Reviewed by Chun Yin Wah
Fans of author Sophie Kinsella, especially her Shopaholic novels, may decide that Shopaholic and Baby (2007, Bantam Press, 364 pages) reads a little like a miscarriage. Did the author run out of creativity for imaginary shopping sprees?
The formula holds steady, consistent with her previous books, Shopaholic Ties the Knot, Shopaholic Takes Manhattan and Confessions of a Shopaholic. Protagonist Becky Bloomwood, a shopping addict, believes that buy-buy-buying can cure anything, including morning sickness. Now she shops for two.
Pregnant with a honeymoon baby, Becky's so hooked on brand names that when hearing how Venetia Carter, an obstetrician, only delivers celebrities' babies, she's intrigued. Of course, she decides to dump her own obstetrician and get Venetia to see her, hoping to gain celebrity status and a photo in Vogue magazine.
Craziness deepens when Becky learns that her own husband Luke dated Venetia back in university. Oddly, Luke hadn't mentioned Venetia to Becky. Pregnant and prone to emotional swings, Becky starts to suspect her husband of having an affair with Venetia. There's evidence, she thinks: his distant moods, a mobile-phone text-message from Venetia in Latin, their meetings without inviting Becky, and Venetia's visit to the house for drinks, also in Becky's absence.
Becky hires a private investigator who reports that Luke isn't such a virtuous man, that he attracted some sexual-harassment complaints. Did the investigator pursue the right man?
Meanwhile, Venetia tells Becky that yes, she and Luke still love each other and that Luke will leave Becky once the baby's born. When Becky confronts her husband, he dismisses Venetia as part of the past while Becky represents the present. He explains his distant moods as due to financial turmoil at his PR firm.
Could Becky's “smart move” in hiring a private investigator still have positive results? Will Becky and Luke stay together? Will they have a boy or a girl? Can they live happily together?
Shopaholic and Baby delivers easy reading for quiet afternoons. Although not the author's best work, it still has amusing moments. Just don't “max out” a credit card to buy it.
Approval rating: 65 per cent.
For more information: www.sophiekinsella.com
(March 19, 2009)
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