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These days, it seems like we live our lives through the filter of social media. We post only the pictures and stories that show our lives in the best light.
Perhaps there are a lot of people out there who would identify with how tired I am as a stay-at-home mom of two or how fed up I can be by my toddler’s tantrums and my baby’s constant crying.
But I don’t share those stories. I post adorable pictures of them in matching outfits. I check in to cool spots when my husband and I actually make it out. If I’m wearing something other than yoga pants, I want people to see it. Any pictures where I’m not happy with how I look can be instantly erased, with no one the wiser.
But this constant editing of each other’s lives make it so we never truly know the reality of what anyone else goes through. We only ever see perfection, and, after a while, that serves only to make us feel bad about the realities of our own lives because it is too hard to admit that what we see on social media isn’t really anyone’s truth.
Sophie Kinsella’s latest novel, “My Not So Perfect Life” focuses on the not so perfect realities behind our online lives.
If you aren’t familiar with Kinsella, she has been a mainstay of the chick lit genre since the mid-1990s. She skyrocketed to popularity with her “Shopaholic” series about Becky Bloomwood, financial journalist and obsessive spender.
While I’ve read the first few, I started reading Kinsella’s standalone books, eagerly devouring each fun plot, all of which star a plucky, lovable female lead.
Perhaps these sound a bit predictable, but I always look forward to them, especially as a beach or lying-in-the-hammock read.
“My Not So Perfect Life” is the story of Katie Brenner, who spent her childhood in the English countryside dreaming of life in London. “The Big Smoke,” as her widowed father called it, called to her from an early age, and she has finally made a home there after landing a job in a marketing firm.
Katie reinvented herself in London. She straightens her naturally curly hair, has perfected a special look with eyeliner and calls herself Cat. Her Instagram feed is filled with artsy pictures of the city and meals in fabulous restaurants.
None of it is real.
Katie lives in a small room in an apartment shared with two other people. The room is so small that most of her belongings are stored in a hammock hung above her bed. The flat is so far from work that her commute seems endless. She lives on a shoestring budget, unable to afford to eat out at all, and she buys all of her clothes in thrift stores.
And yet, she projects the perfect image of a rising branding star, even as she is stuck doing research work for the company. She is unable to tell anyone the truth from her father to Alex, the dreamy guy she met at work.
She hopes to one day impress Demeter, her fabulous, brilliant boss who seems to live a perfect life herself: designer clothes, handsome husband, two children, an incredible house and amazing vacations.
She wants to be Demeter one day and will do anything she can to make a good impression at work, anything from dyeing Demeter’s roots to pretending she can afford to attend a weekly happy hour with her co-workers.
But then, one day, Demeter fires Katie.
Unable to maintain her life in London, she returns home where her father and beloved stepmother are attempting to start a glamping business (aka glamorous camping) on their dairy farm. While desperately searching for a new job, Katie throws herself headfirst into helping her family turn their idea into a successful business.
The glamping business is finding its legs and starting to become successful when Demeter herself shows up on vacation with her family and Katie comes face to face with the woman who ruined her life in London.
Suddenly, Katie starts to see her former boss in a new light and must decide what she really wants from her life, whether or not it’s as Instagram perfect as she wants it to be.
The chick lit genre doesn’t always get the most respect from the literary world. There’s a lot of not so great novels out there. However, I keep coming back to Kinsella because her characters are realistic, the stories themselves are smart and her plots are reminiscent of the type of sparkling, screwball romantic comedy that old movies are filled with.
Katie’s life might not be as perfect as she wants it to be, but this book is pure relatable fun, and it’s served to inspire me to be more honest about myself and my life on social media.
