Books
by Sophie Kinsella
|
A Desirable Residence |
An academic couple who bought a Tutoring College as a financial venture have a house they can't sell, two mortgages, mounting debts, and a miserable teenage daughter who didn't want to move and whose cat has had to be given away. With this recipe for disaster, Kinsella (writing under her real name of Madeleine Wickham) has produced, with wit and wisdom, a light but most worthwhile novel. Lovely read for holidays and in the bath.
(Kathie Somerwil Ayrton - bwl 61 Summer 2011) |
|
|
Can you keep a secret? |
Kinsella as usual manages to hide common sense, good taste, moral message and sense of reality under a huge amount of feminine fluff for the general reader but alas, I suspect mostly for females...very original and if sometimes a bit much if one is not in the mood, the more one reads the more it grows on you and the home truths fall loud and clear...very entertaining.
(Kathie Somerwil Ayrton - bwl 47 September 2008) |
|
|
Mini Shopaholic |
With this mother and daughter shopping tale, this whole Becky Bloomwood Shopaholic thing is running rather thin. Kinsella has now tried every angle, more than once, making for too many repetitions but the pace is fast and the repartee fresh and sassy. For holiday reading, one can't go wrong but one ends up feeling that enough is enough, still it certainly has a cushioning effect after a hard day in the real world.
(Kathie Somerwil Ayrton - bwl 62 Autumn 2011) |
|
|
Shopaholic Abroad |
Becky, our heroine, goes her own lighthearted way without ever quite losing sight of life's realities, however she may stray from the straight and narrow her new bank manager has frowningly advocated. Girl-talk for girls of all ages but intelligent, aware and above all frivolous, for that moment in the bath or at the end of one's tether . . . virtual and vicarious shopping, what more does a girl want, especially in New York?
(Kathie Somerwil Ayrton - bwl 46 June 2008) |
|
|
Shopaholic and Baby |
Becky, now married, finds shopping for two even better, why didn't she think of this before? . . . and, whoa, a pram is ideal for carrying packages - at least one for country, another for town. Well-written, surprisingly intelligent - a tonic for difficult moments or an afternoon dip, with its warm, if a little spoiled, attitude to life's lighter side . . . There's nothing like Becky for a holiday read for anyone fairly or very frivolous.
(Kathie Somerwil Ayrton - bwl 46 June 2008) |
|
|
Shopaholic and SIster |
Becky returns from ten months honeymooning AND shopping to discover she has a long-lost half-sister. At last she can share wardrobes and cosy chats with a kindred spirit, something she missed out on as an only child. But oh dear, it transpires her sister is a frugal intellectual. Becky mystified but undaunted, ploughs on nevertheless. Clever, entertaining with a serious undertone for those who look. Another gem for Becky fans - other ladies: try harder!
(Kathie Somerwil Ayrton - bwl 46 June 2008) |
|
|
Shopaholic Ties the Knot |
For those Becky fans: slightly less frantic in pace this time, as Becky's quandary is even larger.... not only 'something old, something new, something borrowed... and something else new' but a fond mother and ambitious mother-in-law, both planning elaborate weddings on both sides of the pond...a not so subtle take-off on the hype of American wedding procedures...entertaining with solid values amongst the frivolity.
(Kathie Somerwil Ayrton - bwl 47 September 2008) |
|
|
The Wedding Girl |
Written under her real name (Madeleine Wickham) and not nearly as frothy as the Shopaholic series, this little novel offers sensible insights into human relationships and the heedlessness of youth. At eighteen, Milly thought everything was fun, certainly dressing up in wedding finery and getting married to help a friend. Ten years later, she had to face the consequences. Bubbly, with an unusual theme and a serious base - an ideal read for holiday and relaxation.
(Kathie Somerwil Ayrton - bwl 60 Spring 2011) |
|
|
|
