Review: Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

By Taylor Dahl

Ever since Confessions of a Shopaholic, Sophie Kinsella’s name became synonymous with women’s fiction. After reading about compulsive shopper Becky, readers were hooked onto this new genre of fiction that was all about the leading lady, witty writing and attractive romantic interests. The number one New York Times bestselling author is back with a new, funny and romantic book, Remember Me?. This is Kinsella’s best work yet. It is smart and amusing, just like her previous novels, but the characters are far more complex and interesting than any other Kinsella novel.

Lexi Smart wakes up in a London hospital as a completely different person due to amnesia. Her body, hair and face look entirely different than the night before. The problem is, the night before was actually three years ago. Lexi has lost years of her memory and her best friends, but she’s gained a husband, a promotion, loft style living and an affair. Early on in the novel, Lexi concludes, “I’m twenty-eight, I have perfect white teeth, a Louis Vuitton bag, a card saying ‘director,’ and a husband. How the hell did all that happen?”

Reading Remember Me? is like reading a great mystery novel as Lexi uncovers family secrets, a loveless marriage, lost friends, a new identity and a corporate shake-up that could make or break her career. Lexi soon realizes that looks can be deceiving because her “perfect” life includes a husband named Eric who is very attractive and very dull at the same time, friends who are superficial and fake, and a closet full of boring beige and black suits. Remember Me? is Lexi’s journey to find who she is, who she was and who she will become. It is endearing, romantic and devastatingly clever.

Kinsella’s book is like watching a movie inside your head. It is laugh out loud funny with scenes so vivid and crisp, you wish that Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts were acting them out on the big screen. The most hilarious, disgusting and awkward scene involves something called a “Mont Blanc” that will have you laughing until the point of tears, while the most romantic and colorful (literally) scene involves a garden full of sunflowers that will make you swoon.

Just like the quirky ladybug dress that Sophie Kinsella sports on the back cover of her book, Remember Me? is a refreshing novel compared to the other tired women’s fiction books on the shelves today. Although it is very similar to the ABC series Samantha Who? this novel will remind readers that second chances are rare and you only get one life, so start living it.