I don't know how she does it: The Life of Kate Reddy, Working Mother by Allison Pearson

What's the book about?

This is the story of a working mother and how she "juggles" her life. Katy is a fund analyst, and apparently she is very good at it. She has 2 kids and a husband that love her, although they barely see her; a nanny that gets better benefits than she does; a housekeeper that can't do much and barely no social life. This is the story of how she tries to make everything work.

What was different of this book?

I guess that what makes it different from other chick-lit books is that it touched a couple of "sensitive" topics. Other than that, I feel like it was pretty much the same formula that we always have: heroine has a problem, but she also likes shopping, and is oh so hard to do everything in heels, but she does it at the end.

 

What about the main character?

I did not like Katy at all. Look, I know I am not a working mother, but I am a woman working in a (still) men dominated environment. Although there is more an more female professors in the institute right now, it still feels like a boy club. So I get the part that raising in your work as a woman is hard. That said...Katy puts everything on her shoulders and then complains that she has to big of a burden. Her nanny practically abuses her and she says nothing, but when a friend's nanny does something as reproachable her first advice: Fire her. Do as I say not as I do. All along is like that. She wants people to understand that is hard, but does everything in her power not to let it show. I get that the main competition we always have is with ourselves, we always want to do better. But you can't complain and complain and do nothing about it.

The fact that she mothers EVERYONE!

And while I'm talking about Katy, let me tell you about Richard, her husband. Do I know that men are wired different that women and hence process information differently? Yes, I know that. Do I think that Richard is a big incompetent? Yes, yes I do. Partially Katy's fault for patronizing him. But is like he is oblivious to what's happening in Katy's life and since the situation doesn't work to his liking, he takes the simple (IMO) way out.

The 10% moment

Although I passed through the 10% of this book like a breeze, I was already saying to myself: she will change, right? She will awaken and then show them all...she did at the end kind off to something cool...but I was so mad at her for 3/4 of the book that it wasn't enough

Final thoughts

I will expand this thoughts later, but you guys...this books was ok, just ok. So much that I actually, for the first time ever, liked the movie better than the book. They took the best moments (in my opinion) and built a whole new panorama with characters that I enjoyed far better than the ones in the book.