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Living the Dream
For anyone who loved Fleabag
Does your side-hustle pay the rent? yes [ ] no [ x ]
Is your boss a dick? yes [ x ] no [ ]
Do you ever cry in the toilet? Yes [ x ] no [ ]
*
Emma works in advertising.
Clem lives with her mum.
This is not where they thought they would be by the time their thirties loomed - too old to blag buses but too skint to take cabs. London budgets and bastards from the past spur Emma and Clem towards success, but it's not as easy as everyone else makes it look, right?
Living the Dream is a spiky comic novel of friendship, day jobs and the search for a career with meaning.
Does your side-hustle pay the rent? yes [ ] no [ x ]
Is your boss a dick? yes [ x ] no [ ]
Do you ever cry in the toilet? Yes [ x ] no [ ]
*
Emma works in advertising.
Clem lives with her mum.
This is not where they thought they would be by the time their thirties loomed - too old to blag buses but too skint to take cabs. London budgets and bastards from the past spur Emma and Clem towards success, but it's not as easy as everyone else makes it look, right?
Living the Dream is a spiky comic novel of friendship, day jobs and the search for a career with meaning.
336 pages, Paperback
First published July 11, 2017
34 people are currently reading
1284 people want to read
About the author
Lauren Berry
1 book7 followersLauren Berry is the founding editor of satirical feminist magazine KnockBack. She has been featured in the Guardian, Observer and Easy Living. Lauren makes a living in branding and journalism under a variety of guises, including the pseudonym Marie Berry. She lives and works in London. Living the Dream is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews
June 11, 2017
Emma and Clem are twentysomething Londoners who want to be writers. And, er, that’s it - Lauren Berry neglected to include a story in her debut novel, Living the Dream!
Emma’s the realist of the two, working an office job to pay the rent and writing in her spare time, while Clem’s the dreamer, going full tilt at the screenwriting lark and being broke and living at home for her efforts. I’d hoped Berry would wring some humour and/or wry observations about juggling artistic aspirations with mundane office work but no such luck; all she’s got is that corporate life is fake and stupid and work is, like, shit, innit? Bah.
Besides no story to speak of, there isn’t much to the characters either. Emma and Clem are largely identical: smart, witty, beautiful, undiscovered geniuses (ie. Berry’s Mary Sues).
The men though: each male character is an absurd one-dimensional caricature. They vary from retarded twits like Emma’s boss Adrian to flat-out tossers like the director Clem goes on a date with, Clem’s cheating ex actor boyfriend Jordan or skeevy married Ross. Some are harmless man-childs, there to be condescended to like pets such as Emma’s flatmate Paul and Emma’s dad, the bumbling old coot who doesn’t get modern tech, or they’re hawt and therefore only good to fuck.
I don’t really mind, it’s just an observation I found amusing, and I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that a feminist press like Virago would publish a novel taking this kind of tack, but imagine if a male writer did the same thing to women characters. Oh, we wouldn’t hear the end of it! Poor bastard would be castigated as a misogynistic, sexist pillar of the patriarchy and made to publicly apologise before having his novel pulled off shelves and burned! Oh well, the double standards continue as usual…
The book tediously ambles through cliched chick-lit stuff: boozy nights out, boy troubles, a baby scare, romantic trysts, and to finish off (what else?): a wedding. Ho hum. Berry’s observations on the corporate world are as equally unoriginal as her generic plotting, lacking any insight. And Emma and Clem predictably get lucky at the end just through sorta finding people who can make them successful - utterly unimaginative fluff.
A few scenes were vividly written (Clem’s bartending gig, Clem and Emma’s birthday fight) and the novel is well-written overall but I’d hoped for a much more subversive, fun and entertaining book than what Living the Dream turned out to be. As it is, it’s an unimpressive, unmemorable and largely unidentifiable read from the bulk of girly books out there now that occasionally tries (and fails) to stand out by making faces at the modern world. Ooo, edgy!
