I Don't Know How She Does It

this was my second time reading this book (renewed interest due to the movie coming out) and it's quite telling that i remembered very little of it except that the character sort of annoyed me, and that she gives up her job by the end of the book.

so. now i remember why she annoyed me.

i can understand her timidity with her nanny (not wanting to lose her children's one constant: their care giver) and her overspending on her children (guilt), but letting her cleaning lady's (supposed) health issues excuse her from doing any real cleaning for 2 years is ridiculous. and if she's so busy, and in huge sleep debt, and is always canceling lunchdates with friends, why does she take all the school holidays - AWAY. why not stay home and catch upon your life?

it's supposed to be pivotal that she can never get away from the office ad misses her children's concerts, etc, but towards the end she fakes a client call in the middle of a meeting and goes home. umm. couldn't she have done exactly that at any number of times? it's hard to sympathize with a complaint when the solution is obvious to us all.

lastly, she starts an on-line flirting relationship with a client and never sees how immature she is being, never sees she is simply projecting an ideal on to this stranger. after her husband -temporarily- leaves her and she finally realizes she had herself a good man, she still has the gall to be wistful that she never slept that fantasy man!

as a second reading, it was shocking to see how quickly the content of this book became obsole: all her communication is by phone and emails - no texting invented yet. she needs to 'get' to the office so much that she dreams it, but we are now in an age where the office come to you via smart phones. in an update of this book, the character would have hit a wall and dropped her job by chapter 3.