A contemporary romantic comedy, chick-Lit ~ 3.3 out of 5 Stars "I liked it"
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Media: Paperback
POV: First person
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THE UNIVERSE SENT ME THIS BOOK
This book came to me in an interesting, magical way. I love it when the universe serves up books to me. It has got to be the best way to discover new authors. To make matters even better, this one just happens to be another book I can add to my comparative titles list. Yay me!
I was sitting in my mother-in-law's lounge when I noticed the aqua and pink cover of Sophie Kinsella’s ‘The Burnout’. The vibe of the cover caught my eye almost immediately. I picked it up and noted the bottom left hand corner of the blurb-less back cover had “UNCORRECTED PROOF - NOT FOR SALE”. Now, as an aspiring author, this not only intrigued me, but instantly excited me. What could this pre-release copy teach me about the literary industry?
“Staying on top of things…. Just went to the bottom of her list.” is the ‘tagline’ for the book. It’s printed on the back cover, but in the same size font as the title on the front. Below that is a date: 12 October 2023 - which I am assuming was the launch date. Then there are barcode numbers for the hardback and paperback, and a note saying the Ebook and audio were also available. All of this was so interesting… so this must be how the industry markets a book? They send out samples globally and give all the details needed for the interested party to make an order.
What excited me most of all about the content on the back cover was the contact details of the person who was managing the publicity for the book. An email, full name, cell number and twitter account. Why was this so exciting? Because after 24 years in business I understand the importance and value of a network . I’ve developed a significant professional network (thousands of people) over the course of my current career and my network keeps me gainfully employed, which is useful when one has bills to pay and holidays to go on. However, after over two decades of working in the same industry, I’ve realised - I don’t want to anymore! I want to work in the literary industry and that’s the ten year plan. Alas, I have not one professional literary contact! And I know, if I am to succeed in a new industry, that needs to change!
This ‘not-to-be-sold’ copy didn’t have a back cover blurb, but after opening, I found one on the first page inside, opposite the inside front cover which held pretty compelling one liner reviews from some well known authors. “Left me giddy with laughter. I loved it.” Jojo Moyes. “The best kind of escapism.” Lucy Diamond as well as Red Magazine - a women’s fashion mag. “Life doesn’t get much better than a new Sophie Kinsella novel.” and ya know what… they’re right. It was not lost on me, how great my life was as I sat comfortably in a beanbag on the bow of our boat with blue skies and calm waters surrounding me. There were busy boats anchored around us, some had groups of adults all sitting around the cockpit tables, others had children laughing and screaming and I had what I believe most adults would dream of. I had all the time in the world, peace and quiet and a damn good book.
BLURB
“The irresistible new romantic comedy from the number one best selling author.
Discover the joy that awaits when you send yourself free” [note: this could literally be the tagline for my story (yet to be finished manuscript!).
“Sasha is well and truly over it all: work (all-consuming), friendships (on the back burner), sex-life (non-existent). Sasha has hit a brick wall.
Armed with good intentions to drink kale smoothies, try yoga and find solitude, she heads to the Devon resort she loved as a child. But it’s off-season, the hotel is falling apart and now she has to share the beach with someone else: a grumpy, stressed-out guy called Finn. How can she commune with nature when he’s sitting on a rock, watching her? Especially when they don’t agree on burnout cures. (Sasha: manifesting, wild swimming, secret Mars bars; Finn: drinking whiskey.)
But when curious messages start appearing on the beach, Sasha and Finn are forced to begin talking - about everything. What’s the mystery? Why are they both burned out? What exactly is ‘manifesting’, anyway?
They might discover that they have more in common than they think…”
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
The edition that fell into my lap is published by Bantam Publishing, an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House. Bantam publishing is one of 300 imprints owned by the Random House Publishing Group. There is also a reference to Transworld Publishing, which I believe links to the UK arm of the same global publisher.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I had no idea who Sophia Kinsella was, so I googled her. Turns out she’s the author of the book series that was adapted into the 2009 movie “Confessions of a Shopaholic” a favourite movie of mine, one that I had never even pondered the author of. I find it interesting to note that The Burnout cover doesn’t leverage that pedigree - if I was Sophie Kinsella and I was trying to sell as many books as possible, I’d have a starburst on the top right hand corner of the cover saying something along the lines of “from the author of the books that inspired “Confessions of a Shopaholic” - I mean why wouldn’t you? There’s latent value to be extracted from the audience who loved that movie, unless I guess - there’s some legal reason why she can’t link future books to that book / movie? As I read ‘The Burnout’ I couldn’t help but visualise some of the scenes and cast some of the characters.
ABOUT THE STORY
I read most of this book over a long weekend, lying in the sun on our boat. It was the perfect beach-read to wile away the hours in the most luxurious of ways; reading a book all day long, guilt-free, with no ‘to do’s’ nagging at the back of my mind. Nothing else to do except toast homemade sourdough, slather it with butter. Read, eat, and repeat as and when needed.
