| Product: |
I Don't Know How She Does It - Allison Pearson |
| Date: |
11.09.06 (129 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Good read, funny and sad
Disadvantages: None
“I Don’t Know How She Does It” is a novel by Allison Pearson about Kate Reddy a fund manager and mother of 2 small children. It’s described as “A comedy about failure, a tragedy about success.” Kate’s main problem is there is not enough hours in the day to get everything done that she needs to do. She works long hours trying to prove to her male colleagues that after having a baby her brain still works and she is still capable of doing her job. Meanwhile her children long for her to be there to put them to bed and to read them a goodnight story which more often than not she isn’t home in time to do.
On top of all this she has a manipulative nanny who gives ever increasing demands which Kate must meet or risk losing the person she trusts to take care of her children. Kate is caught in a difficult relationship with the nanny she often finds herself jealous of her children’s relationship with the nanny but knows she cant be there herself to be the mother she would like to be. Something has to give.
Her relationship with her long-suffering husband becomes gradually more strained as the novel continues. He earns less than Kate does which is a bone of contention to begin with and Kate gets annoyed with him when he doesn’t do things the way she wants.
This is a novel about the working mother, however it is a very exaggerated example of most working mothers but I do not doubt for some people it might be quite realistic. It’s a novel which is both funny and sad. You find yourself sympathising with Kate at times as she struggles to be a good mother and at other times you want to shout at the book and wish that she would get her act together and realise what is important. There is also some really funny points in the story, it opens with Kate “distressing” Sainsbury’s mince pies for the school carol concert to make them look like home-made because she doesn’t have the time to bake but doesn’t want to lose face with the other mothers.
In the book we see several examples of mothers competing with each other. The “stay at home” mothers try to prove that giving up their career has meant that their children are educationally and psychologically superior. Meanwhile the “working mothers” try to prove that they can still be good mothers despite working full-time.
At the end of the each chapter Kate makes a list of things she needs to do, as the book goes on more and more things are added to the list but many of the things never get done. This is exactly how Kate’s life is, not enough time to get things done.
On top of Kate’s already hectic life she accidentally acquires an “e-mail lover”. Her relationship with her husband becomes more strained and her children more demanding. One thing is for certain she can’t juggle all these things without letting something fall. To find out what she has to let go of you’ll need to read the book. It’s an enjoyable read about a different subject for a novel and there are a few surprises along the way.
Published by Vintage in 2003
ISBN – 0-099-42838-5
Pages – 354
Price - £5.59 from Amazon but I got mine for 80p from a Charity Shop!
Summary: A story of a working mother who never has enough time in the day
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