Recently a friend gave me this book for Kindle. I have to say it was a delight. 522 people have rated this book 4 1/2 stars at Amazon, so I am in good company. The Kindle version is available for $5.99.
Sophie Kinsella also wrote the shopaholic books.
The story
Emma Corrigan faces the usual difficulties of a young woman. She has a boyfriend who is perfect in every way, including looks, but he's not perfect for her. She has kept herself hidden in the relationship, and he thinks she likes everything that he does. Not! Her family is enamored with her cousin Kerry who can do no wrong, in their eyes, and is a successful businesswoman. She has, however, not treated Emma right.
Emma's job at Panther Cola involves the usual office politics, and Emma has her own ways of getting around them. No one takes her seriously, even her immediate boss, who has promised her a promotion, but has no intention of giving it to her. And she would like to have it as much for herself as a statement to her family.
Enter a business trip that isn't the most successful. Feeling sorry for her, one of the flight attendants upgrades her to first class (business) and she is seated next to Jack, a man who must be successful, mustn't he, to be in that seating also.
And then the plane hits enormous turbulence, and Emma in her extreme fear tells the man everything -- everything -- in her life -- her family, her doubts about her boyfriend, her job, things about the office, her roommates, her sex life, her weight, what her perfect date, she thinks, would be.
And it is very, very funny.
And then, as books do, while they part at the airport, they meet again in the office, for lo and behold he owns the company she works for.
And she is not to mention that she met him on a plane coming back from Scotland.
He knows everything about her, but she knows nothing about him. He is very secretive about his own life. And he becomes moreso as the book goes on. The speculations as to why are both serious and funny.
How the story is told
For the most part, the story is told in Emma's stream of consciousness. It is a testament to Kinsella's ability that we never tire of it. And it is very funny!
Along the way
Emma divests herself of her perfect boyfriend, gains her voice in many ways, and earns our respect and sympathy. She is spot on in her assessments of much in the office, and Jack becomes her ally as well as her lover. As he says, she is the only one who has told him the truth, albeit on the plane.
The sex
There isn't much. Most of it is off-screen and talked about in retrospect. And it is funny, and much like you'd expect with Emma.
My view
I give it 5 out of 5. I really enjoyed the humor, which isn't forced, in the book. I liked the resolution in the end. It was very satisfying and believable. There were a couple of twists and turns along the way.
Have you read it?
If you are looking for something light, yet with some deep concepts, with a lot of humor, you could do a lot worse than this book. Let me know if you enjoy it as much as I did.
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
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