There is not much else that can compare to reading a good book, in the sunshine, while on holiday. It's absolute bliss.
I really enjoyed this story because I related to the main female character: Sasha and her burnt out demeanor - I’ve suffered burnout twice, the first time I cracked with an explosion of emotion. The second time I caught it just in time, taking evasive action to mitigate my desire to set the office on fire, or lose my sh!t at everyone or more probably, burst into tears which was how my first burnout experience panned out. I am consciously attempting to ensure I never burnout again, it's horrible and with perspective I now know it had a lot to do with me not setting healthy boundaries. But as we all know it takes two to tango and both workplaces where I was forced to resign for my health, due to burnout, were exploitative and toxic.
When you’re where Sasha is at, you cannot see the forest for the trees. You’re so in ‘it’ there’s only overwhelm. You often can’t even see that you’re not coping. You just go through the motions with no feeling - nothing is exciting - it’s just endless to do lists and frustrating problems. Sasha is stuck in that endless groundhog day rut, but like so many burnt out humans in this world, she doesn’t have the energy to figure out how to get herself out of it, that’s why there’s always a straw that breaks the camel’s back. That’s the catalyst that forces action. That’s the universe throwing you a bone. “Do something! Do anything! Just don’t keep doing what you’re doing, because that’s gonna kill you.”
Turns out Sasha also loves the ocean and finds philosophical meaning in the flow of surfing - just like me! I also really enjoyed Sophia Kinsella’s writing style, she’s comedic, and I laughed out loud several times, especially about Herbert the ageing bellboy who attempts to help Sasha several times, but who inevitably can’t help and ends up needing to rest a while and requires Sasha’s help, just to seemingly survive. Herbert Wainwright reminded me of an English version of Milton Glickman the ageing bellboy in the Michael J Fox classic ‘The Concierge’ (aka For Love or Money). And Cassidy, the entrepreneurial personalised thong sewing receptionist is an absolute dead ringer for Juno Temple, the actress who plays Keeley Jones in ‘Ted Lasso’ - a must watch drama series about an American gridiron coach who is hired to coach a premier UK soccer team.
Sasha Worth is numb to life. Her job as a senior marketer for Zoose, a travel app has become overwhelming. The nepotistic situation that is her incompetent boss (the app founder’s brother) fuels the fire that she is unable to douse in her usual self-medicating ways - the same dinner and breakfast order from ‘Pret a Manger’ and supplements that with wine and chocolate combined with self help books. Her personal life includes ignoring her dead pot plants who are unwilling shedding their leaves and the chaos that is her flat. All of this ends up leading to a breakdown of such proportions that she runs away to join a convent but her attempt to escape the brutalities of her workplace are thwarted by (what I’ve come to know is the standard and not the exception) a sociopathic HR wellness officer who gives chase, but results in a concussion and a short hospital stay for Sasha. Her doctor promptly assesses the situation and signs her off work and tells her to take a break.
Let the fun and games begin! Enter The Rilston, a rundown hotel with a John Cleese ‘Fawlty Towers’ vibe and out of control promotional app that spams the guests with incessant useless facts about Devon or invites them to events that no one in their right mind would want to attend. The place even has its own Manuel: Nikolai who is partial to reciting Polish poems that no one understands and has OCD tendencies when it comes to topping up dining guest’s water glasses after each and every sip.
There’s an enemies to lovers romance trope that provides the main plot under-pinned by childhood reminiscing that includes a mini-mystery - adding substance to the story, as well as a ‘finding yourself’ angle. All good stuff to create a feel good, easy read that definitely pulls at the heart-strings. Terry, a local legend within the beachside community, has dementia. He taught both Sasha and Finn (our MFC and MMC) how to surf when they were kids, along with thousands of other children. His guru-like approach to the ocean and the metaphor for how to approach life adds a deeper layer to the book. “The ride is it.” he would say. “What are you waiting for, go get it!”.
A counter argument to my recommendation above is that, it does feel like a whole lot of ‘not-very-much’ happens in this book. There were times when I was comparing it to my (yet to be finished) manuscript and thinking “Wow! My story has a lot more going on.” It’s actually relatively impressive that Kinsella found enough to write about the two burnt out characters having a holiday to recover.
CONFLICT
I found this element of the story lacking a little. The inciting incident is Sasha's emotional outburst and subsequent concussion and diagnosed breakdown. But the stakes aren't high. Well at least that's my perception of the stakes. Sasha stands to lose her job if she doesn't get her act together. But in my experience the best possible outcome is she does lose it, that way she can recover away from the place that caused the problem in the first place. I think the stakes could have been raised some how, and that would have added to the tension, but I guess you can't have it all in a book can you, and this one skews to humour which was thoroughly enjoyable.