Maybe a more talented writer could make something of the premise or maybe there really isn’t anything to be said about creative people forced to work tedious jobs to make ends meet. Either way, this one is boring, bland and directionless rubbish - don’t bother.
Emma’s the realist of the two, working an office job to pay the rent and writing in her spare time, while Clem’s the dreamer, going full tilt at the screenwriting lark and being broke and living at home for her efforts. I’d hoped Berry would wring some humour and/or wry observations about juggling artistic aspirations with mundane office work but no such luck; all she’s got is that corporate life is fake and stupid and work is, like, shit, innit? Bah.
Besides no story to speak of, there isn’t much to the characters either. Emma and Clem are largely identical: smart, witty, beautiful, undiscovered geniuses (ie. Berry’s Mary Sues).
The men though: each male character is an absurd one-dimensional caricature. They vary from retarded twits like Emma’s boss Adrian to flat-out tossers like the director Clem goes on a date with, Clem’s cheating ex actor boyfriend Jordan or skeevy married Ross. Some are harmless man-childs, there to be condescended to like pets such as Emma’s flatmate Paul and Emma’s dad, the bumbling old coot who doesn’t get modern tech, or they’re hawt and therefore only good to fuck.
I don’t really mind, it’s just an observation I found amusing, and I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that a feminist press like Virago would publish a novel taking this kind of tack, but imagine if a male writer did the same thing to women characters. Oh, we wouldn’t hear the end of it! Poor bastard would be castigated as a misogynistic, sexist pillar of the patriarchy and made to publicly apologise before having his novel pulled off shelves and burned! Oh well, the double standards continue as usual…
The book tediously ambles through cliched chick-lit stuff: boozy nights out, boy troubles, a baby scare, romantic trysts, and to finish off (what else?): a wedding. Ho hum. Berry’s observations on the corporate world are as equally unoriginal as her generic plotting, lacking any insight. And Emma and Clem predictably get lucky at the end just through sorta finding people who can make them successful - utterly unimaginative fluff.
A few scenes were vividly written (Clem’s bartending gig, Clem and Emma’s birthday fight) and the novel is well-written overall but I’d hoped for a much more subversive, fun and entertaining book than what Living the Dream turned out to be. As it is, it’s an unimpressive, unmemorable and largely unidentifiable read from the bulk of girly books out there now that occasionally tries (and fails) to stand out by making faces at the modern world. Ooo, edgy!
Maybe a more talented writer could make something of the premise or maybe there really isn’t anything to be said about creative people forced to work tedious jobs to make ends meet. Either way, this one is boring, bland and directionless rubbish - don’t bother.
June 17, 2017
I received this book for free through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers.
I give this book 3.5 stars which rounds up to 4.
First off, I don't see why a coffee cup was chosen to be on the cover. The main characters are constantly drinking alcohol not coffee.
I wasn’t blown away by this book. It definitely started a bit slow. It took a while for it to finally get interesting and for a plot to actually emerge. Once that happened I enjoyed it. I was also expecting this book to be a funny book but it wasn’t. On the plus side, I did enjoy the feminist parts of it.
Overall, it’s a good, but not super amazing, read.
I give this book 3.5 stars which rounds up to 4.
First off, I don't see why a coffee cup was chosen to be on the cover. The main characters are constantly drinking alcohol not coffee.
I wasn’t blown away by this book. It definitely started a bit slow. It took a while for it to finally get interesting and for a plot to actually emerge. Once that happened I enjoyed it. I was also expecting this book to be a funny book but it wasn’t. On the plus side, I did enjoy the feminist parts of it.
Overall, it’s a good, but not super amazing, read.
