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January 13, 2006 4:08 PM

The Undomestic Goddess

Like most, I’m a huge fan of Sophie Kinsella’s excellent ‘Shopaholic’ series. However, I found her first non-Becky book, ‘Can You Keep A Secret?’ very weak in comparison. So it was with some trepidation that I purchased the second non-Shopaholic offering; ‘The Undomestic Goddess’. Would it be a winner like the Shopaholic series, or an also-ran like ‘Can You Keep A Secret?’

Firstly, it's worthy mentioning how incredibly same-y Kinsella’s work can be. Several things link all of her main characters and all of her plots develop in quite a predictable way. However, that doesn’t necessarily make a book bad, but beware if you've read all her other stuff, as there's not much new ground here!

‘The Undomestic Goddess’ tells the tale of stressed City lawyer, Samantha Sweeting, after she loses her precious job. She somehow ends up as a housekeeper for the nightmare Geiger family, all of whom seem to think keeping up with the Jones’ is the most important thing in life. Initially, Samantha tries to explain that there’s been a mix up and she isn’t a housekeeper, but she never quite gets round to it.

So we follow Samantha as she begins to enjoy the simpler things in life, like having weekends off and the time to get her hair cut and styled. At first she stumbles at every hurdle when it comes to housework, but with the help from friendly neighbour Iris – and a love interest in the form of Iris’ son, Nathaniel – Samantha begins to see that being a lawyer isn’t all life is about. So when her old firm want her back – what will she do?

In truth, I found this book a little hard to take. I am all for authors being adventurous with plots, but this one is just a little too outrageous (and, if I’m honest, utterly ridiculous) for my liking. The end is sugary sweet and typical Kinsella. This book lacks the charm of the ‘Shopaholic’ series, which Kinsella will – unfortunately – spend the rest of her career trying to better.

This book is an enjoyable read as long as you detach yourself from reality and enjoy it for what it is. If you want an excellent, hole-free plot that is pacey and intelligent with a great main character who you cheer for, this isn’t the book for you. If, however, you want some light froth to read on a cold winter’s night; give this a try. [Toni Kelly]

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Posted by Gemma on January 13, 2006 in British Authors, Girly Stuff, Rating: 3/5 | Permalink

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