TENSION
Low score on this element, but I can't help but wonder if that's the whole point of romcom literature? Isn't it suppose to not be tense? It's suppose to be easy, and enjoyable to read. Does every story need tension?
To be fair there's humorous tension between Sasha and Finn as they fight over their empty winter beach and the rock they both covet to sit on in their unique attempts to recover.
PLOT
It's a good plot, I think. 1. Work sucks balls. Sasha has no life.
2. Stress levels are sky high and breakdown occurs
3. Prescribed three weeks off work
4. Acts: decides to visit beloved childhood summer beach vacay spot, last seen 20 years ago - in the middle of winter... what could go wrong?
5. Everything goes wrong (fun and games)
6. Enter Finn the love interest (enemies to lovers)
7. Enter childhood reminiscing, and a sad tale of their childhood hero, surf coach Terry.
8. Love grows, life begins.
9. There's the inevitable lover's blip
10. Happy ending, that's funny and a real tear jerker.
THEME
I'm going to including this one on my comparative titles list because my unfinished manuscript also covers mental health, burnout, the healing power of nature and more.
I loved all the life lessons the two main characters remember learning from Terry their surf coach. As a surfer I can tell you that surfing is quite possibly the best metaphor for how to approach life.
There's also something in this book about finding and being your unashamedly authentic self. That doesn't mean being unprofessional, it just means giving yourself permission to do what's right for you and holding others to account when the overstep those clear demarcations. Healthy boundaries are my vibe!
TONE
It's humorous , light and entertaining. Not surprising because Kinsella, also knows as Madeleine Wickham - her real name, is no rookie to writing. She's sold over 45 million copies of her books (of which I think she has written 30 plus since 1995). She is published in over 60 countries, and her books have been translated into over 40 languages.
I also think she does a good job of dealing with the mental health theme. It's a serious topic that is affecting many people, but the humour she brings to it, makes it easier to digest.
SETTING
While I haven't given any points for 'time' because it's set in current day. It's a contemporary novel after all - I am giving 'place' points because I could visualise the cold, grey wind swept English beach - Kinsella did a great job bringing the place to life for the reader.
CHARACTERS
I'll start with the hotel staff - they are VERY 'Fawlty Towers, and rather one-dimensional, albeit funny one dimensional characters. Sasha seems real, with agency and motivation. There's a depth to her with her father's illness and death while she was still a child.
Finn is a little less real - he lacked personality and substance for me.
CLIMAX
This was an anti-climax for me. I actually had to think back and ponder what the climax was. I guess it's a dream of many a burnout sufferer. To finally be valued by the organisation that literally peeled strips of your soul away, day after day like some sort of torture, would be a nice end to the whole horrible burnout saga. However, I'm not sure I'd jump at the chance to head straight back into the hell hole, even if I was being promoted into my incompetent manager's role. I would have much rather the climax being something horrible happening to the business, like it collapses due to an error the incompetent manager makes, or it's pulled through the courts in a class action suit. Something where the people who have created the toxic workplace are finally held to account, and are made to squirm. Too much? Maybe, but that's how I feel.
By the time we get to Sasha's climatic rise to external validation - I the reader was kinda of over the whole job / burnout thing and was more interested in how Sasha was going to move forward with her life, not back. So yeah, there's that.
RESOLUTION
A happily ever after, can never be bad right? And this one delivers. I got emotional by the gathering for Terry, and just knew the 'other women' situation with Finn was not what Sasha thought it was. All in all, a good situation, with a sweet, well referenced ending, which linked nicely to the other little sub-plot romance.
RATING BREAKDOWN
ELEMENT | OF A NOVEL | RATING |
Conflict | The lifeblood of a story, creating Tension, launching Plot and evoking Theme. | 3 / 5 |
Tension | Something ominous, simmering under the surface. Comes to fruition beginning of Act 2 | 1 / 5 |
Plot | A strong plot is centred on one moment. Raising a dramatic question to be answered. | 4 / 5 |
Theme | An important idea woven throughout the story. Links a big idea about our world with the action of the text. | 4 / 5 |
Tone | The mood implied by the Author's word choice. The way the text makes the reader feel. | 4 / 5 |
Setting | Relates to the time and place in which the story is told. | 4 / 5 |
Characters | Are they unique, three-dimensional, with depth, personality and clear motivations? | 3 / 5 |
Climax | The most exciting part of the story, when the Conflict is resolved. i.e. when the dragon is slayed. | 2.5 / 5 |
Resolution | The end of the story, occurring after the climax, when we learn what happens to the characters after the conflict is resolved. | 4 / 5 |
TOTAL | | 3.3 / 5 |
GOODREADS STAR RATING SYSTEM
0 stars = Goodreads doesn't offer up a description for zero star ratings.
1 star = "Did not like it."
2 stars = "It was okay."
3 stars = "liked it."
4 stars = "Really liked it"
5 stars = "It was amazing."
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