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422nd out of 1,227 books
—
3,012 voters
Slummy Mummy
by
Fiona Neill
A smart, laugh-out-loud debut novel about a deeply flawed but endearing stay-at-home mom, a book for anyone who took Bridget Jones to heart a decade ago-and now has kids.
Lucy Sweeney has three sons, a husband on a short fuse, and a tendency toward domestic disaster. It has been years since the dirty laundry pile was less than three feet high, months since she remembered...more
Lucy Sweeney has three sons, a husband on a short fuse, and a tendency toward domestic disaster. It has been years since the dirty laundry pile was less than three feet high, months since she remembered...more
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
July 5th 2007
by Riverhead Hardcover
(first published 2007)
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Gave up before p 50 - couldn't sympathize, much less empathize - not only shouldn't she have married her husband in the first place*, but she shouldn't have kids - she doesn't act like a grown-up. What she should do most of all is raise her kids to be more responsible - they should be helping with chores not expecting her servitude. And yes she should be able to recognize that one woman telling another a bunch of "shoulds" sometimes is quite apt.
*Yes I know I've barely met Tom. Maybe she's just...more
*Yes I know I've barely met Tom. Maybe she's just...more
I kind of hate to put 4 stars on such a light and silly book but I really did like it and found it to be much more clever than I had thought that it would be. Hailed a "The Bridget Jones of Motherhood" I expected the silly and exaggerated circumstances of being stay-at-home-mom, however there was a lot of wisdom too. I found myself saying, "yeah, yeah, I do that too" or "oh yes I have totally thought that too".
Lucy gets herself into situations that we all have...
taking the kids to school in her...more
Lucy gets herself into situations that we all have...
taking the kids to school in her...more
This made a perfect summer holiday read, light and amusing with a serious undercurrent, and I identified strongly with the main character, Lucy Sweeney, a frustrated stay-at-home mum of three young children, "mothers like me, the slummy mummies, the muddlers and befuddlers, the ones who don't know what to do when a spare minute comes their way because it is so rare, wearing old dresses that have stretched with us over the years." Many of her amusing antics and slatternly behaviour could have bee...more
This book is proof positive that you don't have to like a book to take something away from it.
There was no discernible plot, which made this book hard for me to read. By page 50, after I was repeatedly made aware that having small children creates anarchy in the home. That stay-at-home mom and main character Lucy had repeatedly lost her credit card lost its charm after it had been mentioned three times. At page 100 I found myself skipping over large clumps of narration because I'd simply lost i...more
There was no discernible plot, which made this book hard for me to read. By page 50, after I was repeatedly made aware that having small children creates anarchy in the home. That stay-at-home mom and main character Lucy had repeatedly lost her credit card lost its charm after it had been mentioned three times. At page 100 I found myself skipping over large clumps of narration because I'd simply lost i...more
I couldn't get through this book. Because I am a stay-at-home mom I thought I would identify with this book, but no. The entire plot line about the mom wanting, dreaming and justifying having an affair left me cold. I understand that staying with your kids might not be the most exciting thing to be doing, but having an affair with someone is not how I choose to add excitement to my life and I definitely don't want to spend my the few minute I have to myself reading about someone who does. But th...more
I had really hoped that this would be a fun read about domestic bliss and all it's mishaps, and while there were certainly a fair share of mishaps the story went in a totally different direction. While her mommy moments were cute and had me laughing while I read, the rest of the story was dull and a little shallow. I didn't feel for any of the characters and felt that the story was too clean. The ending was very abrupt and not at all what I had expected. It took me forever to read this book, con...more
This really surprised me. I bought it secondhand becausee I wanted something light to read. Even thought I'm a mum myself I tend to find 'mum lit' really unbelievable and hard to relate to. It all seems to be about mums whos' biggest challenge is rediscovering their inner woman when their youngest child starts nursery and they have to choose which adult learning course they want to go on! Okay that might be a slight exaggeration but I'm a working mum and I can't relate to most of the mums in fic...more
Brilliant, smart and funny
