Book Reviews

Funny sequel
Bad Heir Day
By Wendy Holden
Headline, 438pp

After a long time I was brought to my knees – reduced to lying on the floor clutching my stomach – with laughter. Bad Heir Day is an extremely funny sequel to Wendy Holden's debut a few months ago, Simply Divine.
The book, like efforts of numerous other female authors in the Headline cache, is about a lonely singleton in search of love in London.
Nevertheless, this time around, she's seeking it amongst sewage empire and castle heirs, with quaint houses in Kensington, the posh end of the human chain. Anna's mingling amongst successful bawdy fiction writers, has-been rockstars, New Age nannies, architects who're avid practitioners of yoga and ferociously competitive high-end mamas.
A struggling writer herself, Anna doesn't have a steady source of income. So the opportunity to share an apartment with Sebastian Lavenham, a handsome, self-centred, rich heir, is not missed. She finds herself a home and boyfriend to boot. But his cavalier behaviour and Anna's low self-esteem finally finds her out on the street again, only to be rescued by a New Age nanny, Geri, who approaches everything in life as a management project.
Geri tells Anna that she should become an apprentice to a successful writer. Enter bestselling author Cassandra with an extraordinary affection for Bombay Sapphire. A social climber, who'd leave scratch marks on a cat, she has a huge house in Kensington, a burnt out rockstar husband, Jett, and a son who no school in England will allow admittance to.
Hired under the pretence of being an assistant, Anna is reduced to washing, scrubbing, cleaning the house and ferrying Zak, the ward from hell, to his numerous classes. Jett is working hard to bring back his band Solstice, with the release of their new album. One of the most hilarious sequences in the book is his photoshoot for the jacket cover of the album, when the photographer mistakes the name and comes up with suitable props.
Anna's tale of woe no longer ends with Cassandra, but moves on to a Scottish castle called Dampie located on the outskirts of a village called Oribal. Jamie, heir to the damp ruins rushes the struggling writer off her feet and whisks away to Dampie. As the romance rapidly wears away, Anna realises that Jamie wanted to marry her for legal reasons related to the peeling, paling ancient structure, rather than for scorching, searing pangs of love.
It finally dawns on her that perhaps she's been too scared to rough it out alone and the as yet unwritten book needs to be worked on. As Anna finally makes the first sane decision in her life to shape up and ship out, love comes knocking at her doorstep by way of the binman. Life does come up with strange coincidences, especially if it comes wrapped in a Holden paperback.
– Reviewed by Anupa Prathap Mathew

QUICK READ
BY SONALI RAHA

My Movie Business; By John Irving; Black Swan; 158 pp; Dh39
Anecdotal, comic, affectionate and candid, this memoir focuses primarily on the 13 years Irving spent adapting his novel The Cider House Rules for the screen – for four different directors. Incidentally, he won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay.

Welcoming Our Children To A New Millennium; Compiled by Jane Middelton-Moz; Health Communications Inc.; 381 pp; Dh65
Subtitled "A daybook of hopes and wishes for the future", this book is reminiscent of the welcoming ceremonies for children that are at the core of every culture. In this moving collection, adult role models who are working to create a better world welcome children to the new millennium through heartfelt letters.

Tuesdays With Morrie; By Mitch Albom; Doubleday; 192 pp; Dh32.50
Subtitled "An old man, a young man, and life's greatest lesson", this book is a magical chronicle of the time the author, a famous sports columnist, spent with Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly 20 years ago. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited Mitch in his study every Tuesday and they enjoyed one final "class": Lessons in how to live.

The Joy Of Work; By Scott Adams; Boxtree; 264 pp; Dh30
This is "Dilbert's guide to finding happiness at the expense of your co-workers". As The Times puts it succinctly: "A useful guide to survival in the open-plan jungle". Adams certainly seems to understand office life better than anyone else and his new book is a blueprint for rediscovering your soul at the office.

The Lamorna Wink; By Martha Grimes; Headline; 435 pp; Dh42
A novel starring Richard Jury, this book has been described by the Washington Post as "a mystery with charm, grace, characters both richly comic and sinister, a nifty plot with a twist of surprise and, at the end, a poignance that pierces the heart".

Simply Ayurveda; By Bharti Vyas; Thorsons; 188 pp; Dh89
The author, an influential name in London's health and beauty circles, details simple and practical ways to enhance health and prolong life using Ayurveda, India's ancient holistic medical system. This beautifully illustrated book has been written with health journalist Jane Warren.

The Motley Fool's Rule Breakers, Rule Makers; By David & Tom Gardner; Fireside Book; 340 pp; Dh65
This engaging, humorous and practical stock-picking guide, packed with Foolish insights, caps off the popular finance trilogy from the Gardner brothers. Other books in the trilogy are The Motley Fool Investment Guide and The Motley Fool's You Have More Than You Think.
l Available at all outlets of BooksPlus