The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

374 pages

Copyright 2005

A Dial Press Book

A Division of Random House, Inc.

New York, New York

I meant to bring this book along with me for our beach vacation, what better to sit on the beach and read than something quick, easy, and funny (i.e. British chic-lit). Instead I brought along what I was currently reading (a couple classics) and waited until I got home to start The Undomesitc Goddess by Sophie Kinsella.

My Thoughts

Although I was rather disappointed with the last book I read by Kinsella (Remember Me?), I decided to give her another try and I'm glad I did. I ended up enjoying The Undomestic Goddess. Although I felt some of the story was predicable, Kinsella did throw in a few twists that I didn't anticipate resulting in a story that was clever and funny with a fair amount of that warm-fuzzy romance that is typical of chic-lit. My only complaints would be with two aspects of the content and with the ending. The ending it seemed to drag out a little, I think Kinsella could have wrapped the story up a chapter or two sooner if she'd cut out some of the round and round emotions the heroine has, but otherwise she tied up the story quite nicely. As for the content, there are really only two downsides to the book. The first is the mild to moderate amount of language (typical of British chic-lit though not quite as heavy as in Remember Me? or Bridget Jones' Diary). And the second is the one mild-ish love scene (pre-marital), but there is enough hints leading up to it a reader can easily skip past it if they wish. Both aspects would probably make this book into a PG-13 if rated as a film.

Book Plot Summary (no spoilers)

Workaholic attorney Samantha Sweeting has just done the unthinkable. She’s made a mistake so huge, it’ll wreck any chance of a partnership. 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. But will her old life ever catch up with her? And if it does…will she want it back? (summary courtesy of the publisher)

My Summary

Overall I enjoyed The Undomestic Goddess. It's definitely a borrow vs. buy in my opinion and should be an easy find for most readers as it is a recent publication and by a still fairly popular author, especially since the movie adaptation of the first two Shopaholic books. On a scale of 1-5, 1 being horrible and 5 being excellent I would rate The Undomestic Goddess a 3 to 3.5, If it were a little more PG rated in its content I think I'd rate it a little higher, but for what it is -- I liked it.