Review: Gucci Mamas by Cate Kendall

Title: Gucci Mamas

Author: Cate Kendall (Lisa Blundell and Michelle Harmer)

Publisher: Bantam Australia April 2007

Sypnosis: Once a down-to-earth girl who loved her freckles as much as sailing with her carefree husband, one day Mim Woolcott wakes up to find she is keeping Prada, Louis Vuitton and numerous day spas in business and her life has descended into a merry go-round of shopping, backstabbing and snobbery. Welcome to the world of Gucci Mamas, where everyday Mim has to negotiate the Carpark Mafia and the Mothers Superior as she drops her children off at the most prestigious school in the city. But in between keeping up with Joneses – or in this case the Mason-Jacksons – cracks are starting to show in Mim’s perfect life as money gets tighter and her husband works ever longer hours. If her two best friends have similar problems, Mim would never know – the Gucci Mamas are far too busy picking their outfits and having manicures to notice each other’s troubles. Something’s got to give, and it will take a catastrophic, life-changing event to bring Mim to her senses. But will it be too late?

Status: Read from November 25 to 26, 2010

My Thoughts:

Set in Melbourne, Australia Gucci Mama’s may well have been told in New York or London for the lack of distinctive flavor. As a member of the working class poor it’s difficult to find sympathy for women who complain about how hard their lives are as their housekeepers polish their silver, the nanny takes their children to school and they hand over a platinum credit card to buy another pair of $1500 shoes. However Kendall (a pseunydom for a pair of writers who cowrote the book)manages to illustrate just how seriously the women take themselves while pointing out the riduculousness of their petty comcerns. Of couse Kendall is eager to show that life is not as easy as it seems. Mim’s marriage is suffering under the strain of the workload her husband has to maintain to provide for their lifestyle. Liz and Ellie both have secrets they dread being found out and Tiffany’s husband is chronically unfaithful. It’s a stretch to find empathy for these characters whose problems are largely of their own making but by the same token it’s quite satisfying to know that money doesn’t necessarily equate to happiness (though I’d sure like the chance to personally test that theory).
A generally entertaining satire about the ‘truth’ of society wives seemingly glamorous lives, Gucci Mama is a quick read from the chicklit bookshelf.

@ Goodreads