By: Sophie Kinsella Publisher: Bantam Press Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Format: Import Label: Bantam Press Number of Pages: 352 Publication Date: February 11, 2008
Kudos to Sophie Kinsella for taking a soap-operatic topic like memory loss and turning it into a fully non-cliched book! Not only that, she takes the usually flat genre of chick-lit and brings in a massive dose of suspense, leaving the reader positively on their toes trying to find out what happens next. While many chick-lit books may have interesting plots and plot twists, none of them really brings in an element of mystery, from what I've read so far, at least. It was slightly difficult, although necessary to the plot, to read about the snobbery of life as a high-upper, but again, that was the entire point of the book, to make the reader feel as uncomfortable as Lexi must have been. The ending was great--I'm sure everyone expected, particularly by the misleading summary on the book cover, Lexi to regain her memory. Kinsella brings her memory back, but only a flash, and the subject of the tiny flash is what makes it so poignant. The novel would have been destroyed had Kinsella brought her entire memory back, it would nullify the point of the whole book--Lexi finding herself. The most notable aspect of the book to me was the abundance of amazing references that, for once, I actually understood. I think this contained the most amazing HP reference ever, as well as good ones to The West Wing, Coldplay, and 'Bad Day' (it really truly WAS the song everyone was singing back then!)
Rating: 4.5/5
Excellent audio edition. Very good story...superbly read Twenty-something single Lexi Smart has a life that is going nowhere. She is not very attractive, her career is nothing great, and her love life is lackluster at best. Then, running for a cab, she falls and hits her head and wakes up three years later stunningly beautiful, super-successful, and married to a "perfect" man. But she has no memory of the past three years! Lexi is thrilled she is living the life she has always dreamed of...but is it all too good to be true?
I like this book with its deft blend of humor and heartache, along with a budding romance and an intriguing office quandary. 'Remember Me?' is in company with some of Kinsella's best works - which for me include 'Can You Keep a Secret?' and the original 'Shopaholic'. I listened to this one on audio CD and was hooked right from the start. Reader Rosalyn Landor (who is superb and is a favorite of mine) skillfully handles a wide range and age of characters, has excellent comic timing, and really knows how to work one's emotions. I often had a lump in my throat while listening to Lexi's travails.
It is Kinsella's story itself, though, which earns most of the credit. Lexi Smart is a winningly imperfect heroine, and I was quickly consumed with how she got where she was and where it all was heading. I veered between laughter and tears over the absurd circumstances in which Lexi found herself, the off-the-wall behavior of the supporting cast, and the heart-wrenching situations she was forced to endure. While the romance element is fine, it is Lexi's journey of discovery that really makes this book. And I like the message as well.
Fast read, but lacked emotional resonance I'm a fan of Kinsella so pushed my way through this novel, but I'm happy I got it as an ARC and didn't actually have to pay for it in hardcover -- I was disappointed. The exploration of relationships (romantic, familial, friendly, etc.) is a tenant of chick lit, I think, and I found this book to be lacking in pretty much every area.
Main character Lexi is, to me, a wholly unlikeable character -- both before she's in the accident and after. Once a dowdy woman lacking direction and enjoying good times with her girl friends, she wakes up one day smack in the middle of a beautiful life without any recollection of how she got there. Involved in a terrible accident seven years earlier, Lexi has been living a sort of "fantasy" life ever since then -- and now she can't recall any of it.
While the book was light and humorous, I still wanted more depth from the characters. I know not every novel is going to change your life, but I wanted more from Lexi -- and more from her friends, more from her emotionally vacant husband. I just couldn't inhale it the way I wanted to.
Couldn't Put it Down! I own and have read all of Sophie Kinsella's books, and this woman has yet to disappoint me. Her writing is so funny and sharp, and her characters are always so realistic, even the over-the-top ones, like Lexi's husband, Eric. I found myself in Lexi's position, wanting to love Eric, but ending up completely repulsed, and vice versa with Jon. I also loved the added twist of all her BFF's hating her, but having her win them back. The scene with the muffin basket is unforgettable!
Ms. Kinsella, if you're reading this (doubtful!), you're my absolute hero!
Soap Opera Book Reviewers said, "funny" "inspiring" and "romantic" yet I felt as though I was reading a soap opera. I knew what was going to happen before it did happen, expected the outcome and finished the book uninspired and looking for a Days of Our Lives episode.
If you want fluff to forget your woes, read the book (or watch Samantha Who) but if you are looking for spark, romance, and a little tear jerk action, look elsewhere.
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