Has anyone read 'I Don't Know How She Does It' or 'The Rise and Fall of a Yummy Mummy'?

Oh yes - and The Serial, remember that? - 1970s Marin County. Cyra McFaddyen (sp?)

I'd love to get my hands on that again.

I thought May Contain Nuts was one of the most disappointing books I've ever read ArcticRoll, and you have pinpointed why. Its author's professional expertise in one kind of writing made it a complete failure as a fully realised novel.
Episodic writing can work brilliantly - as Armistead Maupin, Dickens, Alexander McCall Smith and Helen Fielding have all shown. And initially Allison Pearson's column was wonderful.
I wonder if she has never written another novel because she is a writer of real talent and realises that How Does She Do It just did not work in novel format. Despite being a huge commercial success.

Interesting point made earlier (sorry can't recall poster) about these books and other in this genre being written by journalists.
They seem to be string of observations but lacking credible characters and decent plot.
Read the Allison Pearson one ages ago and recall being really annoyed at the daft plotline at the end of the novel.
Felt it was similar to John O'Farrell's 'May Contain Nuts'-again quite funny observations about competitive parents but lacking in charactersiation and plot.
I wonder why Allison Pearson hasn't written another novel since?

Maybe, or maybe they're still hunting for partners.

Still makes me sad for them, especially since I know a lot of them did want a family life and the biological clock is ticking very heavily now.

Most of the peopel at my school reunion have been on crime stoppers!

People who come on college reunions will mainly be those who want to show off about their careers anyway.

I was just reading the list of attendees for my MBA ten-year reunion.

It's pretty sad to see how many of the women with "great careers" don't have partners or children.

If that's the price of professional success, it's way too high for me.

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I have read both books and enjoyed them actually. Bit silly in parts but it's only a bit of light reading isn't it?

I have tried to read Rachel Cusks - a life's work, but just do not get it at all. Very odd [thicko emoticon]

I haven't read either of these two books as I always thought it wouldn't be my type. But I picked up a copy of "Camberwell Beauty" by Jenny Eclair about the friendship between two working mothers. It was an easy read, grotesque story in parts.

What people write theses on is an intriguing subject, though, isn't it? I am of the camp that feels there is something to be said about just about any cultural construct - but I am then quite gimletty about what is actually said - ie, it's got to be Really Worth Saying. You know, LRB style.

(I myself have done two theses - one on that bulge of Victorian conversion/slum/morbidity children's books (Christie's Old Organ etc., it was called "Pity the Poor in Their Proper Place") & one on metamorphosis in Blake (it was called "Thought Chang'd the Infinite. To a Serpent" and the stray full stop was relevant). Come on you lot, confess what yours were on.)

I work with a woman who just had the one kid, and she actually admitted to doing something really similar to the mince pie thinga t hier childs school fete...

she is quite sad though!!! and I can actaully see her do it!!

All those ads still represent women as pretending they've made the M&S ready meal themself, just after they've done a full day's work.

The mince pie thing kind of buys into that I think. I don't know any woman who does do the pretence thing - if they bought it from M&S / Mr Kipling they say so

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Hi,

I have just read theone book - I don't know how she does it, and I laughed till I cried. Being a workig mum in London with the commute stuff to boot, I thought it was a brilliant read, with lots of true points in there, so much so I too had to read some bits out to DH so he could understand why I sometimes act like I do!. It was a lttie far fetched in places, but I thought it was pretty representative... although am in agreement she was a little weak at times!. Must try the others you all mention if they are a good read - for entertainment value if nothing else!.

Luscious

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Yes I wasn't convinced by the mince pie scene. It was funny though. But would only apply to a loony and so made the work/ life balance thing look like an individual (neurotic) woman's problem, rather than a genuine issue.

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litgirl - i read i don't know how she does it and felt it to be truely representative of a generation of working mothers, i laughed and cried and then gave it to my dh to read so he finally could see how i felt as a working mother, it made us have a fairly frank discussion about roles/ responsibilites and why i personally thought that everything i did had to be done brilliantly - particularly like the mince pie bit - have been guilty of same myself.

"and the hugely boring truth is that reality just involves a shedload more dreary compromise than would sell a novel"

Bink: How wonderfully true. I'm sorry to hear about your lowered spirits (from the iPod thread), but they do seem to have produced some inspirational Mnet contributions!

Three not thre

I've read both of these books, and thought they were great. Infact i've only just finished the yummy mummy one, and i've now started reading one called "You'll never Nanny in this town again" I'm only thre chapters in, but i'm hooked already

decaf - tips on how to get over thinking I should and could be doing everything (a) brilliantly and (b) simultaneously? Yes, I probably do have quite a few but I think they ought to be on a new thread.