My (not so) Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella

4.5 Stars

This was such a delicious story, I genuinely struggled to put it down to get on with real life.  This surprised me as the settings and the character exploits all feel a little surreal and overly contrived, plus there are no real surprises contained in the story at all.  The real joy comes from the wit and the warmth of the writing which pulls you in and simply refuses to let you go; no matter how peculiar Katie's life seems if you try and analyse it as a rational person you find that you really don't care.

Katie is from deepest, darkest Somerset and has always wanted to live and work in London.  Her chosen field is advertising and she ends up, via Birmingham, working for a branding agency that involves the boss from hades and an 80 minute commute.  Trying to rebrand herself to fit in with the life she thinks she should be living she changes from Katie to Cat, gets a disastrous fringe and becomes a bit of a doormat (if we're being honest).  Katie envies almost everyone in the office and thinks that every Instagram post is genuine, even though she lies in her own.  When her father and stepmother decide to turn the dairy farm of her childhood in to a Glamping site Katie gets on board with the promotion and takes a sabbatical from London.  Unfortunately, this is yet another book where a new business venture is an instant triumph (becoming a bit of a bone of contention with me is this one).  Can Katie be lured back to London?  Is Demeter (the demonic boss) really evil?  Is Alex the man of Katie's dreams or, as she fears, just a ship passing in the night?

Character development is generally good in the book.  This is particularly true for Katie and Demeter.  Unfortunately Alex is pretty much a cardboard cut out and the women in the office are every "Karen" the memes warned you about.  The book also has some gentle reminders that online existence is very different to the reality of the poster's life and not to believe the hype.  It's also a cautionary tale in people's perceptions of you.

Enjoyable escapism of the highest order!