July 4, 2017
Living The Dream is a razor-sharp comic novel based on office life and friendship. I totally loved reading some of the most funniest lines that I have ever read. Emma Derringer is an assistant at an advertising agency in London. Being punctual wasn't deliberate she was just born that way. Emma was always the first to arrive to work extra earlier than anyone else in the Soho office block. But unfortunately she isn't being paid for arriving and starting work before any of the other workers in the office. I personally wouldn't start early unless I was being paid. Once Emma sat at her desk she pressed the button on the back of her computer and typed in her password ( Fresh_Hell ) and shoved her jacket under the desk. I loved this part I thought it was so funny. ( Dear ALL, Please keep your coats and bags out of sight and Not on your chairs as they are unsightly. Thx. ) Somewhere over the Atlantic, Clementine was flying on a Virgin airline for London. Another very comical line that I loved . Clementine had pictured herself doing this journey in Executive Mode wearing a trouser suit and carrying a briefcase. Of course she would get upgraded just from the sheer fabulousness of her hair. Wishful thinking Clementine with a rucksack instead of a posh briefcase. I highly recommend reading Living The Dream as it full of a lot more than I have reviewed.
June 13, 2017
A sparky slice of 21st-century chick lit (that is, the type you absolutely don't call chick lit) about two friends in their late twenties, Living the Dream fizzes with humour and intelligence. Emma, who always wanted to be a writer, is stuck in a job at an advertising firm; it pays the bills, but she hates it. Clementine has just returned from a year studying film in New York, and comes back down to earth with a bump when she finds herself living in her mum and stepdad's house, skint and apparently unsuitable for anything better than bar work. Though they don't necessarily realise it, the friends envy each other – Emma wishes she had the guts to just quit and do something more creative, while Clem admires the fact that Emma has a foot on the corporate ladder and can afford a few luxuries.
It's a relatable portrait of a life that's typical of city-dwelling older millennials, from cringe-inducing hen parties and work awaydays to money woes and worrying about ageing parents. (In particular, Emma's office is painfully well-realised: the passive-aggressive emails about tidying away your coat and bag, the 'sweet wrappers, cuddly toys, branded pens and photos' piled on the PR team's desks, the recycled bullshit everyone comes out with at meetings.) More importantly, the characters are deeply likeable and the story is hard to tear yourself away from.
It doesn't quite culminate in some grand, hilarious finale; I think on some level I expected there to be a big web of coincidence drawing everything and everyone together at the end. Without that, some of the incidents depicted throughout the book feel like they lack a punchline. I did, however, really like the reveal of the bitchy yet annoyingly perfect frenemy (a chick lit stock character) as someone who is not only more human than she first appears, but also more accomplished and professional – and perhaps someone more deserving of success and fulfilment than our two heroines, loveable though they are. There's generally a buoyant (but believable) sense of positivity about the story. It's just nice.
Living the Dream falls into the same bracket as Lisa Owens' 2016 debut Not Working, and if that book resembled a millennial Bridget Jones's Diary, this one is Sex and the City if Carrie had a 9-to-5, a blog and a more realistic financial situation.
I received an advance review copy of Living the Dream from the publisher through NetGalley.
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It's a relatable portrait of a life that's typical of city-dwelling older millennials, from cringe-inducing hen parties and work awaydays to money woes and worrying about ageing parents. (In particular, Emma's office is painfully well-realised: the passive-aggressive emails about tidying away your coat and bag, the 'sweet wrappers, cuddly toys, branded pens and photos' piled on the PR team's desks, the recycled bullshit everyone comes out with at meetings.) More importantly, the characters are deeply likeable and the story is hard to tear yourself away from.
It doesn't quite culminate in some grand, hilarious finale; I think on some level I expected there to be a big web of coincidence drawing everything and everyone together at the end. Without that, some of the incidents depicted throughout the book feel like they lack a punchline. I did, however, really like the reveal of the bitchy yet annoyingly perfect frenemy (a chick lit stock character) as someone who is not only more human than she first appears, but also more accomplished and professional – and perhaps someone more deserving of success and fulfilment than our two heroines, loveable though they are. There's generally a buoyant (but believable) sense of positivity about the story. It's just nice.
Living the Dream falls into the same bracket as Lisa Owens' 2016 debut Not Working, and if that book resembled a millennial Bridget Jones's Diary, this one is Sex and the City if Carrie had a 9-to-5, a blog and a more realistic financial situation.
