, instead of grasping the lofty position that is expected of you. It's about living below your potential because you've learned to value things differently. Of course, a plot summary would look more like: a high-powered lawyer makes a disastrous mistake and runs off to be a housekeeper, despite her utter lack of cleaning or cooking abilities. It is quite humourous.

Still, it couldn't escape all criticism. I found the love story distastefully sappy. And it's unrealistic that she could learn to cook so quickly. She seems to pick things up instantly, whereas I think a more general experience is that things never turn out as well when you do it on your own. I'd expect continuing failures.

Here was my favorite line: "Tasting gravy with your eyes closed is a fairly intimate thing to do, it turns out. I'm not sure I want anyone watching me." It reminds me of a choir practice once upon a time when we sang True Colours with our eyes closed - and I cried. There's something instantly introspective and emotional about blocking out the world around you.