Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella is about Dan and Sylvie, an average married couple, parents to twin daughters, who lead a predictable if somewhat boring life. They have been married for ten years and know everything about each other and are completely in sync all the time.
At an annual visit to their family doctor, they are told that since they are both so healthy and have such great genes, they could have another sixty-eight years left together, possibly more. Both Dan and Sylvie promptly go into a panic at the thought of being married for sixty-eight more years. How can they keep things interesting for that long? Should they have more kids? Take lots of vacations? Learn new languages? They decide to start incorporating surprises into their daily lives in order to keep one another on their toes. Think: surprise gifts, outings, date nights, and things like that. But of course the surprise start to go hilariously wrong as communication lines get crossed. The surprises they each come up with reveal truths about themselves that lead them to believe that maybe they don’t know one another so well after all.
Out of all of Sophie Kinsella’s books, I wasn’t entirely head over heels for this one. It reminded me of one of her other standalone books, Remember Me? that was also, though compelling and memorable, just not quite my favorite. I think it may have been that Dan and Sylvie wanting to keep their livest interesting was just not as compelling of a plot to me as I thought it might be. There wasn’t a whole lot at stake, and I became a little disinterested around the 200 page mark. I continued reading anyway because I had some suspicions about the ending and wanted to see if I was right. (This was the first time that I correctly guessed part of the ending to one of her books, so that was kind of crazy considering I usually never know what’s going to happen).
Regardless, it was a good read and a treat for anyone who is an avid reader of her books. You will not be disappointed with this one as there is no lacking in the wit, humor, and outlandish scenarios she is known for. Reading this and My Not So Perfect Life a few months ago really made me miss the Shopaholic series – hopefully more installments in Becky Bloomwood’s story are in the works! 🙂
Hannah's Library 