The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

So much I could have gathered from the blurb on the front cover, and really there isn't a whole lot more plot. but then reality does have to be slightly suspended for the duration of this book. Actually, for such a total klutz in the kitchen, she seems to learn high-class cuisine with remarkable ease and speed. He rescues her (having a delightful mother who is happy to give cookery lessons and other advice) and gradually Samantha finds herself enjoying her new life, once she has learned the rudiments. He's the obvious hero of the book,and sure enough, Samantha finds herself desperately attracted to him. Nathaniel, the gardener, is not so easily fooled, however. Nonetheless, she decides she might as well go for it, and manages to fool her kind-hearted but gullible new employers. She has no idea how to iron, or even how to use a washing machine. She cannot cook anything more complicated than toast. Instead she finds herself being interviewed for the position of housekeeper, something she is entirely unqualified to do. Then for some strange reason she knocks on the door of a likely looking house in a small village, hoping for a glass of water. She over-reacts with immense shock, and runs away, unable to face her colleagues. Success seems to be in her grasp when she discovers, to her horror, that she has made a mistake. This is on the cards, and she is awaiting the decision day with trepidation. Samantha comes from a family of high-flyers, and her one dream in life is to become a partner at the firm she works for. she fills in a questionnaire for the therapist, which I thought was a very clever way to sum up her character quickly and succinctly. She doesn't want to be there, and she is in denial about her level of stress.

The main protagonist, Samantha, is an excessively stressed-out lawyer when we first meet her, trying to relax at a beauty therapist. I have to say, it's a remarkably unlikely tale. So when I saw 'The Undomestic Goddess', also by Sophie Kinsella, for 50c at a charity shop, I couldn't resist. I first read a Sophie Kinsella book (' Shopaholic and Sister') only a few weeks ago, and thought it was very well-written. I was surprised how much I enjoyed 'The Nanny' by Melissa Nathan, and 'Stage by Stage' by Jan Jones. I've discovered that books really shouldn't be judged by their covers, and that some excellent authors enjoy writing in this genre. I based this view on my reading of about two or three books in this genre some years ago.īut in the past eighteen months or so, I've begun to change. I have long held a rather negative bias against 'chick-lit'- those brightly-coloured paperbacks often found at airports or supermarkets, with light-weight storylines and (in my view) flat characters and unbelievable situations.

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella