March 16, 2008

Right off the bat, I should admit that I generally detest chick-lit. The 20-something heroines, the wealthy love interests, the contrived searches for the perfect relationship and the trite endings — I hate all of it. I used to think that the instant I picked up one of ‘those’ novels my brain would turn to mush. At its worst, chick-lit is boring, repetitive and frothy. At its best though, the writing is witty, bold and slightly irreverent: see Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones Diary. Finding these gems amidst a market flooded with formulaic titles and pink covers is no easy task. Alongside the standouts (The Devil Wears Prada, The Nanny Diaries) is Sophie Kinsella.

Kinsella’s status as chick-lit icon originates from her hugely popular Shopaholic series. Chronicling the adventures of Becky Bloomwood, an ‘irresistible, one-woman shopping phenomenon’, the series is now up to five books at last count and have masses of fans worldwide. Including me. Kinsella writes with wicked humour, buoyant charm and an undeniable optimism — that not only seduced me, but one or two of my male friends as well (although they would never admit it publicly).

I have spent exorbitant amounts buying the hardbacks (I never buy hardbacks), waited in line at a Borders so I could meet her (she’s lovely), and hounded friends to return the books to me (at last count Shopaholic and Sister is still missing). Kinsella’s runaway success with the Shopaholic series has fuelled the popularity of her standalone novels as well, namely Can You Keep A Secret?, The Undomestic Goddess and her newest release: Remember Me?

Remember Me? is the story of Lexi Smart. She wakes up in a hospital bed after a car accident thinking its 2004 and she’s a 25-year-old in a dead-end job with a crappy love life (she’s dating Loser Dave and no, that’s not a nickname) and crooked teeth. But it’s actually 2007. She’s 28, the director of her old department at work, has perfect teeth and is married to a smokin’ hot millionaire. Lexi has no idea how she suddenly landed the perfect life since retrograde amnesia has wiped out her memory of the last three years.

As she leaves the hospital with Eric, her husband, and moves into her super-posh palatial flat, Lexi greets this brave new world determined to be the person she… well, seems to be. Her new life however, comes complete with secrets, schemes and intrigue. Why are her old friends ignoring her? When did she suddenly stop eating carbs? And most troublingly — who is this adorable architect Jon?
 

So I don’t know anything about my husband or life. The point is I’ve married a good-looking multi-millionaire who loves me and has a huge penthouse and brought me taupe roses. I’m not going to throw it all away just because of the small detail that I can’t remember him. Everyone has to work at their marriage in some way or another. I’ll just have to work at the remembering-your-husband part. — Excerpt from the book
 

Lexi rapidly learns that there’s a lot of work involved in dressing like a supermodel while being both the perfect corporate wife and a highflying executive. Let’s also not forget the fallout from her appearance on a reality show that jumpstarted her new life. While her memory shows no sign of returning, Lexi keeps discovering new clues and the questions surrounding her become more mystifying than ever: ‘I thought I was getting to grips with this new life of mine. I thought it was all starting to make sense. But now it’s like everything’s slipping and sliding away. Fi says I’m a bitch-boss-from-hell. Some guy says I’m his secret lover. What next? I discover I’m an FBI agent?’ As the gaps in her memory pile up, Lexi agonises over how on earth this happened? Will she ever remember? What will happen once she does?

Kinsella has used a familiar frame for Remember Me: setting up Lexi’s perfect dream life and then proceeding to poke holes in it. Having your protagonist discover their real self only after giving up commonly-held ideals of success is English Lit 101 material. Kinsella — chick-lit maven for a reason — doesn’t do anything radical with the plot (you can see the ending 200 pages away) but imbues her story with her trademark humour and appealing characters.

Lexi is lovably neurotic, endearing herself to readers through her mishaps and quirky inner monologues. ‘Maybe in a previous life I was Joan of Arc and I got tortured horrifically to death. Or I was that guy out of Titanic. Yes. I drowned in a cruel freezing sea and I never got Kate Winslet, and this is my reward. I mean, people don’t just get presented with a perfect life for no good reason.’ Although Lexi captivates, the rest of the supporting cast meets with varying success: Eric, her husband is insipidly bland while the sexy, scruffy Jon is ultimately clichéd as an artsy-bad-boy. The only other memorable character amidst this lot is Lexi’s sister, Amy: who has a fresh, arresting voice and attitude to match. Kinsella’s characters this time around seem rushed and are mere caricatures compared to Becky Bloomwood and Emma Corrigan who generated cult followings.

Despite all this, Remember Me is a page-turner. I finished it in a matter of hours and some research reveals that most other readers did as well. It’s not as inspired as Kinsella’s other works, but holds a certain lighthearted charm nevertheless. Diehard Shopaholic fans will consume it and feel satisfied… but not for long. They’ll soon be clamouring for the next installment of Becky’s adventures as that is evidently where Kinsella’s strength lies — not in these standalone novels. Millions of sales worldwide have proved that love it or hate it, chick-lit is here to stay. You may as well read the best that it has to offer — it can prove remarkably entertaining. And that’s coming from a converted cynic.
 

Remember Me?
By Sophie Kinsella
Bantam Press, London
Available with Liberty Books, Karachi
ISBN 0593053893
352pp. Rs895
Reviewed by Seher Hussain