What do you do if you feel that life is passing you by while all your friends are out having the time of their lives? That is just the decision that Alex (27) has to make.
She is single, bored with her life and living with flatmates who are glamorous and successful. Her sister Gail is waif-like, ... Read review
Advantages: easy reading, fun Disadvantages: similar story to other 'chick lit' books
What do you do if you feel that life is passing you by while all your friends are out having the time of their lives? That is just the decision that Alex (27) has to make.
She is single, bored with her life and living with flatmates who are glamorous and successful. Her sister Gail is waif-like, pretty and has men eating from the palm of her hand (although she is intensely irritating). Keisha is a glamorous femme fatale who cannot ... ...Bronwen is so hip it’s a miracle she can walk!
What Alex would really love to do is make a living from sculpture. That is the only thing she is really good at. But, as she is finding out, sculpting doesn’t pay –well certainly not until you are dead, anyway!
So under pressure from her parents (who are paying her rent) she gets a job – a proper one. And a boring one. Well, it was boring until she ... more
What do you do if you feel that life is passing you by while all your friends are out having the time of their lives? That is just the decision that Alex (27) has to make.
She is single, bored with her life and living with flatmates who are glamorous and successful. Her sister Gail is waif-like, pretty and has men eating from the palm of her hand (although she is intensely irritating). Keisha is a glamorous femme fatale who cannot put a foot wrong at work. And Bronwen – well Bronwen is so hip it’s a miracle she can walk!
What Alex would really love to do is make a living from sculpture. That is the only thing she is really good at. But, as she is finding out, sculpting doesn’t pay –well certainly not until you are dead, anyway!
So under pressure from her parents (who are paying her rent) she gets a job – a proper one. And a boring one. Well, it was boring until she met the boss. Who of course is married. But when did that ever stop a girl? Alex decides it is time to put on a TDO (To Die Outfit) and go out and show the world just what it is missing.
The trouble is, the world does not seem ready for Alex. Despite serious shopping sessions (at Harvey Nicks of course darling) and a full makeover, things still don’t seem to be going her way. Then comes the wedding from hell. Things cannot get worse than this. Or can they…
This is the first book I have read by Louise Bagshawe. To be honest, I nearly ended up giving it to the charity shop. I received the book free with a magazine a couple of years ago and never got round to reading it. It was only after a bit of a clear out that I came across it again and it was destined for the charity pile. But an attack of boredom drew me to it and I ended up reading it in a couple of days!
The writing is funny, sassy and all too realistic, with the addition of a few sex scenes thrown in for good measure! Although I haven’t been in Alex’s situation, I found I could really identify with her feelings and empathise with the situations that she found herself in.
The content may seem familiar to many other books of a similar genre (girl fancies bloke, gets bloke, loses bloke, finds someone else and so on) but that doesn’t detract from this particular story. I think this is mainly due to the style of writing – the pace doesn’t let up and comedy is mixed with tears throughout. The ending is also suitably satisfying!
A thoroughly readable and enjoyable book. Perfect holiday material – one I would certainly recommend for reading on the beach! At 312 pages long it will keep you occupied for a day or so!
The copy I have was published by Orion. The first publication was in 1998 and it was reprinted in 2001.
Louise Bagshawe was educated at Oxford, although now lives in New York. She has also had 4 other novels published.
Advantages: about as readable as a book can get Disadvantages: none
This is the first Bagshawe book I have read, but it certainly won't be the last. I bought the book by chance in a charity shop for 99p. It has to be one of the best 99p's I have ever spent.
The story revolves around Alex, a failing artist who, at 27, is embarrassed to be relying on her parents for support. Alex lives with Keisha, Bronwen and her younger sister Gail, all of whom are glamourous and cool, and make Alex feel 'like Fergie, only less ... ...four.
Insofar as the physical aspects of the book are concerned, I found nothing to complain about. The book retails at 5 pounds 99p - not too much to pay for a bestselling author, but, as I did, you can easily get it for less if you are willing to shop around. In total there are 397 pages of medium sized print, so it's not long enough to get boring, but not so short that you feel cheated. The book is clearly printed and well laid out, so it's easy ...
biccy99 29.11.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Venus Envy - Louise Bagshawe
Advantages: Funny and enjoyable read Disadvantages: Not the most original plot
I got my copy of Venus Envy free with a magazine that I bought, I'd never heard of the author and immediately thought that it must be a load of drivel if they were giving it away for free. However as I have a half hour train journey to and from work every day and spend a small fortune on books to read to occupy me during the journey I decided to give it a go, and I was pleasantly surprised. Far from being a load of drivel I found it to be a witty ... ...free in a magazine.