You would never expect a piece of mom-lit to turn out as a sophisticated essay about marriage and motherhood. Slummy Mummy comes quite as a surprise, being not only smart, witty and extremely funny, but the most important of all, giving astonishingly precise account of a woman in her midlife crisis. As the heroine's pedantic husband put it, the midlife crisis is "discontent with the status quo, restlessness, questioning decisions that you made years ago, thinking you've...more
You would never expect a piece of mom-lit to turn out as a sophisticated essay about marriage and motherhood. Slummy Mummy comes quite as a surprise, being not only smart, witty and extremely funny, but the most important of all, giving astonishingly precise account of a woman in her midlife crisis. As the heroine's pedantic husband put it, the midlife crisis is "discontent with the status quo, restlessness, questioning decisions that you made years ago, thinking you've...more
My neighbor gave me this book and told me it was really funny and my first thought was that she doesn't know me at all. This type of book really doesn't interest me, but after reading the back (with an endorsement from Anna Wintour of all people) I figured it might be a quick, entertaining read. I brought it on a road trip and with nothing else to do, I started reading it. The whole time I was complaining to my husband about how awful it was. I didn't think it was funny at all, mostly because th...more
4 likes · like · see review
Fiona Neill is a funny writer. She is descriptive without being verbose and her characters are entertaining. The trouble I found with the main character, Lucy, is as the book goes on she becomes harder to really like. Her lack of any organizational skills goes beyond quirky and I began to wonder how she functions on a daily basis. I think what puzzled me is she seemed self aware in her ability to analyze pros and cons of her decisions and always had the right come back or comment or advice in ev...more
Think of it as "Bridget Jones with kids"; lots of British humor. Apparently the British schools, and parents involved in those schools, are just as annoying as here in America.
Takes a good realistic look at marriage, and the slow drifting that pulls at all couples.
It had a surprisingly positive spin on "stay at home mums".
The only beef I have on this book is its view on sexuality.
The characters girlfriends, all with out kids, are very promiscuous, having shallow self-pleasing lifestyles in gener...more
Takes a good realistic look at marriage, and the slow drifting that pulls at all couples.
It had a surprisingly positive spin on "stay at home mums".
The only beef I have on this book is its view on sexuality.
The characters girlfriends, all with out kids, are very promiscuous, having shallow self-pleasing lifestyles in gener...more
If a book can leave you grinning from ear to ear while in rush hour traffic, the author has done her job creating hilarious and realistic scenarios. I laughed so often with this, as others have said, Bridget Jones' esque look at parenthood. I have so much more confidence in myself as a future mum: if this mum can do it, so can I! Messy car, locking oneself out of one's house, texting the masses instead of one person...ah, humerous parenting.
Many folks have stated their discomfort with the focus...more
Many folks have stated their discomfort with the focus...more
1 like · like · see review
It's no surprise i picked up slummy mummy from the noe valley library. they bill it as a bridget jones diary for moms. i'm not a mom, but it was pretty funny. here is a woman who has given up her career as a producer for a big news show in england to be a stay at home mom. obviously in order to have risen so high in her career, she was good at it. she is not good at being a stay at home mom. she loses the keys, the car, the credit card, doesn't pay the bills, can barely keep the kids getting to...more
I imagine my mom, upon seeing that I've read a book with such a ridiculous title, staring off into the middle distance and sadly wondering where she went wrong raising me. It's not your fault, Mom. This book was billed as a Bridget-Jones-esque book for Moms that was funny.
And it is funny in a lot of places. The Mom (and narrator) in this book is a bit messy, always losing keys and wallets, and never on top of the laundry pile. My soul mate! I liked the many of the observations about life, and l...more
And it is funny in a lot of places. The Mom (and narrator) in this book is a bit messy, always losing keys and wallets, and never on top of the laundry pile. My soul mate! I liked the many of the observations about life, and l...more
Jul 29, 2011
Karen
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
gave-away,
magazine-freebie
Oh, FFS. The main character was annoying, her friends were annoying, her children were annoying, her husband... OK, you get the picture. A ridiculous farce with about as much emotional honesty as a kiwi fruit.
