If you want something a bit light hearted and very funny then this is the book for you.
If you want something a bit light hearted and very funny then this is the book for you. I found myself really warming to Kate and feeling sorry for what she has to go through with her kids and husband. I did feel as though I could slightly relate to her with her husband and his Bike collection. It really made me chuckle. I loved the story and what Kate gets up to and I shall be looking out for more of Allison Pearson’s books in the future.
https://echoesinanemptyroom.com/2018/08/23/how-hard-can-it-be-by-allison-pearson/
Funny and for some of us we can totally relate to this. A midlife crisis is no joke but the author brings this beautifully to life.
Kate Ready is coming up to 50- unlike me who is downsizing hours at work - she is returning but having to and having to lie in relation to her age. That I find difficult to comprehend where a lot of our workforce are 50 and above. Her husband is somewhere else, head buried in self help books and taking a sabbatical, her daughter is into social media the menopause and the aged Ps. Sounds somewhat familiar.
This book deals with what all of us 50 somethings are going through- although I am probably bonkers moving house and upsizing, maybe that is the menopause - I do not know. I was hopeful to read about her memory as I thought last week I had the onset of dementia - so through this book I can laugh at myself and the antics of this book. Makes me now feel a bit more "normal" rather than the usual "is it me?"
This book is a sequel but can easily be read as a standalone book.
Great sunbed read which was published June 2018
This book really touched a nerve. It was like holding a mirror up against my own life in a lot of respects. Totally loved it!
I haven’t read this author before and this is a sequel, however it was brilliant as a stand alone novel also.
The writing was fabulous, flowed really well. I wouldn’t be surprised if a little of this was biographical, as it could actually have been written about my own life in a lot of respects. Kate is a married mum of two, with a family dog, having just invested in a ramshackle old building which will be stunning once it’s finished. However, her husband decides he needs to ‘find himself’ after being made redundant and so after 6 and a half years out, Kate has to rejoin the London rat race, while still being a mum to two teenagers and fast approaching 50 AND going through the menopause. There are tearful moments and laugh out loud moments in this, but the thing for me, was I found myself constantly saying ‘yes! Yes, that’s my life, now how are we going to deal with this Kate?’.
Totally loved it, will be buying the first instalment and rereading this again lots. Happiness, thy name is Roy!
How hard can it be to return to the workplace at nearly fifty? Well Kate is about to find out, and her already chaotic life is set to get a whole lot worse!
So I feel the need for a quick disclaimer first. I am nowhere near Fifty (I am infact Thirty-Five) but I identify so easily with Kate Reddy and her chaotic life.
We meet Kate in a middle of the night crisis, her teenager daughter trying to frantically get her Mother's attention without waking her Father. The disaster is a 'Belfie' that has gone viral. If you are cool and down with the kids (which I am clearly not) then you will know what a Belfie is.
I am clearly no longer in touch with the digital world...
A belfie, is a version of a Selfie I suppose, but a picture of one's own bottom, rather than their face. I know right? Who knew such a thing existed? I digress. This middle of the night disturbance basically sums up Kate's chaotic life, as she struggles to cope with two teenagers, a husband clearly having a mid-life crisis and her own desire to get back to work.
But who would want to employ a near fifty year old?
In desperation Kate turns to her old employer. She applies for a position, knowing that she has lied about her age on the application, she is nervous, but knows that she can do the job, and its not as if anyone who worked there previously is still hanging around, who might know her real age... is it?
Kate's life may be chaotic, but it's about to get a whole lot worse.
How Hard Can It Be? is a delightful warmhearted novel, and I hope to hear more about Kate Reddy.
http://thewelshlibrarian.blogspot.com/2018/08/review-how-hard-can-it-be-by-allison.html
Funny but heartbreakingly real, written for us and about us- a deserved success for Allison Pearson. I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with Kate Reddy and her family.
I found that I had to repeatedly rebuy I Don't Know How She Does It, as every friend I passed it to loaned it on to another friend, so I do take credit for Allison Pearson's previous success in achieving sales targets!
When I was given the opportunity to review How Hard Can It Be? I was apprehensive. It had been a long time, I'd changed, I hoped Allison wouldn't try too hard to produce those witty, pithy, unforgettable one liners- but all is well, Kate Reddy has aged too. Sadly I can empathise all too easily with her life, those cringing and toe curling moments. I even laughed out loud on the train-I never laugh at books on the train! I confess I do try and hide the book a little if I'm sitting beside a man so he can't see some of the more, er, graphic parts of the story, the Berkeley Square scene... I have lived that moment and was with Kate all the way.
And that's the brilliant thing about this story, it's funny but it's real. I felt it was absolutely written for me and my group of friends (again!). Looks like I'm going to help Allison have another great success- and deservedly so. Thanks for writing it, it's for us and about us.