Venus Envy tells the story of Alex, a failed/wannabe sculptor who has been forced into a 'proper job' by her parents with the threat of having to return to live with them if she doesn't take it, and her 3 flatmates - her younger sister Gail, and the two others Bronwen and Keisha. The book, unsurprisingly, follows the girls lives and lovelives. Alex feels inadequate compared to the other 3 who she feels are glamourous, cool and ...
hawleydv 27.06.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Venus Envy - Louise Bagshawe
I bought this book as soon as it was released, as I was a huge fan of Louise Bagshawe's other books - The Movie, Career Girls and Tall Poppies. I wasn't disappointed with this one either.
The story centres around Alex and her glamorous and successful flatmates and friends. She's single and bored. And to make matters worse, fancies her boss. When she hears that an old school friend is getting married, she hopes that this could be a perfect escape ... ...turns up, makes a play for the groom and the boss that Alex is in love with turns up with his wife! Of course, Alex gets the blame for all that disasters that occur!
Louise Bagshawe is an excellent writer and this book is as brilliant as her others. I was bought her new one, A Kept Woman, for Christmas and can't wait to start reading that one. ...
Sam-Hay 25.01.2001 (24.01.2001)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Venus Envy - Louise Bagshawe
Would you read it again?
Story
Characters
Readability
How does it compare to ...
How does it compare to ...
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "Venus Envy - Louise Bagshawe"
Advantages: Thoroughly good read Disadvantages: Nothing
Bagshawe*
Career Girls
The Movie
Tall Poppies
VenusEnvy
A Kept Woman
When she Was Bad...
The devil You Know
Monday's Child
Tuesday's Child
Sparkles
I bought this book in Hardback for £12.99 (as a book this size is best read in Hardback). It has been out since last year now so can probably be bought a lot cheaper. You can try Amazon or Tesco's. ...
Advantages: Good characters, escapist literature Disadvantages: Unrealistic, doesnt seem overly thought out
't supposed to reflect real life 100%.
"Glamour" is a great novel, but not my favourite one by LouiseBagshawe. The unbelievability someone tarnishes the book for me, but if you enjoy an escapist novel sends through highs and lows, and across the world, you will enjoy this novel. The novel wasn't publicised heavily, it wasn't even mentioned on Louise's website which I thought was quite odd. However, it is worth a read for Bagshawe fans. Another thing to note is that the hardback is not a huge book as most hardbacks are, it is only marginally bigger than a paperback novel, which is handy if you are travelling and reading this one!
Other novels by LouiseBagshawe:
Sparkles
Tuesday's Child
Monday's Child
Career Girls
The Moive
Tall Poppies
VenusEnvy
A Kept Woman
When She Was Bad
This book is selling RRP £12.99 , but can be purchased ...
Advantages: Okay holiday read. Disadvantages: Predictable, characters not likeable.
- A Kept Woman and The Devil You Know - are by far superior to this.
None of the characters in 'Tuesday's Child' were particularly likeable. In my opinion, a good book should make you feel some sort of emotion towards the characters whether it is liking, loving or hating them, but at the end I really didn't care what happened to any of them.
I think the main problem was that LouiseBagshawe tried too hard to make the female character different to your typical female lead in a romance and lost the plot of the story. Hopefully her next book will be up to her usual standards.
----Other titles by LouiseBagshawe----
Career Girls, The Movie, Tall Poppies, VenusEnvy, A Kept Woman, When She Was Bad?, The Devil You Know, Monday's Child.
Currently the book is only availbale in hardcover, but the paperback is due for release on 29 ...
They live in a flat in Hampstead: Bronwen, the trendy clubber; Gail, Alex's infuriating younger sister, a health freak and budding novelist; Keisha, the TV researcher determined not to be fenced in by a relationship. And Alex, our heroine, back in London after being dumped by her glamorous LA boyfriend. Though she's more or less solvent, Alex's life isn't getting any simpler, thanks to her dreary City job, lack of dates and spending money, and her infatuation with her very charming, very married boss. An invitation to the wedding of an old school friend and the brother of her old friend Tom seems like the perfect escape - until super-babe Snowy turns up and sets her cap at the groom, the charming boss turns up with his immaculate wife, and Tom takes it into his head to blame Alex for the ensuing disasters. See all Product Description
Compare Venus Envy - Louise Bagshawe to other similar Modern Fiction Books »