Feb 09, 2011
Rebecca
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Rebecca by:
Jennifer Moore
Shelves:
read-for-a-bookclub
While at first it looks like just another British chick-lit read, I was surprised by the depth of this book. Neill definitely captures some absolutely hysterical moments of a thirty-something mom who gave up her career to stay at home with her children, but she also explores the subtleties of how what seems at first just a harmless flirtation can slowly impact a marriage. While I don’t have children yet, this book made me think a lot about how important it is to stay connected to your spouse, ev...more
I really wanted to like this book. Chick-lit and a Mommy-read? Right up my alley, right? Don't get me wrong, some parts of this book were freaking hilarious and I could identify with the major theme: Don't take Mommy-hood so seriously. But the main character flirts with idea of an affair and her best friend is having an affair. Totally turned me off. The best part of the book, IMO, was the secret nicknames given to the other parents - now THAT was funny. It took me 3 weeks to get through this on...more
I'd like to give this five stars, but then I'd know for sure I was completely hormonal (due to current pregnancy). Hence I think why I enjoyed this book so thoroughly. Although it is inconceivable to compare the quality of writing and depth to something like Atlas Shrugged or To Kill a Mockingbird, it is easy to say this story offered gentle diversion and relativity for me at this point in time.
If you're a mom and searching for light reading without the total simpleton trash factor, this is a fu...more
If you're a mom and searching for light reading without the total simpleton trash factor, this is a fu...more
I was actually pretty disappointed. This book was touted as "the mommy version of Bridget Jones" but I felt it was less funny, more serious, and a lot more depressing than Helen Fielding's novels. For the most part I was expecting a campy romp through the misadventures of surburban motherhood. Instead, the main character seemed troubled by her past indiscretions, seriously tempted to have an affair with a fellow parent, and was struggling to find meaning in her current role as a stay-at-home mom...more
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I was very disappointed with this book. From the beginning I found it hard to get into and the main character Lucy is at best a bit irritating.
It centers around Lucy and how she is unhappy in her role as a housewife and mother to three little boys. The fact of the matter is that Lucy actually has a lovely husband, a nice house, three hilarious but sweet kids and great friends but yet somehow we are supposed to feel sorry for her and empathize when she falls for a father from school.
The only go...more
It centers around Lucy and how she is unhappy in her role as a housewife and mother to three little boys. The fact of the matter is that Lucy actually has a lovely husband, a nice house, three hilarious but sweet kids and great friends but yet somehow we are supposed to feel sorry for her and empathize when she falls for a father from school.
The only go...more
As I had time I decided to give this book a second go. I managed to read it undisturbed and found that I really enjoyed it! There were both good points and bad points about this book but I still liked it nevertheless and would read a sequel to it if there ever was one. The book centres around housewife, Lucy's, life. How she copes with the children, housework, school runs whilst helping her friends get out of sticky situations (only to find herself in their place at times).
I liked how this book...more
I liked how this book...more
I have mixed feelings about this book - it was ok, I finished it (which is a starting point) but it definitely wasn't particularly gripping. The plot was very slow to begin with and nothing really happened till half way through the book. From that point onwards there was more of a plot, but it still wasn't particularly gripping. The best part was the last few pages. Some parts are relatable; other parts are just completely unrealistic. It's funny, say in three places, other than that I found it...more
In many ways, I'm embarrassed to have read this. In my defense, it's written by a Brit journalist who writes a column in the London Times and I *thought* it might provide some intelligent and funny perspective on modern mothering.
I was wrong. I'm not a fan of chick lit in general, though I make an exception now and again, and this is just chick lit dressed up as mommy lit. The problem is it tries to be both somewhat substantive on occasion (delving into the complications relationships face after...more
I was wrong. I'm not a fan of chick lit in general, though I make an exception now and again, and this is just chick lit dressed up as mommy lit. The problem is it tries to be both somewhat substantive on occasion (delving into the complications relationships face after...more
I only got halfway through this book. It is proported to be like Bridget Jones, but this author is nowhere near as clever, nor funny. Having multiple thoughts and some actions towards an extra-marital affair isn't humorous. Having a best friend who is having an affair with a married man isn't funny either. At least Bridget Jones wasn't married! I didn't even chuckle once and I got to page 150 out of 300ish. I feel guilt over not finishing something, but this book wasn't worth my time.
