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I finished ‘Shopaholic and sister’ last month, so it was time for the next in the series, ‘Shopaholic and baby’, which I previously read in 2012. I hadn’t remembered anything about it, other than that it was mostly about Becky’s pregnancy rather than her life as a new mother. She had just discovered that she was pregnant at the end of the previous book, so this one is set not long afterwards.
Naturally, Becky - a compulsive shopper - is excited at the thought of new purchases for her baby, even quite early in her pregnancy. She peruses catalogues and visits shops and specialist showrooms… she’s in the fortunate position of being married to a wealthy businessman, Luke, who doesn’t seem to care what she spends on baby equipment.
So Becky goes a little crazy, and there are some places where I even laughed aloud as she considers pros and cons of different prams and other essentials, determining that she needs several of everything. One of her books has told her only to buy a few basic clothes for a newborn, but she’s not going to be tied to that… this baby is having designer clothes and every possible extra.
To house all this equipment, and because the baby is coming - and because Luke has a new, lucrative contract - they start house-hunting and eventually discover the perfect place. The only problem is that someone else has already put in an offer.
Meanwhile Becky’s sister Jess is convinced that she’s given up her passion for shopping, and that she’ll be happy to make wipes and clothes from scratch. And her parents are very excited at the thought of their first grandchild.
Luke wants Becky to go to his family obstetrician, but Becky’s seen a more modern clinic, and adverts for a woman called Venetia who delivers babies for celebrities. She persuades Luke to visit this other place… and learns that Venetia is an ex-girlfriend of Luke’s, from their college days. She also becomes increasingly sure that Venetia would like to get back with Luke… and that Luke seems quite keen on her, too.
There’s a whole lot more in this book, which is admittedly fluffy and silly in places, but has some depth too. And I haven't even touched on the subplot involving Becky's workplace. She is extravagant and can’t resist special offers, but she’s also observant, intuitive and extremely kind. She leaps to conclusions too quickly, and tries to hide some of her purchases, but she is loyal and caring. I like her very much.
The narrative is punctuated by letters to Becky from banks and investment advisors, which add a bit of extra humour; they’re a clever device. There are also a couple of letters from a classics lecturer, which I found more amusing than I should have done.
The writing, in my opinion, is excellent. The pace is just right, and the plot of this one kept me wondering what exactly was going on. Sometimes it’s clear to the reader that Becky has the wrong idea about something, but in this book it was hard to know. I found the story - and the various subplots - so interesting that I finished this in not much more than 24 hours, despite it having nearly 450 pages.
When I first read these books, it was over the course of a couple of years as I acquired each one, mostly second-hand. This time I’m rereading them in order, at a rate of about one per month (in between other books). I wondered if I would find them too samey, but somehow each one feels fresh: ‘Shopaholic and baby’ is the fifth in the series, and I’m already looking forward to rereading the sixth.
This series is not for people who like books with responsible heroines. But if you’re willing to suspend reality somewhat, and enter into Becky’s somewhat chaotic life, I would recommend the series. Each book stands alone, but reading in order builds on the previous narrative, and I’m enjoying them even more.
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