Remember Me? (Hardcover)

by Sophie Kinsella (Author)
Key Phrases: bitch boss, phone beeps, Sophie Kinsella, Loser Dave, Simon Johnson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Behind The Book: A Note to Amazon Readers from Author Sophie Kinsella

It's hard, in hindsight, to say exactly how a book comes into being. There are so many ideas and themes that get explored and discarded along the way; so many layers that are built up. Plus it's a bit like having a baby—once the hard work is over it becomes a blur!

But with all my novels, I usually start with one little kernel of an idea--and gradually build it up over months of thinking, plotting, the "coffee shop stage" as I call it. With Can you Keep A Secret? it was: what if you told someone all your secrets? With Remember Me? it was: what if you woke up and didn't recognize your life? What if you lost three years of memory--and everything had changed in that time?

All my books involve some kind of wish-fulfilment; some kind of escapism--whether it's shopping, or a whirlwind romance, or stepping off the career treadmill--and Remember Me? is maybe the ultimate form of wish-fulfilment. What if you didn't recognize your life... because it had become so perfect?

The image that kept coming to me was of a girl, blinking up at her Greek God of a husband, whom she doesn't recognize. It made me giggle every time I thought about it. And so I created my amnesiac heroine Lexi, and her perfect new glossy, unrecognizable life--from the new shiny teeth to the designer handbag, to the perfect millionaire husband. The potential for comedy was irresistible.

Another theme I wanted to explore was identity, which I've always found fascinating. Our lives take unpredictable turns and we all change over time. But it's so gradual we don't always notice it. Would your younger self recognize your older self? Put another way, if you woke up tomorrow in the year 2011... what would you find?

I grew incredibly close to Lexi whilst writing this book, and really felt all her ups and downs. I laughed and cried and cringed at every embarrassing moment (of which there are plenty!) I think of all my heroines she has maybe the biggest challenge to face and journey to make--as her biggest obstacle is herself.

I hope you enjoy her journey!

---

From Publishers Weekly
Shopaholicpowerhouse Kinsella delights again with her latest, a winning if unoriginal tale of amnesia striking an ambitious shrew and changing her life for the better. After taking a nasty bump on the head, Lexi Smart awakens in a hospital convinced that it's 2004 and that she's just missed her father's funeral. It's actually three years later, and she no longer has crooked teeth, frizzy hair and a loser boyfriend. Initially wowed by what she's become—a gorgeous, cut-throat businesswoman—Lexi soon finds herself attempting to figure out how it happened. As her personality change and lost memory threaten her job, Lexi tries to dredge up some chemistry with her handsome albeit priggish husband, Eric, though the effort is unnecessary with Eric's colleague Jon, who tells Lexi that she was about to leave Eric for him. Amnesia tales may be old hat, but Kinsella keeps things fresh and frothy with workplace politicking, romantic intrigue and a vibrant (though sometimes caricatured) cast. Though the happy ending won't come as a surprise, readers will be rooting for Lexi all along. (Mar.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: The Dial Press; First Printing edition (February 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385338724
• ISBN-13: 978-0385338721
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (263 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #27,747 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lightweight, but great fun, February 26, 2008

By	Julia Flyte - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Lexi wakes up in hospital after a car accident. She's lost all memory of the last three years and is amazed at how her life has changed: suddenly she's married to a gorgeous guy, she's running her department at work and on paper her life suddenly seems perfect. But slowly she starts to realize that things are not quite as wonderful as they initially appeared to be. For starters, her best friends seem to have distanced themselves from her. And her husband Eric doesn't really seem to be her type.

This is a fast and fun book to read. The premise hooks you in and some parts are laugh out loud funny (particularly when Lexi realizes why her husband keeps making the Mt Blanc references). Okay, so it doesn't stretch your brain too much and you need to suspend your disbelief that she would have made some of the changes in her life, but overall it's still very entertaining. A perfect holiday read.

This is the third Sophie Kinsella book that I've read, and while I enjoyed it, I don't think it's as good as her others. If you like her books you'll enjoy this too, but if you're new to her as an author I think her others are better.

40 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Out of an overused made for Tv movie plot comes Kinsella's best novel yet, April 8, 2008

By	Lilly Flora "by Lilo Drandoff" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

It's a tried and true made for TV movie theme.

Someone, usually someone down on their luck like the ugly girl in high school or the miserable kid, makes a wish that they were all grown up. And then presto-they are! It's X amount of years in the future and suddenly they are an adult and have become beautiful, popular and have a wonderful life.

But that doesn't mean they're prepared to deal with it.

Sophie Kinsella has taken this common and (frankly) overused plot line and remade it into a wonderful, hilarious, romantic and hugely touching novel that is really her best work yet.

Lexi Smart has an entry level job and no yearly bonus, a boyfriend who everyone calls loser Dave, snaggly teeth and her father's funeral to attend in the morning. She doesn't make a wish for a better life, but she does fall on her head. And wakes up in the hospital with a great body, perfect teeth, a fantastic job, the perfect husband and no memory of the last three years.

It seems perfect at first. Her life is great on the surface. She's rich, good looking and married to a millionaire Greek god. But as she gets to know her new life she realizes that she is missing from it. The new Lexi is dramatically different from the old and not only in appearance. Nowhere is there any trace of the girl she once was-and, thanks to a bump on the head, is again.

Until she learns that this self has secrets-huge secrets which may be her only hope of getting the world to remember the girl Lexi Smart used to be.

"Remember Me?" is by far the best novel Sophie Kinsella has written to date. It is just amazing! I laughed out loud, felt Lexi's initial joy and later frustration and anger and swooned at the romance. This book has propelled Kinsella out of the chick lit genera and into the category of just plain old great novels. I recommend this to everyone. My only complaint is that the book can be read in several hours-and I wanted more!

Five stars.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sophie Kinsella Strikes The Mother Lode of Chick Lit Fun, April 7, 2008

By	Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Fresh, fun, and fabulous describes Kinsella's newest heroine, the indefatigable Lexie Smart. Waking up in a hospital bed and realizing she has lost three years of her life is no laughing matter, but being fascinated by her shiny new hair, pearly white teeth, ultra-toned body, and eye-catching manicure softens the blow. Frustrated by not remembering anything past the night when, at age 25, the snaggle-toothed carpet seller was getting smashed with her best friends after losing out on a company bonus and being stood up by her loser boyfriend the night before her Dad's funeral, Lexie begins an often frustrating but always interesting journey to find out how she became, at age 28, a senior executive of her company, married to a handsome husband she can't remember, and at home in a posh loft apartment with pieces of furniture and art she could never dream of affording.

Her new life is too perfect until she discovers her former friends want nothing to do with her, her husband's right-hand man tells her they are having an affair, and her sweet baby sister has become an extortionist. How Lexie sorts out what happened in the missing three years will have you alternately gasping and laughing. Sure, you may have to suspend reality a bit, but the trade-off is an entertaining story that is light and breezy and sure to be a hit with Kinsella's legions of fans. I never thought she'd be able to top the fun of the Shopaholic books, but I think she actually did it with this one. Not only is Lexie as endearing as Becky Bloomwood, but the story is much more suspenseful as little by little we come to understand what happened to Lexie to move her out of her struggling, lackluster existence to become the shining star of her crowd.