I received an advance review copy of Living the Dream from the publisher through NetGalley.
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August 23, 2022
"I don't believe it's what you want to do that makes you who you are. It's what you actually do that forms the basis of your character."
This book had a nice message, but the pacing was wrong and all the ends were tied up too nicely. It also felt as though the characters did not develop at all throughout the book..
This book had a nice message, but the pacing was wrong and all the ends were tied up too nicely. It also felt as though the characters did not develop at all throughout the book..
June 15, 2018
This is another work satire that functions at a basic level but doesn’t reach any heights. The two main characters are the same kind of sarcastic which drove me mad. I’d recommend THIS COULD HURT or BREAK IN CASE OF EMERGENCY over this any day. It was a somewhat satisfying beach read though. Expectations were low as I knew anything following THE PISCES was going to pale in comparison.
March 14, 2018
I admit that I picked up this book because it was hailed as 'Bridget Jones for Millennials'
If I was being kind and optimistic, I would say that Berry has curated a sardonic and darkly-humoured piece of narrative about how Millennials do stuff but nothing really happens and life is just kind of dull. But in reality I think Berry just lacks the creative thinking necessary to write three-dimensional characters and a good plot line. See: the tedious number Clem 'n' Em do something stupid and everyone forgives them.
There are references to how wonderful and talented these young women are but almost no actual description of their genius. I wryly recall my writing teacher shouting at a class full of bemused 16-year-olds to "show, don't tell" and I think I finally understand how frustrating it was for him to read our teenage tripe.
Berry tried to make the heroines' struggles relateable in a way which suggests that she was secretly hoping the novel gets picked up and turned into a film or TV series. One of the girls lives in a shitty, overpriced apartment - like most renting Londoners, of course - except her's happens to be a disused factory/office with huge cavernous ceilings which would lend itself nicely to the kind of 'poverty' and 'struggle' we see in American sit-coms. New Girl, anyone?
If I was being kind and optimistic, I would say that Berry has curated a sardonic and darkly-humoured piece of narrative about how Millennials do stuff but nothing really happens and life is just kind of dull. But in reality I think Berry just lacks the creative thinking necessary to write three-dimensional characters and a good plot line. See: the tedious number Clem 'n' Em do something stupid and everyone forgives them.
There are references to how wonderful and talented these young women are but almost no actual description of their genius. I wryly recall my writing teacher shouting at a class full of bemused 16-year-olds to "show, don't tell" and I think I finally understand how frustrating it was for him to read our teenage tripe.
Berry tried to make the heroines' struggles relateable in a way which suggests that she was secretly hoping the novel gets picked up and turned into a film or TV series. One of the girls lives in a shitty, overpriced apartment - like most renting Londoners, of course - except her's happens to be a disused factory/office with huge cavernous ceilings which would lend itself nicely to the kind of 'poverty' and 'struggle' we see in American sit-coms. New Girl, anyone?
January 13, 2018
I stuck with this so-so book because it was fairly entertaining but I got to a part near the end that I personally couldn’t read due to my own convictions and beliefs. The way the author dealt with a sensitive subject made me nauseous. Run away from this vapid book.
March 21, 2020
Was this supposed to be feminist? Because it wasn't.
November 17, 2017
This one's a little late as I got caught up in the exams rush while reading it, but thank you to Little, Brown for sending me a copy of Lauren Berry's charming and cheeky debut, Living The Dream.
Listen, I'm always going to have a weak spot for chick lit that features good ol' British humour and awkward mishaps. Bad dates, dull job, lost and broke - I could see slithers of myself within Emma and Clem along the way. I guess one issue is that they can be seen as Mary Sues, but that didn't bother me too much while reading as it's a bit like a Richard Curtis film and his idealisation of London where one can be struggling financially, slaving away at a 9-5, but still afford rent, have an attractive musician roommate, a famous actor ex, a degree from one of the best universities in the United States and many who praise your work. The reader sort of has to suspend disbelief for a bit so we can accept that while Emma only has £500 in her back account, she's doing fine. I suppose this is before she's done the weekly shop?
