Author of the bestselling Shopaholic novels Sophie Kinsella has
delighted readers around the globe with her all-too-human
characters caught in an array of zany dilemmas. In that spirit,
The Undomestic Goddess tells the fast-paced,
riotously funny tale of a high-powered corporate lawyer who trades
legal torts for fresh-baked tortes in the riskiest career move of
her life.
Samantha Sweeting has always been a workaholic; she can't even
enjoy a massage unless her BlackBerry is within reach. Following in
her mother's footsteps, she has risen to the top of London's legal
circles by devoting every ounce of her energy to a prestigious law
firm. But just as she discovers she's been made a partner, she also
discovers that she has seemingly made a mistake so huge, it will
ruin her career, and cost the firm millions. Going into utter
meltdown, she boards a train bound for anywhere. Dazed and ashamed,
she finds herself on the streets of a charming country town and
stops to ask for help at a big, beautiful house. In a brilliant
comedy of errors, she's mistaken for a job applicant and is soon
offered employment as a housekeeper. Samantha accepts the job-even
though she barely knows how to boil water. She doesn't know how to
run a vacuum cleaner, sew on a button, turn on an oven, or poach an
egg. How long will she be able to fool her new bosses? That depends
on whether a handsome gardener named Nathaniel is willing to keep
her secret. A refreshing novel about finding a life to love, and
finding a loved one to share it with,
The Undomestic
Goddess is boiling over with delights.
The questions, discussion topics, and author biography that follow
are intended to enhance your reading of Sophie Kinsella's
The Undomestic Goddess. We hope they will enrich
your experience of this witty and endearing novel.
1. How would you have responded to the questions that introduce
Chapter One? Have you ever been accused of being addicted to
stress? What''s the difference between having a busy life and being
a workaholic?
2. How did the office politics at Carter Spink compare to your
experience in the world of work? Who is the Ketterman in your life,
dropping huge, last-minute projects on your desk?
3. What accounts for the different lives led by Samantha and her
childhood friend, Freya? What fun and essential roles does Freya
play in Samantha''s life?
4. Before Samantha leaves London, what are her highest
expectations regarding love? Was there anything appealing about
six-minute sex with Jacob? What stokes her attraction to Guy?
5. Samantha wistfully adores "The Waltons." Why is her family so
different from the one depicted in that show? What does the ideal
family look like in the twenty-first century?
6. Discuss the debate between Samantha and Mrs. Farley at the
end of Chapter Three. Is sewing on a button a valuable skill, or at
least as valuable as Mrs. Farley says it is? What are the most
valuable skills for women to master?
7. Samantha describes the disorder of her desk-and her life-that
made her vulnerable to the alleged registration mistake. What did
her clutter indicate about her state of mind at that time?
8. With her uncanny knack for numbers and her fiercely
competitive streak, Samantha was a natural for corporate law. Was
she also a natural domestic goddess, even though the basic
instruction had been withheld from her as she grew up? Does Melissa
have what it takes to succeed in law?
9. What do Nathaniel''s and Samantha''s histories have in
common? What makes them an unlikely couple, yet a perfect couple?
How do they gradually learn to trust each other?
10. Are Trish and Eddie good bosses? Would you want to work for
them?
11. At times, Samantha suffers from a sort of withdrawal after
leaving Carter Spink. What is the equivalent of Carter Spink in
your life-the community or organization without which you would
feel empty? Have you ever had to face the prospect of losing that
connection? What alternative plan would you come up with, as
Samantha stumbled into the Geiger plan?
12. Chapter Sixteen describes the experience of Iris''s kitchen
and Samantha''s awakening to simple, natural miracles such as
rising bread. What healing perspective does Iris impart to
Samantha?
13. Much to her horror, Samantha is hounded by the media for
sound bites and pursued by advertisers to become an icon for
products. Do the headlines in Chapter Twenty-four raise any
real-life issues? Do women and men face identical challenges in the
modern corporate world?
14. Which of the novel''s scenes kept you on the edge of your
seat the longest? Could you have maintained a false identity for as
long as Samantha did? Would you have gone back to work for Carter
Spink?
15. What do you predict for Samantha and Nathaniel''s
future?