Remember Me?

Author: Sophie Kinsella
Publisher: Dial Press (Random House)
Released: September 29, 2009
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Author's Website: http://www.sophiekinsella.co.uk/

Lexi has a crap life, but good friends to help her through it. When she falls after a drunk night and wakes up to find herself three years in the future after a car crash, in a body she hardly recognizes because of all the work done on it, with a husband who is a stranger to her, with an executive position, with alienated friends and a reputation of being a "bitch-boss-from-hell," Lexi is lost. She tries to get a handle on her new life, on who she's become, but it turns out she doesn't particularly like who she's become.

I read this book a while ago, but I'd forgotten most of it. That added an interesting factor to the way I read the book - about a girl with amnesia! It was so much fun as new characters came onto the scene and I was like "oh, I remember you!" Knowing vaguely the way things turn out but not having a clear picture of what was going on was great.

Sophie Kinsella's style is amazing. It's crisp, funny, and sharp - like Lexi. She has a way of describing things so that they jump off the page and are so vivid that they almost become real. There's humor, sure - she's a comedy writer, after all. But there's also emotion and depth, as her characters feel deeply about things, as Lexi struggles to find herself. It's a real story, not just a fun ride.

It's a really great way to ponder choices and paths in life - what would my now-self say to my three-years-from-now-self about my choices? For that matter, what would my three-years-ago-self say to my now-self? The drastic change from nice-girl Lexi to the Cobra, and the way she wakes up into the life of the Cobra with the attitudes of nice-girl, showcase what a person could do to himself without realizing it. Sophie Kinsella presents this with a real understanding of what could happen. She seamlessly fits the old Lexi into a high-powered, unfamiliar life, and I love the way everyone's reactions are spot-on to the way they would have known her, whether they are from her old or new life.

For the second time around, I really love this book. It's a wonderful book to curl up with, and it also leaves you thinking - a winning combo!