Reviewed by Y.W. Chun
After reading two other books by Jane Green, I approached Girl Friday (2009, Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin Books, 401 pages) with sky-high expectations.
The earlier books, Jemima J (published in 2000) and Swapping Lives (2007), entertained me so much that I sensed a possible addiction to Green's fiction. Had I discovered a master writer to rival Marian Keyes, someone with a light, funny and enjoyable style? I even sent my husband to scour local bookstores for Green's titles.
Then along came the author's new novel, Girl Friday. After securing a copy on a Friday evening, I felt excited, ready for a summer weekend of witty words. Not only were my expectations dashed, but any addiction has vanished.
The story sees 40-year-old Kit Hargrove coping with a recent divorce from Adam, her banker-husband. They had lived in Highfield with 13-year-old daughter Tory and eight-year-old son Buckley. After the breakup, Kit decides to be independent and seeks a job. An elderly neighbor, Edie, once a girl Friday to famous writer Robert McClore, recommends Kit to help the author with his fan mail and book research.
Kit had divorced Adam because he loved his job and worked too hard. He brought home work, traveled often, even on weekends, and insisted on throwing parties to impress clients or friends. For too long, Kit had felt lonely and ignored by her husband. They'd drifted so far apart that she no longer wanted to live with a high-flying banker.
Kit's best friend, Charlie, and Charlie's husband, Keith, are close to Adam too. Keith also worked in finance, but lost his job as the economy worsened. Yet Charlie continues power-shopping and buys new clothes for social functions to uphold her image as the wife of a well-paid banker. In fact, she decides to sort out the no-income problem.
Another friend, Tracy, owns a yoga center and has a complex history. After leaving an abusive first husband named Jed, she remarried and divorced again before arriving in Highfield. When bored, she “Googles” her first husband and finds him on Facebook. They correspond, meet again and he moves in with her. A schemer, Jed plots for Tracy to seduce the writer to secure money from him. As part of the plan, he befriends the girl Friday.
Within a few pages, I wondered if this farfetched plot really came from the same author I'd liked. Reading more only deepened my doubts.
Would a mother become furious that a teenage daughter borrows clothes? Does a banker's wife used to some luxury really divorce her husband just because he works too hard? What sane woman contacts an abusive ex-husband and invites him back into her life? How does a woman keen to seduce a writer 20 years her senior for money then decide that she loves him even if he's penniless?
The author devotes paragraph after paragraph to each new character, regardless of importance. The plot is unrealistic, silly and contrived. References to the global economic slump appear tossed in to make the book more current. There are too many silly conversations and needless remarks.
Green's once-fast pace and sharp humor appear to have vanished. Countless times, I examined the cover to doublecheck if this novel really came from the same Jane Green, born in London but living in Connecticut, whose earlier work I enjoyed. Girl Friday deserves low grades every day of the week.
Approval rating: 20 per cent.
For more information: www.janegreen.com
(June 26, 2009)
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