I have decided today will be chick-lit day and I will write a couple of book reviews if I have the time (and don't get caught not working!). So I am starting with "Jemima J", which is one of my favourite books. It is written by Jane Green, who has written about six novels since she started her writing career, and this is the second of them. As far as I'm concerned, it remains the best.
THE STORY
"I wish I were thin, gorgeous and could get any man I want. You probably think I'm crazy. I mean, here I am, sitting at work on my own with a massive double-decker club sandwich in front of me, but I'm allowed to dream aren't I?"
Jemima Jones is a lovely person and a talented writer. Unfortunately no one seems to realise that - all THEY see is the fact she is immensely overweight. As a result, she can only dream about working for a glossy magazine - instead she is forced to do the Top Tips column for the Kilburn Herald and is constantly overlooked for promotion to journalist by her sleazy boss. She loves Ben Williams, the deputy editor at the paper, but he sees her as nothing more than a friend. And her flatmates, the bitchy Sophie and Lisa, act as
though she barely exists, except for when they want a cup of tea.
If only she were thin, she constantly thinks. If only she was thin, things would be different.
But this isn't necessarily the case.
For Jemima DOES lose the weight. She becomes thin and glamorous, reinvents herself as "JJ" and goes to LA to meet her internet buddy Brad. He is gorgeous and perfect and they quickly fall into a relationship. But is he all that he seems? And why does Jenny, his overweight personal assistant, seem to hate her so much?
And can she ever truly forget Ben anyway?
Being thin just seems to be bringing a whole new set of problems as Jemima is discovering that people STILL don't look past what is on the outside, no matter WHAT your size!
THE CHARACTERS
I LOVED the characters in this book. Jemima herself was a fantastic character - the fact that most of the book was written in first person narrative meant that she was effectively CONFIDING in the reader, telling us how much it upset her to be fat and constantly ignored. We heard about her binge cycles, how she would buy bacon sandwiches in the morning and pretend they were for a colleague (although it was blatantly obvious they were not), how she would start off a diet with good intentions and fall off the wagon within hours, and how she would tell people she had thyroid problems and a slow metabolism because she felt so guilty about her weight. Then, when she DOES lose weight, we witness how she is almost uncomfortable with the way she now looks - the fact she no longer has her fat to hide behind. And then we watch as she develops confidence in herself and starts to take advantage of her new look. The other thing we see is her relationship with food, how she uses it to comfort her initially, and how as her life improves, she is no longer so reliant on it. Yet she still turns to it in her hour of need.
The writing occasionally skips into third person narrative in order to let us see other people's viewpoints. Although changing narrative is a fairly unusual style to use in a book, it works quite well, as it lets us see other people's reactions to Jemima, both before and after her weightloss. We particularly see this in Sophie and Lisa, who go from being fairly nice to her, if oblivious, to resenting her as she becomes a genuine threat to them. These two characters are fairly two dimensional, but provide a lot of the humour in the book as they are typical wannabe It girls who are masquerading as receptionists until their prince comes along.
The other two characters who get a lot of "page-time" are Ben and Brad. Brad is obviously too good to be true and pretty humourless as well as stupid (he didn't know who wrote "Romeo and Juliet") but we want to get to know him better so we can find out what is really going on behind the perfect facade. Ben is far more appealing - charming, good looking and NICE . . . ideal romantic hero material in other words. But clearly too blind to see Jemima is his ideal woman. Because, in an ideal world, she IS!
A slightly more minor character, but with an important role all the same, is Jenny, who is basically what Jemima was not so long ago- only more obviously bitter about it. It's an odd situation because Jemima has left the old "fat girl" behind but she can see that old self mirrored in Jenny, which makes her slightly ill-at-ease. Because now she is looking at Jenny and, while she is trying to see past the fat, she finds it difficult. Then again, that is possibly because Jenny is just so horrible to her! But then, she has her reasons. . .
WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK?
I love this book and read it at least once a year. Funnily enough, this is usually when I am trying to motivate myself to go on a diet. I think I identify with the story a bit because I did used to be a bit heavier and I know how weird it is to lose weight and not be quite sure where the fat has gone! But I don't think you need to have been in that situation yourself in order to appreciate this story. It is such a readable compulsive story that you'll eat it up the way Jemima vacuums up biscuits at the beginning of the book. It's quite obviously a rehashed Ugly Duckling story and can be a little unrealistic at times but the story and the characters conspire to make it virtually impossible to put down!
"Jemima J" costs £6.99 in paperback and you should be able to get it in most good bookstores, or online. You can also buy it in amazon marketplace from 10p.
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I love this book too. i first read it in the states and then forgot to bring the book back. Just HAD to buy a second copy and I often go back to it. Can identify with the character quite a lot! Di x
Belle 07.03.2005 18:31
LOVE this book! K xxx
ASIL1508 24.02.2005 17:11
This came out about the same sort of time as Bridget Jones ..... And personally, I think this is sooooo much better. A great story. Lisa :~)
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 22nd, 2005
(Feb 23rd, 2005)
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