Saturday, March 30, 2013

Thin Rich Bitches by Janet Eve Josselyn

2 Star


Leaving her cheating husband in Boston with the paralegal he impregnated, Pippin Snowe and her son move to a ramshackle farmhouse that she inherited in the exclusive community of Dover, Massachusetts. Pippin finds employment with a local architect, designing kitchen renovations for wealthy Dover women who treat her as they treat the rest of the hired help. Concluding that social climbing is just another sport that she is no good at, Pippin opens a country club for dogs that offers services that the Dover women didn’t know they wanted until they found out that admission was required and spaces were limited.


Lydia - 2 Star

Thin Rich Bitches started out so promising but then fell dramatically short for me. I just couldn't connect with the main character, Pippen, beyond the first third of the novel. Her constant grumbling and comparisons about how poor she was (even though she had just inherited a huge amount of land and a large home, regardless of the state of it) and how rich everyone that lived in her new area was, eventually grated on me. She wasn't that poor. She still shopped. She just couldn't afford designer stuff anymore. It was almost offensive, particularly in this economy. Maybe the book would have been better ten years ago in the chick lit shoes and shopping heyday. Or maybe it's just me.

I really enjoyed Pippen's character at first. She was funny, bubbly and down - the perfect chick lit heroine. Unfortunately though, over time, her humour became jadded - or maybe it is not just my kind of humour. There were some amusing and laugh-out-loud moments, but about a third of the way in, I grew tired of how she constantly judged and loathed the people she was suddenly lumped together with in her new community. So, sell the house then, and move on. But she didn't. She stayed. And I have no idea why because she hated them all. Except how rich they were going to make her.

Speaking of which, the idea of starting the kennel? The way out of her financial doghouse? It was pretty much the end of the novel which frustrated and saddened me because I anticipated much doggie fun. Instead  the majority of the novel was spent observing the rich and grumbling about it with Pippen not doing much to move on with her life. Somewhere in the middle I began glossing over pages with the repetitive descriptions of the rich, waiting for something to happen - preferably the kennel as was promised in the synopsis.

Unfortunately it never came. There were some interesting glimpses into the lifestyle of the rich and fabulous and some laughter in the beginning, but sadly I found myself rolling my eyes near the end. I suspect this novel might have worked better for me if the main character was slightly more sympathetic or three dimensional or less grouchy about her new position and more willing to move on.

Thank you to Janet Eve Josselyn for our review copy. All opinions are our own.

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