Shopper’s life funny fairy tale Mid-20s’ crises get credit

CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC: A NOVEL by Sophie Kinsella, Delta Trade Paperback, New York, 320 pages, 2001, $10.95

Seeing the press release for Sophie Kinsella’s “Confessions of a Shopaholic” was like seeing a Ralph Lauren cashmere sweater at Marden’s for $9.95 – I had to have it. I got it. I loved it.

This may be because our heroine, the impeccably dressed and deeply indebted Becky Bloomwood, reminded me of someone I know very well. She, like me – I mean, my friend – is a young journalist with Prada taste on a Nine West budget. And that’s Nine West at T.J. Maxx, by the way.

Unlike my friend, Becky is bored with her job as a financial writer (of all things) at a London business newspaper. But she’s so bored that even the champagne they apparently give away at London press conferences isn’t enough to hold her interest.

And the double life Becky leads isn’t particularly filled with intrigue. She’s not moonlighting as a spy or even a stripper. By day, she’s a mild-mannered journalist, dishing out advice to the public about retirement savings, trust funds and bonds. By night (and by day, sometimes, if a press conference runs short), she’s a raging shopaholic, slapping down her credit cards with astonishing speed, able to rationalize even the most ridiculous purchase. At the beginning of the book, she borrows 20 pounds (this is London, remember) from the CEO of a public relations firm – while at a press conference – to get her hands on a clearance scarf before the store closes. And it just gets worse from there.

At home, letters from her creditors are piling up. She’s way overdrawn on her checking account. So she writes a letter to her banker, faking a broken leg. Then she tells him her dog died. Except she never had a dog. She finally throws all her collection notices into a drawer and pretends they’re not there. It works for a while, until she bumps into her banker, Derek Smeath, at yet another press conference.

She realizes she must do something to pay all the money she owes. She tries cutting back. She buys a book to guide her. Instead of buying takeout, Becky cooks a curry so hot it nearly kills her and her roommate, Suze. She gets another job to make more money, in retail. That way, she won’t only earn extra cash, she’ll get a discount on clothes she’d buy anyway. That doesn’t work either. She even tries a career change, applying for a high-paying job in finance. Unfortunately, she lied a little on her resume and said she could speak Finnish fluently. Bad mistake.

Meanwhile, her love life is the opposite of her curry – not so hot. And it seems like everyone around her is happily coupled up, including the man she has a little crush on. Things are looking a little grim for young Becky.

That is, until she stumbles upon a story that she really cares about. And this one doesn’t involve any press conferences. Overnight, literally, this story sets off a string of events that changes Becky’s life – and spending habits – for the better.

“Confessions of a Shopaholic” is a sweet, light, modern fairy tale that is laugh-out-loud funny. Through all of Becky’s trials and tribulations, I rooted for her. I cringed when she cooked that curry. I was so happy when she landed a front-page headline in one of London’s biggest papers. I understood why she absolutely needed to buy two skin-care products at Clarins so she could get the free gift set.

Her problems, whether it comes to shopping, debt, cooking, or the typical mid-20s crisis, were easy to identify with.

I can only hope my friend’s story has such a happy ending.