Confessions of a Shopaholic (Shopaholic Series)
by Sophie Kinsella
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Book Summary Information
Author: Sophie KinsellaEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-11-04
ISBN: 0440241413
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Dell
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Book Reviews of Confessions of a Shopaholic (Shopaholic Series)
Book Review: A Delightful Cautionary Tale of Seduction and Redemption
Summary: 5 Stars
Sophie Kinsella has created that rarest of confections, a light and fluffy treat which is good for you. In the best tradition of chick lit, she gives us a heroine who is bright, beautiful, charming and decent, who carries with her a terrible secret. She is helpless in when confronted with a bargain, the perfect scarf, or a pair of zebra striped jeans, on sale. And her compulsion to buy send sher life out of control like tumbling dominos.
Becky Bellwood's has gotten herself on a good, if boring career track, writing for a financial publication. And her boredom with her job is off set by the seduction of power shopping. The author captures perfectly the rush of endorphins a trip to shops bring those who armed with too much credit, and not enough will power will recognize from the first chapter. And Becky succumbs to temptation like a barfly would to promise of just one drink.
Vaguely aware of the bills piling up, suddenly the reality of her situation becomes unavoidable, and she makes gestures of getting her finances under control. After a hilarious series of failed efforts to curb her spending habits...which ironically makes her situation worse, her desperation mingled with denial, finally corners her. Transparent lies and flimsy excuses litter her messy life. In Betsy's favor, her inherent honesty stops her actually stealing, and hurting those who care about her. With her back to the wall, her redemption comes when she stops self-obsessing and does something on concern for
others. In seeking justice for old family friends, new opportunities (and true love) become possibilities, replacing the emptiness which is often the aftermath of the thrill of the hunt.
In creating a story which many young professionals can relate to in our consumer society, Kinsella's heroine is easy to identify with. With so many falling to the trap of easy credit and instant gratification, the nightmare Becky faces is all too common. And her response to her situation isn't all that exaggerated. How she turns it all around rewards the reader who has stayed with her through the worst.
Summary of Confessions of a Shopaholic (Shopaholic Series)
Millions of readers have come to adore New York Times best-selling author Sophie Kinsella?s irrepressible heroine. Meet Becky Bloomwood, America?s favorite shopaholic ? a young woman with a big heart, big dreams?and just one little weakness.Becky has a fabulous flat in London's trendiest neighborhood, a troupe of glamorous socialite friends, and a closet brimming with the season's must-haves. The only trouble is that she can't actually afford it?not any of it.
Her job writing at Successful Savings not only bores her to tears, it doesn't pay much at all. And lately Becky's been chased by dismal letters from the bank ?letters with large red sums she can't bear to read?and they're getting ever harder to ignore.
She tries cutting back. But none of her efforts succeeds. Becky's only consolation is to buy herself something ... just a little something....
Finally a story arises that Becky actually cares about, and her front-page article catalyzes a chain of events that will transform her life?and the lives of those around her?forever.
Sophie Kinsella has brilliantly tapped into our collective consumer conscience to deliver a novel of our times?and a heroine who grows stronger every time she weakens. Becky's hilarious schemes to pay back her debts are as endearing as they are desperate. Her "confessions" are the perfect pick-me-up when life is hanging in the (bank) balance.
If you've ever paid off one credit card with another, thrown out a bill before opening it, or convinced yourself that buying at a two-for-one sale is like making money, then this silly, appealing novel is for you. In the opening pages of Confessions of a Shopaholic, recent college graduate Rebecca Bloomwood is offered a hefty line of credit by a London bank. Within a few months, Sophie Kinsella's heroine has exceeded the limits of this generous offer, and begins furtively to scan her credit-card bills at work, certain that she couldn't have spent the reported sums.
In theory anyway, the world of finance shouldn't be a mystery to Rebecca, since she writes for a magazine called Successful Saving. Struggling with her spendthrift impulses, she tries to heed the advice of an expert and appreciate life's cheaper pleasures: parks, museums, and so forth. Yet her first Saturday at the Victoria and Albert Museum strikes her as a waste. Why? There's not a price tag in sight.
It kind of takes the fun out of it, doesn't it? You wander round, just looking at things, and it all gets a bit boring after a while. Whereas if they put price tags on, you'd be far more interested. In fact, I think all museums should put prices on their exhibits. You'd look at a silver chalice or a marble statue or the Mona Lisa or whatever, and admire it for its beauty and historical importance and everything--and then you'd reach for the price tag and gasp, "Hey, look how much this one is!" It would really liven things up.Eventually, Rebecca's uncontrollable shopping and her "imaginative" solutions to her debt attract the attention not only of her bank manager but of handsome Luke Brandon--a multimillionaire PR representative for a finance group frequently covered in Successful Saving. Unlike her opposite number in Bridget Jones's Diary, however, Rebecca actually seems too scattered and spacey to reel in such a successful man. Maybe it's her Denny and George scarf. In any case, Kinsella's debut makes excellent fantasy reading for the long stretches between white sales and appliance specials. --Regina Marler
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