My (Not So) Perfect Life

Title: My (Not So) Perfect Life

Author: Sophie Kinsella

Genre: Chick Lit, Romance, Humor

Time: 3 hours

Rating: 2 out of 10

here's a short description of the book in goodreads.

So I’m trying something different with this post.  There are some books, for some reason or another, that elicits a strong reaction or opinion from me even if I’m still a few chapters in.  And sometimes I can’t focus on finishing the book coz I keep thinking about how “I gotta write about this” after I read it.  So I thought maybe I’ll write my reactions the moment I have one.  I don’t know if this will make sense. I’ll try to make it sound coherent. Here goes.

Chapter One and I'm not liking it already.  Nothing's wrong with the way it's written.  It's reminiscent of Kinsella’s The Undomestic Goddess, Remember Me and Can You Keep A Secret.  I loved those books that I recommended it to anyone who asked.

I think it's the story.  It's the “early 20s girl who is still finding herself career-wise” trope.  You know, the adult version of the freshman in high school.  I didn’t wanna say overused but it’s a very familiar formula—the main character is in this crummy job in a "glamorous" industry and somewhere in the middle of the story, she's gonna lose it all but something happens which makes her realize that all that wasn't even worth it.  It is soo Devil Wears Prada.  I do hope it will have a more realistic and professional ending.  I mean, come on, so you hate your job and you had this epiphany that you suddenly don’t want to be there anymore but the professional thing to do would’ve been finish the project and then tender your resignation.

Maybe this plot line would have appealed to me years ago.  But when you are in your mid thirties (shhh, don't tell anyone.. my friends think I'm still 24), these type of stories just don't seem realistic anymore.  Sure, there will be times when you hate your job.  But if you are constantly feeling that way, maybe it's time to find another one? Also, there is nothing wrong with jobs that are “high-stress” or high stakes.  Yes, most people would prefer the laid back kinda jobs but I personally kinda thrive on the former. I feel a sense of pride when I finish a big project.  Sure, there were sleepless, stressful nights.  But when you see the end result, you get a sense of accomplishment.

Another thing with these types of stories is that the main character always sounds "whiny."  Like, “boohoo, I am the lowest person in the totem pole, I do all the grunt work, while they get to do all the glamorous stuff.”  And I'm like, grow up bitch!  If you want the top position, you gotta put in the work and pay your dues.  You are not Anna in Fifty Shades of Grey where your rich sugar daddy buys you a company so you can be the boss straight out of college. Aaaand! Another thing that these books seem to gloss over is that how much stressful it is at the top.  They make it seem that the boss lady just breezes in late, barks for coffee and orders everyone around and it’s all a bed of roses for them.  uhm.. that's not how it works in real life.  The higher you go up in ranks, the higher the stress level is.  If shit hits the fan, they are in the direct line of fire.  Owners/Founders/etc don't give a shit if the lowest man on the totem pole messes up, it’s the higher management that gets the brunt of it.  When I was in the lowest position in the job totem pole, my boss was always the last one out in the office that I sometimes get emails from her past midnight giving instructions for work.  Yes, even when I am already at home sound asleep, my boss was still working.

There. Rant over. I can’t believe I already wrote this much when I’m still a few chapters in.  They say don’t judge a book by its cover but I seem to be judging it by its first chapters.  Now I'll try to finish this book and hope that I am wrong.

Aaand the rant will continue.  I’m at the part where the boss is now introduced to the readers. And yes, it is very obvious that we are supposed to hate Demeter because: 1) She is "mean" to the girl who miscarried.  2) She is flighty and bordering on incompetent.  3) She asked Cat/Katie to dye her hair.  4) and so much more.  I bet you, later on in the book, she will magically redeem herself.  Hmmm.. lemme guess, her family life is awful?  absentee mom?  asshole hubby or kids?  But something will somehow magically explain why she is not a bitch after all but actually just misunderstood and all will be forgiven.  God!  I’ve gotta stop pre-judging this book before I even finish it.

Other random thoughts (ok, let’s be honest, these are more like rants) throughout the book:

• Her drunk friend Rosa accidentally telling Alex that Cat/Katie loves him? OMG.  What is this? High school? Hi, my friend likes you.  *rolling my eyes*

• Really?! Getting back at her boss by making up some stupid "bespoke" activity?  I highly doubt a grown woman would do this in real life.

• aaaand she does it again with the swamp bespoke thing! Full disclosure, I skipped most of this part as it's gotten ridiculous now.

• Hah! I was right.  I am now at the part where the readers are supposed to feel bad for the boss.  “She's not so bad after all.. her life isn't perfect..”  I was right, it has something to do with balancing work life and family life because women can’t have it all, right? SMH

• Now in Chapter 16.  I'm calling it.  Demeter is being sabotaged by her assistant.  All these talk about missing emails and the "I'm losing my mind, I must have dementia" thoughts.

• Thank god she chose her career instead of staying in the farm because that would have been such a cliché.  The book should've ended there, plus maybe with a budding romance with Alex.  Because the whole Alex declaring his undying love at the end of the book kinda feels rushed just so the main character can have her happily ever after.

I kinda thought that instagram would play a major part in the storyline from the book title and the book summary.  We all know how instagram life and real life are not always the same and I was looking forward to how the book would delve into this but it felt like the instagram angle was just an afterthought.

It's weird to give this a low rating given that Kinsella is one of my favorite authors.  She is one of the few that I actually collect printed books of.  I remember The Undomestic Goddess to being soo funny.  Did my taste change? Did I outgrow Kinsella? or did her writing style change?  To be honest, I wasn't too fond of the Wedding Night and I've Got Your Number was kinda meh.  Finding Aubrey wasn't too bad but it wasn't a typical Kinsella book.

How Does It End?

WARNING!!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!  READ THIS TO UNDERSTAND THIS PART OF THE POST.

Sarah and the 2 other office girls were sabotaging Demeter so she’d get fired.  Sarah, the assistant, was the main instigator because her boyfriend was fired by Demeter a couple of months back.  Sarah was sending Demeter fake emails from clients and replying on her behalf.  She made bogus appointments/meetings and cancelled real ones just to mess with Demeter.  Cat/Katie saves the day by recording them when they were out drinking.  Demeter gets her job back.  Surprisingly, she doesn’t offer Cat/Katie her job back but Cat/Katie gets an offer from another company.  Alex and Cat/Katie have an idiot plot moment that leads to Alex leaving for New York.  But the book has to have its happy ending, so I guess after a supposed appropriate amount of time, Demeter hires Cat/Katie in a higher rank/position (she accepts, of course) and the idiot plot has served its purpose so Alex will then confess his love for Cat/Katie.  And they all live happily ever after.  The end.