The Undomestic Goddess

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Sophie Kinsella has sold over 40 million copies of her books in more than 60 countries, and she has been translated into over 40 languages. As Samantha clumsily navigates the unfamiliar world of domestic chores and learns to bake, clean, and garden, she begins to embrace the simpler joys of life. Along the way, she encounters quirky characters, including the eccentric yet endearing gardener, Nathaniel, and the Cook, who becomes her unexpected mentor. With their guidance, Samantha starts to discover there is more to life than power suits and corporate success. Your skin’s very dehydrated.’ Maya is shaking her head. She runs an expert hand across my cheek and rests her fingers underneath my jaw, looking concerned. ‘Your heart rate’s very high. That’s not healthy. Are you feeling particularly tense at the moment?’ What follows is equal parts fun and amusement as Samantha struggles to make breakfast has no idea about how to work the oven or the washing machine. OK. So sometimes I do feel a bit tense. Kind of pressured. But I’m a lawyer in the City, for God’s sake. What do you expect?

I proudly count myself as a sincere fan of Sophie Kinsella and have absolutely come to love every book of hers that I have read so far. Going into utter meltdown, she walks out of her London office, gets on a train, and ends up in the middle of nowhere. Asking for directions at a big, beautiful house, she’s mistaken for an interviewee and finds herself being offered a job as housekeeper. Her employers have no idea they’ve hired a lawyer–and Samantha has no idea how to work the oven. She can’t sew on a button, bake a potato, or get the #@%# ironing board to open. How she takes a deep breath and begins to cope–and finds love–is a story as delicious as the bread she learns to bake. The story is told in the first-person voice of Samantha Sweeting. There are no dull moments and a good pace is maintained throughout the book. Just hours before her long awaited promotion to partnership is announced, corporate attorney Samantha Sweeting learns she made a 50-million-pound mistake. Dazed and unable to confront the firm's principals, she boards a train out of London. Dropped off in the middle of nowhere, she asks for directions from a nearby country home, and this hilarious story of transformation from lawyer to housekeeper begins. Katherine Kellgren depicts the kind nouveau-riche landowners, Teddy and Trish, with exaggerated English accents. When handsome gardener Nathaniel makes it known he's ready for romance, this delightful, but somewhat implausible, story takes off. The narration is fast paced and the outcome predictable, but overall this is well done. G.D.W.

Ocr tesseract 4.1.1 Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 1.0000 Ocr_module_version 0.0.6 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA19873 Openlibrary_edition I did mention that I’m in a bit of a hurry,’ I say politely. ‘Are all these questions absolutely necessary?’ What redeems this book is the writing style. It's very easy to read. Kinsella has a good ear for dialogue and moves the story along at a steady pace. If you're looking for an undemanding summer holiday read then you could do a lot worse - Barbara Taylor Bradford's Emma's Secret or indeed any of her later work, springs to mind, but you could do better too. For something with a little more meat and style you could try Julian Fellowes' Snobs, Anthony Capella's The Food of Love or Maggie O'Farrell's After You'd Gone. We also have a review of Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella. Light and breezy . . . Samantha is eminently likable, and overworked readers will empathize with her glee at her first full weekend off in years.” — Christian Science Monitor She is someone who will appeal to all contemporary women – some will choose to agree with her while some may strongly detest her but I think all will agree that her character is quite relatable to contemporary working women.

I had so much fun charting Samantha’s comedy disasters in the kitchen, her battles with the ironing board, her gradual slowing down and relaxing and finding love… It’s a story of an uber-professional realizing there’s more to life than work, and starting to appreciate the little things. I didn't have any trouble staying interested and reading it from start to finish whilst on holiday, although I do agree that the ending became predictable near the end. Chapter Sixteen describes the experience of Iris’s kitchen and Samantha’s awakening to simple, natural miracles such as rising bread. What healing perspective does Iris impart to Samantha? If I’ve learned one lesson from all that’s happened to me, it’s that there is no such thing as the biggest mistake of your existence. There’s no such thing as ruining your life. Life’s a pretty resilient thing, it turns out.” I thrive under pressure,’ I explain. Which is true. I’ve known that about myself ever since . . . Well, ever since my mother told me, when I was about eight. You thrive under pressure, Samantha. Our whole family thrives under pressure. It’s like our family motto or something.Perfectly amusing . . . The Undomestic Goddessis a genuinely funny, sweet book. Kinsella is a comic whiz who consistently delivers what her readers crave.” — Miami Herald As the story unfolds, Samantha becomes entangled in a web of secrets and lies, fraught with the possibility of losing everything again. Throughout these challenges, she undergoes a profound transformation, discovering her own worth beyond her career, and learning the true meaning of success – finding happiness and being true to oneself. I’m . . . busy. Plenty of people are busy. It’s the way the world is. I have a high-powered job, my career is important to me and I enjoy it. The plot is well-conceived and delivered. My only qualm with it was that maybe too much of what happens in the story was revealed in the blurb. It does leave with you a tingling feeling that something more could have been done. It felt a bit flat as compared to the beautiful build-up which proceeded it.