I needed My Not So perfect Life badly. After reading a dismal, uninteresting book it was time for something light, easy, and just plain old fun. I was introduced to Sophie Kinsella by reading Confessions of a Shopaholic. Come to think of it, Katie Brenner is a lot like Becky Bloomwood, the heroine of the "Shopaholic" series.
Katie Brenner is making a go of it in London after leaving behind her humble beginnings in the English countryside. She does like most of us and posts wonderfully embellished pictures to Instagram proving how cool her life is. There is no evidence of her cramped and sparse living quarters, limited disposable income, or her less than glamorous position at work. She's so good at pretending it's all good that if she weren't reminded by her boss Demeter, daily, of how the other side lives, she might believe her own hype.
Before long that world she's so close to attaining crashes and burns. She's let go from Cooper Clemmow and has nothing else lined up. Katie is forced to come to terms with her not so perfect life.
Katie returns home to help her father with a new business venture. He and his girlfriend Biddy are in the market to begin a glamping business. Before I continue, I must disclose I had no idea what GLAMPING was/is or even what a YURT is. Thank you Sophie Kinsella for opening my eyes. I so want to go glamping.
What I like most about My Not So Perfect Life is that it's hard not to enjoy it's quirkiness. No Kinsella is not out to write some literary masterpiece or answer the meaning to life. What she is attempting is to tell an interesting story of a woman who's similar to many of us. A woman with ambition that just wants to be heard but isn't entirely in tune with her voice. Katie, like most of us, puts up a brave front just to make it through the day.
When Katie begins to...ummm... develop into a less nice person, I understood why, but I didn't want her to be that person. I love that Kinsella is able to balance her and her actions enough to keep her likeable and relatable.
I can't say I have any gripes with this novel. Did I expect some overly developed literary traipse? Not at all. Did I expect the characters to be memorable? Not all of them at least. Was I hoping for a little bit of a coming of age along with a romantic interest? Of course! I just wanted to get lost in something that could free me of the angst I felt from my last read.
My Not So Perfect Life is the perfect read for those who love the "chick-lit" genre. Sophie Kinsella has solidified her name in this literary space and will probably always be my go to for these types of reads. Maybe what's so perfect about life is that it isn't perfect at all. ****
Copy provided by Random House Publishing Group via Netgalley
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