FUN, QUIRKY, WELL-WRITTEN AND "LAUGH-OUT-LOUD" FUNNY ... IT'S ALL ABOUT BECKY ;) (The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella)

Member Name: ADDASTAR

Product:	The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella
Date:	02/09/09 (19 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sophie Kinsella's writing style, Becky Bloomwood more generally. It's heaps better than the film.

Disadvantages: Unfortunately, it seems the 'Shopaholic' series is no more.

I fell in love with Becky Bloomwood (the 'Shopaholic' of the title) and Sophie Kinsella's writing style simultaneously. Becky is warm hearted, impulsive and frequently misguided, though never ill-intentioned, and as a reader you sympathise with her as she lands herself in scrape after scrape. Kinsella's writing is "chick lit", yet patronises neither her characters nor her readers, assuming a respect for both that allows you to empathise with Becky and to actually care about her fate. Her style is sharp, fluid, incisive and frequently (and literally) "laugh-out-loud" funny, engaging in a way that makes it very difficult to put this book down until you reach the end (and to then bemoan the fact you may not yet have the next instalment in the series!).

A lot has been written about Becky Bloomwood and 'Shopaholic' in the context of the film of this book, largely damning Becky as a symbol of all that is wrong with our superficial, materialist society and "the youth of today". This is unfair. Yes, Becky's love of pretty things gets her into trouble and the book reflects the themes common to chick lit / being a twenty something female more generally (career crises, love crises, clothes crises, general crises), and our generation probably relates to her in a way that my grandmother's wouldn't (although I personally believe that most of these themes are pretty timeless, it's only the context that changes). Perhaps more importantly, however, this is a warm, humorous and highly entertaining read about the importance of relationships and the best means of being happy. I LOVE Becky Bloomwood, and I LOVE Sophie Kinsella's work (also check out her previous books, writing as Madeleine Wickham), whether I am on a beach, in a bus or plane or in the context of a grey, grizzly morning in a grimy, grotty part of England. Give it a shot - you may find you like it. ;)

Summary: Becky Bloomwood is a shopaholic. It's all about the scarves...