Book Review: "Something Borrowed"

Having read the likes of Sophie Kinsella and Cecelia Ahern when it came to the popular yet frowned upon genre of chick-lit I wanted to venture into deeper waters to find the wonders (or not) of this much enjoyed area of fiction. It didn't take me long to look up  and find a list of renowned authors and their remarkable work, I only had to decide which one to pick.

Right now I have in my book shelf some added names like Jane Green, Marian Keyes, Jennifer Weiner, Jen Lancaster and Emily Giffin to give Kinsella and Cecelia some company.

I started with Emily Giffin's Something Borrowed as the synopsis had me very interested.

Rachel White is a lawyer in NYC who hates her job and is single.., at thirty. She is the quintessential good girl, always playing by the rules somehow never getting what she wants. Darcy, her childhood best friend presents a complete contrast in being an extrovert; a beautiful  and spirited girl who has to have everything her way. It's a love-hate friendship as we see through the story how the simple Rachel puts up with the annoyingly narcissist behaviour of her best friend, never standing up for herself. Always letting Darcy have her way with everything, be that a bag pack or a boy crush. That is until she crosses the big 3 0. After one too many drinks at the birthday party Darcy throws for her, Rachel decides to throw caution to the wind and finds herself spending the night with Dexter; a handsome, amazing guy, her long time friend from law school, and Darcy's fiancé. Yikes!

She finds herself being attracted to and falling for a guy she should run from; what with her being the maid of honour for their wedding that's to take place in only a few months. Everything changes when Dex confesses his true feelings to Rachel. What follows is their secret affair that is considered a relationship since they both are in love, except for the tiny bit of him being already engaged. To her best friend.

Rachel is a girl we would all like; simple, plain and with a sweet disposition who truly loves Dex. I would hate my protagonist to be one, but Rachel is a doormat. The way she leaves the fate of her love life and friendship in the hands of Dex, and is ready to live with whatever he decides made sure I wouldn't include her in my list of favourite female protagonists.

The characterization of Darcy makes it very difficult to like or sympathise with her. Darcy's selfish and shallow character makes us root for Rachel, who has always been in the shadow of her effervescent best friend. She's a very trying character, annoyingly self-absorbed . She walks the planet like she owns it, believes everyone to be a puppet in her hands. Although there were times when you could tell that she has a good heart deep down, you soon realize it's way too deep to wager and probably lost for good. I happen to know a few people who resemble her so much that it was evident she would find no sympathy from me.

Giffin surely has the ability to take what we normally would look down upon, infidelity, betrayal etc and romanticize it. One of the characters puts it aptly when she says the world is not that black-and-white. The world has no moral absolutes. It's a good story, with relatable characters and a skewed yet likeable plot. Light, fun yet smart, this book is a complex and engrossing narrative about friendship.

On the whole, a good addition to the my women's fiction list. I haven't got around to reading the sequel, Something Blue, it's still sulking in my book shelf so I better be good and finish it.

Can You Keep a Secret?

Long ago I’d spent almost an entire year reading just the English Classics, from the Brontë sisters to Jane Austen, from Alexander Dumas to William Shakespeare, from W.Somerset Maugham to O.Henry, J.D Salinger, George Elliot etc(one year, 365 days, has to be a long list!) I was craving for a change from it and I happened to come across Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella. After a year of spending time in the countryside of England, in the stately manors where the only entertainment for the young was dancing at the balls, playing on the pianoforte et all, I was in for a refreshing change. I love the classics mind you, but then a genuinely funny, light read novel was the need of the hour and this book fit the bill.

The story starts off with Emma Corrigan (the heroine), on a plane ride back home from a disastrous meeting, blurting out her most embarrassing secrets to the stranger sitting next to her. This due to a turbulence in the plane causing great panic which leads her to think there’s going to be a crash and she’s going to die. Safe landing, a very much alive Emma Corrigan and a very amused stranger (who wouldn’t be when you tell them all about your…).

But to her surprise she finds that the very stranger is the CEO of the company she works in as a Junior Marketing Assistant! The fun begins when she also finds out that he remembers every single secret of hers! What follows is their many funny/awkward encounters, Emma Corrigan’s place in her family, her snob of a cousin Kerry, her office crisis (boss who won’t give a raise, colleague who treats her like another paperweight on her table etc), and her ‘perfect’ boyfriend Connor.

This story might be just another addition to the style of chick-lit fiction but I found it quite entertaining, probably since this was the first of Sophie Kinsella’s that I read. Yes it has a dash of the fairy-tale element to it but hey who says fairytales are only for kids?! The part where we read her deepest secrets is the best because it suddenly dawns on us that even though they’re plain silly we too have a number of such secrets which we would NEVER share with another soul although they are very very petty and insignificant. Oh and not to forget, the happy ending! I enjoyed it much more than the rest of Kinsella’s books, for after reading the entire Shopoholic series and the rest of her books I found a repetitive pattern in them and the same formula was being used which got a bit tiring to read.

This book is a light, funny, quirky and enjoyable read that will make you feel all warm and fuzzy. For all those who think age does not necessarily shatter the illusions(illusions with a probability of turning into reality maybe!) that you endeared as a child, and it doesn’t stop you from enjoying a pleasant read, Can You Keep a Secret will prove to be just that.

It’s been more than two years since I first read this book, but even now when I feel like reading without troubling my grey cells I almost always pick this book again.

Happy reading!

Monday Movie Marathon!! ♥

A Monday like no other indeed! With a mug of coffee and Sleepless in Seattle!!! And oh did I mention I absolutely LOVE romantic comedies!.. One place, no, the only other place apart from books where you always find happy endings and the best guys ever… I’m not the romantic kind, oh no I’d end up having a fit of laughter if reality was anywhere close, but movies I don’t mind, I totally love them!...Melodrama looks good as long as you know it’s made up. Hypocrisy? No, it is knowing what is and what will never be.

Whatever my views on the emotional sensitivities of the world in general, I totally love to watch it on screen or read about it in books, and genuinely like them even. There are a couple of movies that I’d watch over a million times and never once feel I’ve had enough (Ok maybe not a million but you get the idea). Oh no not the overdose of emotions with unnecessary weeping, unrealistic events, over the top icky romance, no that’s downright pathetic. Those are just plain dumb, exaggerated a little too much for normal sensibilities to live with.

Easy going movies with the perfect ending…♥

I love the idea of a lone heart with just a cat for company finding herself in the middle of a big adorable and loving family, a fiancé she always had a crush on and eventually finding the Mr. Right one Christmas (While You Were Sleeping).

How a single day, even if nothing seems to go right, can turn out to be the best ever (One Fine Day).

Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are always so good together, be it in ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ or ‘You’ve Got Mail’.

And the Classics! Witnessing Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet putting aside their pride and realize they’ve found in each other what they’ve always been looking for (Pride and Prejudice). When the proud Miss. Emma Woodhouse realizes that her heart, which she had been sure would never love, is no longer in her power, and her fate in this matter is now uncertain due to her own misdoings; the dangers of misconstrued romance! And then to see Mr. Knightley fix it all is a delight (Emma). The stately manors, the lush grounds, the carriages, the balls…the feel of 19^th century England…who’d think any different?!

A good start to my week surely, Monday morning blues? SO not for me!