Confessions of a Shopaholic

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella, 2001 (312 pages)

I enjoy reading Sophie Kinsella's books. This is the first book in the series featuring Rebecca Bloomwood. Becky is a legitimate shopaholic (hence the title). The basic premise of this book is simple; Becky's spending habits are completely out of control. She is overdrawn on her bank accounts and all of her credit cards. Creditors are constantly sending her letters and leaving her phone messages, which of course stresses her out. However, when she gets stressed out...she shops and the problem is compounded. To add a bit of irony to the story, Becky's job is that of a financial journalist. She makes her living writing articles in a financial magazine, giving money advice to other people.

This is what I've noticed about Kinsella's books. The problems faced by her characters are sometimes not very realistic, but in this book, they are. Lots of people can relate to the stresses caused by poor financial management. However, the solutions to the problems in Kinsella's books tend to be completely unrealistic...and that's the case here, too. There were many times throughout the story when I really wanted to give Becky a good slap and tell her to wake up and stop what she's doing. And yet, I found Becky to be a likeable character. Even though she is completely addicted to shopping and is making terrible decisions in her life (and tends to get completely caught up in unrealistic fantasies...like being absolutely sure she's going to win the lottery in order to solve her financial problems), she has moments of brilliance and compassion.

So although there are lots of elements of this book that are unrealistic, I still really enjoyed it. It's a quick, easy read that occasionally made me laugh. And it was a nice little escape into a world that is completely different than mine. I haven't seen the movie, although from the commercials I've seen for it, I get the impression that several elements were changed from book to movie (as is usually the case). I have a feeling that I'd like the book better. :)

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Total number of books read in 2009: 21

Total number of pages read in 2009: 7827