I'm not sure what to rate this book. It was laugh out loud hilarious at times. My husband kept giving me funny looks, because I would laugh so hard and so often. I love her writing style and identify with the "slummy" mummy of the novel. I know some people felt that her predicaments were absurd and her own fault, but being the mom of 3 boys, I really identified with that aspect of her life. That being said, however, I can't rate the book high because I hated the premise of the book... any book t...more
I picked up this book as my "random read" for the month. Mommy-lit/Brit-Tit-Lit is not a genre that I've read a lot of. This book does have fun moments and can be entertaining (it is essentially Bridget Jones's Diary for moms). Some of Slummy Mummy's disasters seemed too outrageous and far too frequent to be plausible. The ending seemed especially so. My main criticism is that the book was unnecessarily long for the story it was telling and seemed to drag on.
Mar 21, 2013
Cora Linn
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
lovers of chick lit
An easy read that's like an old friend - comforting and entertaining.
We all know someone who is or will be a Yummy Mummy or an Alpha Mum or a Slummy Mummy or a Sexy Domesticated Dad. We all have that friend who will be in one relationship after another and never settles down.
Perhaps this book would appeal more to a middle class audience - I cannot relate to the lifestyles at all. But to the situations and the characters? I think fondly of them.
We all know someone who is or will be a Yummy Mummy or an Alpha Mum or a Slummy Mummy or a Sexy Domesticated Dad. We all have that friend who will be in one relationship after another and never settles down.
Perhaps this book would appeal more to a middle class audience - I cannot relate to the lifestyles at all. But to the situations and the characters? I think fondly of them.
This is part of that whole "chick-lit for moms" type book (this one set in London), and some of it is really funny (mostly if you're a mom). She has some good anecdotes and funny stories about what it's like in the world of motherhood. But it felt like it was longer and more rambling than it needed to be. The author apparently has a similar column in the London Times, and it did feel like maybe the book was made from several different columns just put together to form a book. Plus the main chara...more
Mar 01, 2008
Lucia
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those who don't take life, especiallly motherhood, too seriously
Shelves:
adult
I finally finished this book sometime in january. I am realizing that I never updated the list. it is funny and makes me realize that perhaps I might not be the only mother of small boys driving a mobile dump and living in chaos most of the time.
the whole poor attempts at an affair mightnot have been totally necessary, but reainding about men participating in school functions was fun, and the added tension that comes about from having more tha just the soccer moms running the shows.
definite lig...more
the whole poor attempts at an affair mightnot have been totally necessary, but reainding about men participating in school functions was fun, and the added tension that comes about from having more tha just the soccer moms running the shows.
definite lig...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| I liked this book! | 2 | 12 | Oct 05, 2012 06:54am |
Fiona Neill is a novelist and journalist. She was born in 1966. Her first novel The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy, based on her column in The Times Magazine every Saturday, was published in 2007. It was widely acclaimed and went on to become a Sunday Times bestseller that sold in twenty-five countries.
Brought up in Norfolk, she now lives in London with her husband and three children.
Fiona is pres...more
More about Fiona Neill...
Brought up in Norfolk, she now lives in London with her husband and three children.
Fiona is pres...more
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“Pictures never tell the whole story," I say trying to be reassuring. "They're a projection of how people want you to see them”
—
2 people liked it
“I'm still reeling from the fact that you went along with Emma's plan," he says "And that when you came home, you woke me up to show me a picture of your mobile phone of a walk-in wardrobe as though it was the most notable part of the whole exercise,"
Well, in a way it was," I say.”
—
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More quotes…
Well, in a way it was," I say.”
Jul 20, 2010 04:59am