I don't want to be overly critical of Living the Dream because I did enjoy it. It hasn't got a patch on Bridget Jones, of which it has closely borrowed elements for certain scenes, and most of the male characters seem to be one-dimensional, but Berry has a knack for snappy, witty dialogue and knowing just when to throw Clem, Emma, and the reader, a curveball.
One thing that did stand out to me was how Berry tackled abortion, a topic that can still be seen as taboo in society. It would have been easy to gloss over it, maybe even have Emma return to her god awful ex-boyfriend who knocked her up and have the two of them try raise the baby. Thankfully, Berry did not take that route and was frank in her writing. Emma may not be as confident when it comes to throwing in the towel at her advertising job, but she is headstrong in knowing that having the baby wouldn't be right for her and that an abortion was what she wanted. Those close to her supported her, and the naysayers were ignored which is exactly how it should be.
However, for every good, there's a bad. One thing that was slightly unsettling was the novels issue when it came to addressing women who weren't the two main protagonists. Living the Dream screams 'Look at Emma and Clem, two smart and funny women with great talent. Look at them risking everything to chase their dreams'. Berry's practically next to you with a megaphone bellowing in your ear 'If they can do it, so can you!'. Except, Living the Dream isn't about girl power. Emma and Clem's trouble with women who weren't them is shown in their problematic attitude to not just their "friend" Yasmin, but in the way Emma dismisses the women at work as 'PR bimbos' as though she's on some advertising pedestal. In an age where women are taking back the reins and rising up against negative stereotypes, it's so so disheartening to read a book written by a woman that features these 'strong' women characters putting other women down.
I do see the message Berry wants to convey in Living the Dream. That if you're good at something and you enjoy it, pursue it. Despite this, it comes across a bit like one of those cheesy ads narrated by an overenthusiastic male basically going 'Tired of your day job? Well quit and chase the same dream millions of others are also chasing!' And I get it, I'm a creative. I write freelance, I've done unpaid work experience in publishing houses, I stay up until the wees hours working on the first draft of my novel that I know will be rejected. In an ideal world all us writer types would all be Emma and be able to get hot writing jobs right off the bat and earn hella money. Yet, the reality is so far from that and as an anxious person who craves stability and structure, I don't think there's anything wrong in playing it safe and having an office job while you pursue those things which is something Living the Dream heavily criticises. In Berry's novel, if you want your dream to come true, you can't do anything else on the side. You have to be unemployed. She seems to forget that bills are real and not everyone has the luxury of giving up their 9-5 for what's likely to be a pipe dream.
Anyway, I digress. Living the Dream is a fun, easy read. It's a quintessentially British novel with a lighthearted tone, a ton of boozing and a friendship at its core that'll make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Plot-wise, there's not a lot of action and twists and turns, and I had a few issues with it, but you do become so invested in Emma and Clem that you will root for them and enjoy following their journeys.
Listen, I'm always going to have a weak spot for chick lit that features good ol' British humour and awkward mishaps. Bad dates, dull job, lost and broke - I could see slithers of myself within Emma and Clem along the way. I guess one issue is that they can be seen as Mary Sues, but that didn't bother me too much while reading as it's a bit like a Richard Curtis film and his idealisation of London where one can be struggling financially, slaving away at a 9-5, but still afford rent, have an attractive musician roommate, a famous actor ex, a degree from one of the best universities in the United States and many who praise your work. The reader sort of has to suspend disbelief for a bit so we can accept that while Emma only has £500 in her back account, she's doing fine. I suppose this is before she's done the weekly shop?
I don't want to be overly critical of Living the Dream because I did enjoy it. It hasn't got a patch on Bridget Jones, of which it has closely borrowed elements for certain scenes, and most of the male characters seem to be one-dimensional, but Berry has a knack for snappy, witty dialogue and knowing just when to throw Clem, Emma, and the reader, a curveball.
