Friday, April 03, 2009

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

I enjoy a fun piece of chick lit from time to time and liked many of the previous Kinsella-novels (and disliked a few of them as well), so when I was going to be air-travelling for some hours and needed something light for the plane-ride, this one was an easy choice. And it is an easy read, built on the trusted chick lit formula we know so well: confused gal in her mid-twenties/early thirties goes through some kind of (fun) obstacles and ends up with Mr. Right in the end. Nothing at all wrong with that formula, and I am not here to diss those who love chick lit. Like I said, I enjoy it myself from time to time.

This one is also relatively enjoyable, although I found it, well, farfetched in places. You can argue that most chick lit is rather far-fetched and that is why we read it, but alas, I enjoyed most of the book and found both heroine and Mr. Right to be charming characters (whereas I grew seriously tired of Becky Bloomwood of the Shopaholic-series and found her less and less likeable), which is always a plus.

Lexi, our heroine, wakes up with amnesia and minor bruises after a car-crash. She doesn't remember anything from the past three years, where her life for some reason has taken a turn from the standard-dreary-bleary London-life to life in the fast lane with designer clothes, yummy hubby, gorgeous apartment, killer good-looks and a killer-job. But the problem is - Lexi doesn't remember how she got this way, and when she finds out, that her old friends despise her she is even more curious to find out what the heck happened to her, and why she left her old life behind her.

Its fun, its light, and surprisingly enough I was actually eager to get to the bottom of Lexi's life and find out how she became this succesful yuppie, marrying a London-millionaire!

Had it not been a light chick lit-read, I am pretty sure another type of author would have been able to make a bit more out of those typical subjects: mother/daughter relationship, marriage/single life, rich/poor and so on. But this is not supposed to be too psychological and all that jazz, its just for fun.

The ending fizzed out and wasn't that good, but overall I can recommend this for a light read on the beach or something like that. Not into chick lit? Then don't read it, you will not find it amusing at all.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

I enjoy it from time to time as well. Although the trusted formula gets old if I read too many in a row! I wanted to say thank you for your message! I do wonder sometimes where people go when they aren't blogging. Congrats on trying to finish your thesis! I know that's hard work and I certainly understand! Don't feel obligated to comment - although they are much appreciated, I still have you in my google reader, so I'll always catch when you're back =)! Good luck!!

Louise said...

Thanks Kristina! It means a lot to hear from all of you. And anyway, I agree about the trusted formula....you don't want to read too many chick lit in a row...

Kathleen said...

Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a nice message. I haven't been keeping up with reading others blogs much either, things are crazy so don't feel bad.

Louise said...

Thanks Callista :-) I am looking forward to be able to keep up more.

Dorte H said...

Good luck to you, and remember that your thesis is much more important than blogging (though not nearly as funny, I know that).

And we will all be here when you pop in or come back - you´ll stay on my blogroll so I can swop down on you immediately when there are news from Lou´s pages :)

Louise said...

Thanks a lot Dorte, I cannot wait to deliver that darn thing (thesis) and at the moment I just want to finish it and get it over and done with. But I know that it is more important than blogging...It will much more fun to blog with a good conscience when the thesis is done instead of now, where I feel bad every time I am doing things which are not thesis-related! But I've taken this Friday evening off, though. So that I can up-date blogs and reading lists and all that....

Unknown said...

Thank you for taking the time to comment on my blog. Good luck with your thesis - we'll all still be here when you find the time to return. Have a great Easter!

Maree said...

I found Becky Bloomwood increasingly annoying as well, but I enjoyed Can You Keep a Secret? which was another standalone novel of Kinsella's. Nothing wrong with a little chick lit now and then.
Good luck with your thesis :)

Sharon said...

Thanks for commenting on my blog and what a nice blog you have. This has been a crazy busy time and my blogging has slacked off too, but not because of going to school. Good luck with your thesis.

I love Easter! Happy Easter to you.

Bob & Muffintop said...

Hello! Thank you for stopping by & saying hello on my blog. I have your blog in my feed reader so I can keep up with posts, but I'm a lurker & rarely post comments. I wish you all success with your master's thesis, I'm sure you'll be relieved when it's finished.

I've not read Sophie Kinsella, can you recommend a title to try? Something light & frothy?

Literary Feline said...

I've enjoyed the books by this author I have read. I hope to read this one someday. Kinsella's books are fun and entertaining. Perfect for a break from a thesis, eh?

Serena said...

everyone needs a good light read! I reviewed this one as well here: http://savvyverseandwit.blogspot.com/2008/04/i-wouldnt-want-to-remember-her-either.html

joanna said...

I really like Sophie Kinsella for when I need something lighter - especially the Shopaholic series. I really liked The Undomestic Goddess too, have you read that? I recently bought Remember Me? so it'll be coming up soon!!

Michelle Fluttering Butterflies said...

I read this a couple weeks ago and really enjoyed it as well. One you kind of need to suspend the disbelief, but fun. I ended up hating Becky Bloomwood, but like another commenter said I absolutely LOVED Can You Keep A Secret? I find myself turning to chick lit in times of chaos and crisis.

Serena said...

I've given you an award here: http://savvyverseandwit.blogspot.com/2009/04/zombie-chicken-award.html

Unknown said...

I can always rely on Sophie Kinsella for something entertaining on a plane or the beach!
I'm trying to visit all of my Followers this week. Some people are getting an error message "stack overflow" when they visit my blog, and others. If this happens, you can just empty your Temp or Temp Internet folder. Or try using Firefox as your browser. It is a quirk of Blogger and Internet Explorer that sometimes happens. I'm hoping this works out and you'll continue to visit!

Kate Diamond said...

The book has a very cute cover! I rarely read chick lit... not because I don't like light books (my primary genre is romance, after all) but because I like to know I can count on a happy ending. You don't always get that with chick lit.

Sherrie said...

Hi!
I have an award for you. Just come by my place and pick it up. http://sherriesbooks.blogspot.com/2009/04/two-awards.html Have a great day!!

Sherrie

Louise said...

Thank you very much, all of you, for your comments here and on my e-mail.

Penelope said...

I like to read chick lit at times, as well. I read this book and had very similar feelings towards it. Great review!

Dawn - She is Too Fond of Books said...

What a lovely honest review! I haven't read any Sophie Kinsella (including the SHOPAHOLIC books, which I've seen everywhere!).

I don't read much chick lit, but I like your endorsement of this being a good beach read; as long as I know what I'm getting myself into, I can set expectations accordingly.

Shelley said...

I loved the first Shopaholic book, but not the second. I think since you prepared me for this one, I might enjoy it.