Book review: Sophie Kinsella, “Twenties Girl”
Fiction
English chick-lit writer Sophie Kinsella (the “Shopaholic” books, “The Undomestic Goddess”) conjures up a breezy and surprisingly poignant ghost story in “Twenties Girl” (The Dial Press, $26, 435).
Londoner Lara Lington has too much chaos in her life to deal with the funeral of the 105-year-old great-aunt she barely knew. Her business partner has dashed off to India, leaving their fledgling executive search firm in shambles. Her boyfriend, Josh, has suddenly dumped her, leaving her depressed and obsessed with figuring out where their relationship went wrong. Plus, she has unpaid parking tickets, a junky singleton’s diet and a horror of family occasions.
But her parents insist, so Lara finds herself attending the ill-planned service for Great-Aunt Sadie, who spent her last 20 years shut up in a nursing home with virtually no family visits. The funeral starts out as another nightmarish family affair – and it gets worse when Sadie’s ghost appears to Lara.
For reasons that are never explained, Lara is the only one who can see and easily hear Sadie’s specter. So, the demanding spirit insists her great-niece stop the funeral and impending cremation. Sadie – whose ghost is the feisty 23-year-old flapper she was back in the 1920s – claims she can’t rest in peace without her trademark dragonfly necklace, which has mysteriously vanished. And she wants Lara to help her find it.
As they hunt for the missing bauble, Lara finds certain advantages to having a ghost around, such as getting her invisible late great-aunt to spy on Josh and help with executive searches. But the apparition has a few demands of her own: Sophie cons Lara into asking out a stern American consultant so she can vicariously experience one last romance. Hilariously, Sophie insists that Lara wear flapper dresses and vintage makeup, order ’20s cocktails and dance the Charleston on these dates.
Despite some plot holes, “Twenties Girl” offers a witty romp with memorable characters, a solid mystery and some meaningful messages, particularly about how we regard the elderly. But the surprising bond - and the fun verbal sparring - between the neurotic, indecisive Lara and the confident, opinionated Sophie serves as the soul of this entertaining ghost story.
- BAM
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hi there, ma’am.
thanks for the great info.
i need to look up this book on the bookstore in my town.
i wonder if there is some of it.
;D
see ya later. ;D
I really love Sophie’s books. They are great!Such a terrific and hilarious novel.Um..’Twenties Girl’? Sound pretty interesting, huh? Thanks for the wonderful info and review. I’m really looking forward to it.Hope it won’t make my purse flat, anyway. Shopaholic series also fascinating, ppl!:-)
I love Kinsella’s books! I can’t wait to get my hands on this one.
If you love Kinsella, you’ll also love a new book called ‘Knickles and Dimes’. It has hilarious characters and a really great story. I’d recommend it!
Anyway, thanks for the review : )