My Life on a Plate

I really enjoyed this light comedy. Clara is married (NOT a book about singletons, for a change!), and views her husband as somewhat of a mystery. She's happy and yet . . . her marriage has not really brought her a happily ever after. It doesn't help that her neurotic mother nags her about her weight (and how wonderful to have a plump heroine who really doesn't give a fig if she is overweight), and that she feels she has to compete with super moms who get all dolled up just to drop their kids off at school (with gourmet lunches and home baked goodies, natch). Clara is funny and likeable, and I really identified with her. Every other book about twenty or thirtysomething women seems to deal with finding Mr. Right. This book is about what to do when you've already found him . . . and life still isn't quite what you expected.

My Life on a Plate is just terrific. It's completely hilarious, in the Bridget Jones, Getting Over It, laugh out loud vein and (here's the best part) it's not about a single woman. Clara, our heroine, is married, with two boys and wondering, am I happy?, is this all there is?, etc. Clara is extremely funny and makes us laugh at all the things we moms of young children chuckle about anyway (you know, those other moms who have it all together, how do they do it?, the unsupportive husband vis-a-vis parenting, etc.). Clara is an extremely likable narrator, trying to be a good wife and mother and keeping us amused all the way. But what does it mean, My Life On a Plate? One day, Clara looks down at a meal she is about to eat. It's a little congealed, not really that appetizing, when it really should be exciting her. She realizes, that's it, it's her life on a plate, shouldn't she be a little more excited about her life, shouldn't it be more appetizing? Those are the questions that bother her throughout the novel as she goes about being wife, mother, friend, daughter. I really enjoyed this one. I have been in search of something completely hilarious for months and have finally found it. The characters and dialogue are very funny and it is a truly enjoyable read. Have fun with this one.

There's something about British thirty-something women novels I just love--maybe they're sassier than their American counterparts, or something. Anyway, this story about Claire's life and her attempts to balance her marriage, children, and career rings very true and doesn't resort to cliches or whiny behavior on her part. It gets major points for unpredictability as well. I especially loved "What would Madonna do?"

Meet Clara: Thirty-three, married eight years, two children, slightly overweight, and quite possibly one of the funniest and most true-to-life characters ever written. Based in London, this very comical novel is about an average housewife juggling a part-time job, the fact that her clothes are more than slightly out of date, and coming to terms with the fact that her husband is frequently not fullfilling his duities as a father, which sends her on her own journey of self-discovery to answer one question:Is she really happy? For the answer you must read it and find out. From start to finish this book is outragously hysterical! I couldn't reccomend better!

Could this book possibly be any funnier? I couldn't stop laughing. My Life on a Plate is filled with the kind of ironic, wicked and self-deprecating humor that I love. The comic timing is extremely precise. Clara Hutt is one of the best heroines in contemporary literature. This isn't the usual single-at-thirty-living-in-London novel. It isn't about single life at all. My Life on a Plate is about life after Happily Ever After. Is marriage all that's cracked up to be? Will marriage be the end of one's loneliness? Clara will tell you a thing or two about being a smug married woman with two kids. This is a hilarious and painfully honest book that will crack you up till the last page. It is, without a doubt, a tour de force! You mustn't hesitate to read this book!