Altar Ego [Paperback]

Kathy Lette (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 2003

From the author of "Girls' Night Out", "Foetal Attraction" and "Mad Cows", "Altar Ego" is the story of Beccie, whose love life is about to be declared as a disaster area.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

From the iconoclastic Lette, here's another "single girl" book to join the current trend, a self-consciously sassy English novel about a 32-year-old woman torn between boring Mr. Right and the absolute freedom of shagging anyone she wants. In her fifth novel (after Mad Cows and Foetal Attraction), Lette's heroine Becky Steele makes the protagonists of Laura Zigman, Helen Fielding and Suzanne Finnamore look like veritable prudes, as she blazes new trails in satisfying her desires. Assisted (and thwarted) by two superficial and bitchy girlfriends, Becky tries to stanch her fear of marrying perfect, prosaic lawyer Julian, by falling for Zachary Phoenix Burne, a "black boy-toy with the gi-normous cream stick." Rock star Zack is an unconvincing character, blatantly stupid as he utters lines like: "See, that's one of the reasons I like yer, 'Cause you know all them big words." Conversely, Becky and her wise-cracking, man-hating "feminist" girlfriend Kate (who, of course, eventually turns into a hubby-stealing vamp) get all the hackneyed one-liners: "The medical term for a woman paralyzed from the waist down and the neck up is 'marriage'"; "If marriage was a horse, no self-respecting gambler would take a punt on it." The book blithely careens from male-strip club to beauty spa, from bedroom to divorce court, with friends, sisters, boyfriends and husbands comically, if absurdly, loving, leaving and betraying each other, compulsively churning out biting jokes and raunchiness passing for candor. Readers may feel ambivalent about Becky and her circle of chameleon friends turning their wedding rings into circus ringsAthe comedy is less a lusty, irreverent romp than a collection of one-note jokes encapsulated perfectly by such tepid chapter titles as "Cross My Legs and Hope to Die," "Till Divorce Us Do Part" and "I Waxed My Bikini Line for This?" (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Yet another tale of a daffy young Englishwoman, this one a self-described "new feminist" who is about to duck out of her own wedding because she hasn't had quite enough men. A best seller in England and Australia.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Pan Books Ltd; First Edition edition (October 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330352962
• ISBN-13: 978-0330352963
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,275,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wedding jitters? Read this and be cured..., July 17, 2001

By 

Dianna Johnston "Compulsive Reader" (Joplin, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Altar Ego: A Novel (Paperback)

What a whirlwind of a book! I finished this book yesterday and my head is still spinning. Altar Ego is the kind of book that shocks you with its outrageous characters, naughty scenes and devilish humor. Definitely a book to read for pure entertainment.

On her wedding day, 32-year-old Becky finds herself hiding in the bathroom with one pantyhosed leg hanging out the window. With fears of marriage running rampant and the horrible idea of being monogamous filling her with dread, Becky does the only feasible thing - she jumps. Naturally, fiancé Julian is devastated; however, he doesn't give up and decides to continue with their relationship as is. Meanwhile, Becky gets all sorts of advice from her best friends: anti-men, psycho-feminist Kate and desperate-to-marry-royalty Anouska.

And then the unthinkable happens.... Becky meets Zachary, an American rap star trying to make it big in Europe. He's rude, crude and socially unacceptable, but he's also gorgeous, sexy and wild in the sack. Torn between a comfortable and safe relationship with boring workaholic Julian or a glittering rock-star romance with Zachary, Becky does what she does best - she takes the fun, easy way out. This one simple action begins a spiraling domino effect that will inspire shock and humor for the reader. Finding out what Becky will do next is half the fun. Seeing the unnecessary results of her actions is the other.

Altar Ego is an outrageous romp of a novel, candidly fresh and downright dirty. Each deed done spawns another twice as bad and leaves the reader gasping and wide-eyed. A true pleasure to read with an important lesson to be learned: Future brides, beware. This could happen to you.... Enjoy!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Juvenile and overwritten, March 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Altar Ego: A Novel (Paperback)

This is a "Bridget Jones Diary" wannabe but without: 1.decent writing 2. believable dialogue 3. likable or credible characters, or 4. wit. I've never written a review about any book, but if I can save just one person from buying this horrible thing, I consider my time well spent. The author is overcome with her own wit, which is so far from being amusing that I found myself cringing at every line. I finally put the book in the furthest reaches of my shelves with a note on it not to lend it to anyone I like. It's like a bad "Three's Company" type of sitcom.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ab Fab! You'll laugh so hard you'll pee your pants!!, October 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Altar Ego (Hardcover)

This is British "new feminist" humour at it's very best. Kathy Lette really nails it with this one! I giggled, gasped and on occasion blushed at this very humourous take on a "party girl's" life, loves and tribulations. It was my Mum who gave me book as an early wedding present just 2 weeks before I took the plunge. Becky's character is great - funny, smart, strong and what many of us wish we had the nerve to be like. Good Girl!! Kathy - keep up the great work. I look forward to your next installment of bitter sweat life.