Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsDelightful romcom with underlying social commentary
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 March 2019
Poor Katie Brenner has fallen victim to the idea that life has to be perfect, and everything she does is in pursuit of this impossible dream. Demeter is Katie’s boss and role model. Gorgeous, clever, successful, and with an Instagram feed to die for, Demeter has it all. She is also scatty, insensitive and treats her staff appallingly - but, hey, we don’t talk about the bad stuff and, anyway, isn’t that the price of genius?
When Demeter scuppers Katie’s career ambitions ... and along with them, her budding office romance ... Katie finds herself forced to return to the family farm in Somerset, a far cry from the bright lights of her precious London. Can she recover from this humiliating setback and get back on track to her ‘perfect life’?
I’ve read Sophie Kinsella since her early Shopaholic days and have enjoyed watching her novels evolve from straight, laugh-out-loud - but essentially superficial - romcom into more layered writing that encompasses serious themes, albeit in a lighthearted way. For me, her books just get better and better.
My Perfect Life is very funny in places, as you would expect from Kinsella, but it also delves subtly into a weighty topical issue: the ramifications of the modern obsession with social media and the false reality it creates. I personally enjoyed the interplay between the comedic and the serious, which is well balanced and adds extra depth to the narrative.
Both Katie and Demeter are convincing characters; stereotypes, perhaps, but women a lot of readers will relate to, and I think this always makes for an enjoyable read. The story doesn’t hold any surprises; you know from the beginning pretty much how it’s going to end up. I don’t consider that a failing, though, as the getting there is so much fun.
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