This book has been responsible for me :- 1) Not noticing it was 3pm ‘til five past, consequently being late to pick my kids up from school, 2) Staying up far later than I should at nights, leading to tiredness, grumpiness and headaches, 3) Enjoying the advert breaks more than the brilliant At Home With The Braithwaites, only because I wanted to read The Book, 4) Not doing enough housework, cooking tea an hour later than usual, being annoyed that my friend was coming round and – worst of all! – not spending much time writing opinions on Ciao!!
And all because of this book!
The book which is so amazingly, wonderfully, captivatingly, endearingly addictive, that it has taken me over for the past three days and now I am lost without it. It is a book quite different to any other I have read before, but I’m not quite sure why. I think it is because the heroine isn’t someone I aspire to be, she is too ordinary for that, but she is very close to how I am in many respects. Let me explain a bit.
I now weigh 11 stone. Until a couple of years ago, I was slim, the
sort of woman that wore her Size 8 jeans the day after giving birth to her first child – yes, that was me. But I piled the weight on and began 2000 weighing just over twelve stone, the most I have ever weighed. I am not obese, I am about two or three stone overweight, but I am unhappy about it. Jemima Jones, the heroine of the book, is seven stone overweight. I can relate to most of what she is feeling, some of this novel could have been written about me – unfortunately, only the ugly duckling bits, not the beautiful swan.
Of course, you don’t want to know about me, you want to know about Jemima, but one of the most absorbing things about the novel is that so many women will relate to her plight and will be nodding with recognition at the familiarity of her situation.
Jane Green’s characters are all as well-rounded (Excuse the pun!) as Jemima. We get to meet her flatmates, Lisa and Sophie, two vacuous, but beautiful waifs. Geraldine, her work colleague, later her friend, Lauren – but it is not only the women characters who are expertly crafted and brought to life beneath our eyes. Although I would suggest the novel is more of a woman’s book than a man’s, the male characters are wonderful too – Ben, the gorgeous journalist and Brad, the Californian being the two leading roles – but even the less significant males are realistic.
True, half of the novel is set in Los Angeles, but even this part is believable. This is not the kind of gratuitous exotic location used simply to provide glamour, as we might find in a Jackie Collins or Jilly Cooper novel, but it is relevant to the plot and even the US of A is given the “warts and all” treatment. No rose-coloured specs on this author.
The novel is refreshingly modern (published in 1998) and very British. An American would be lost at the descriptions of homesickness for London, while Jemima is abroad and wouldn’t even begin to comprehend the pleasure a Brit can gain from returning to a homely, reassuring bit of rain! But I knew exactly what Jemima was feeling.
The novel appears to be travelling in a fairly predictable direction at times, but just when you think it is going in a particular direction, the author teases you slightly, tweaking events so things go off on a tangent. This is one of the main problems if you do not have the time to sit and read this book in one sitting. I am usually a casual reader, who would take maybe two weeks to read a book this size (450 pages), but I read the whole thing in three days. It is a page-turner and most definitely (that wonderful book lovers’ word) unputdownable.
While not wanting to give away the plot or the many twists and turns the author takes you on, I can give you a little taster for the story. You already know a bit about Jemima. She is overweight, dreadfully unhappy, works on a local newspaper and is madly in love with the adorable, perfect Ben, who is completely unaware of Jemima’s beauty – probably because Jemima is oblivious of it too. But when she discovers the Internet (which apparently opens up, literally, a world of communication – um, must try it myself sometime!), she ends up chatting to an American man who appears to love her for herself – but does not know she is much larger than she describes.
That is really all I can divulge, but believe me, you will love this book! I read about Jane Green in reviews on Ciao and it is on those recommendations, that I borrowed her books from the library. I have never yet read a review that was critical in any way, and I am certainly not going to change that here. I think this is a wonderful, brilliant, compelling book that I would recommend to everyone. I am looking forward to reading the other three of her novels, sat waiting for me on my bedside table. I’ll catch up with you all in a few days ;-)
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I finished this book yesterday Karen, and I loved every second of it! Jess x
Belle 18.06.2003 00:11
I've just finished reading this for the second time, and I love it too. I have just ordered another jane green novel, I can't remember which now (too tired!), but I really hope it's written in a similar style to JJ. Cheers, K xxx
Advantages: This book is; easy to read, entertaining, easy to relate to, funny, shareable and most of all true to life. Disadvantages: disadvantages?? umm... it's not long enough, there should be a sequal??
rosalyn 10.07.2001 (10.07.2001)
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Review of Jemima J - Jane Green
Feb 16th, 2001
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