For anyone who doesn't know already, Liz Jones is the raven-haired columnist whose personal and marital exploits usually grace the Mail on Sunday's You magazine on a weekly basis. Now to tell you the truth, I (and many others) assumed that her column was fake; a fictional Bridget-like heroine who's nearing forty and has an obsession with organic groceries. But lo and behold, it's not.
She's actually real.
Pardon my stupidity here, but there was naive little me thinking that no real woman would openly divulge the details of her life and marriage to the entire nation in a column. Oops, I was wrong. So when I saw Liz Jones's book (aptly named Liz Jones's Diary), I was both curious and worried.
Let me just say that I LOVE girly memoirs - non-fiction offerings from authors, columnists and, well, bloggers-turned-authors. They all get my vote. And this one? This one is hard, because I love it...
...yet at the same time, I hate it. Trust me, it's odd.
Liz Jones's Diary (How One Single Girl Got Married) is basically a collection of her columns in diary form, from her days as a singleton to her first date with her (now ex) husband Nirpal. It's not THAT interesting, especially as the majority of the book seems to focus on her cats, yet I can't help but adore her writing style.
But there's one major problem about this book and the You columns that really gets to me.
Liz Jones herself.
Throughout the book, Liz comes across as a selfish, bossy, argumentative...well, to put it bluntly, bitch. Her entries tell of treating her younger boyfriend like a child, telling him off for small things and worse still, talking as though this is something ALL women do. Her excessive name-dropping really started to grate on my nerves shortly after starting the book, but no more than the overuse of 'organic' items. It seems as though poor Lizzie is unable to eat or drink anything unless it's organic and has great pleasure in telling us about a thousand times.
Don't get me wrong, she is a talented writer, and this book isn't at all a rubbish read. But sadly it's more scary than entertaining; this is no regular couple. Liz is fussy, snobby and treats her cats better than she treats her husband, and only comes across as more desperate, sad and seemingly frightened of aging what with the excessive amount of beauty products she uses (don't worry, she lists the prices of everything, too!) than stylish.
Is she like this in real life, or is it simply a case of over-exaggeration? I'm hoping the latter, but I guess we'll never know.
One thing I DO know though? Liz will never be Bridget.
Rating: 2/5
Like this? Try The Late Bloomer's Revolution by Amy Cohen