One thing that did stand out to me was how Berry tackled abortion, a topic that can still be seen as taboo in society. It would have been easy to gloss over it, maybe even have Emma return to her god awful ex-boyfriend who knocked her up and have the two of them try raise the baby. Thankfully, Berry did not take that route and was frank in her writing. Emma may not be as confident when it comes to throwing in the towel at her advertising job, but she is headstrong in knowing that having the baby wouldn't be right for her and that an abortion was what she wanted. Those close to her supported her, and the naysayers were ignored which is exactly how it should be.
However, for every good, there's a bad. One thing that was slightly unsettling was the novels issue when it came to addressing women who weren't the two main protagonists. Living the Dream screams 'Look at Emma and Clem, two smart and funny women with great talent. Look at them risking everything to chase their dreams'. Berry's practically next to you with a megaphone bellowing in your ear 'If they can do it, so can you!'. Except, Living the Dream isn't about girl power. Emma and Clem's trouble with women who weren't them is shown in their problematic attitude to not just their "friend" Yasmin, but in the way Emma dismisses the women at work as 'PR bimbos' as though she's on some advertising pedestal. In an age where women are taking back the reins and rising up against negative stereotypes, it's so so disheartening to read a book written by a woman that features these 'strong' women characters putting other women down.
I do see the message Berry wants to convey in Living the Dream. That if you're good at something and you enjoy it, pursue it. Despite this, it comes across a bit like one of those cheesy ads narrated by an overenthusiastic male basically going 'Tired of your day job? Well quit and chase the same dream millions of others are also chasing!' And I get it, I'm a creative. I write freelance, I've done unpaid work experience in publishing houses, I stay up until the wees hours working on the first draft of my novel that I know will be rejected. In an ideal world all us writer types would all be Emma and be able to get hot writing jobs right off the bat and earn hella money. Yet, the reality is so far from that and as an anxious person who craves stability and structure, I don't think there's anything wrong in playing it safe and having an office job while you pursue those things which is something Living the Dream heavily criticises. In Berry's novel, if you want your dream to come true, you can't do anything else on the side. You have to be unemployed. She seems to forget that bills are real and not everyone has the luxury of giving up their 9-5 for what's likely to be a pipe dream.
Anyway, I digress. Living the Dream is a fun, easy read. It's a quintessentially British novel with a lighthearted tone, a ton of boozing and a friendship at its core that'll make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Plot-wise, there's not a lot of action and twists and turns, and I had a few issues with it, but you do become so invested in Emma and Clem that you will root for them and enjoy following their journeys.
September 9, 2017
Never have I related so much to a main character before, but Emma and I may be the same person. Emma is a 27-year-old business professional who so desperately wants to do MORE with her life. She is a talented writer, has a strong sense of sarcastic humor, and the people in her life all agree that her talents are being wasted on the bottomless pit of despair that is her current role as a glorified secretary for a PR firm. Her friend Clementine, whose life we also get to witness in alternating chapters, is in a similar situation where, in her mid-twenties, she's down on her luck, practically bankrupt, and just waiting for that "big break" in her career in film. The novel has hilarious highs, and some very serious lows, and is beautifully written from a viewpoint of an author who clearly understands what it means to get to your mid-twenties and scream "WHAT THE F@&$ AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?!" If you want a book that can make you laugh and continuously say "yeah, girl, same..." this book is for you! Such a great read and my overall score for this was 3.5/5 ⭐️! If you're a fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid or Colleen Hoover, this is one you should definitely pick up! Thank you again to Henry Holt and Company for sending me this beautiful book with the opportunity to review!
September 5, 2018
I had the good fortune to meet Lauren Berry recently and she very kindly gifted me a copy of this book. I warmed to Lauren as much as I did her characters Em and Clem - they are all so brutally honest and genuine that you can't help wanting them all to succeed.
The book follows friends Emma and Clementine's 'quest' to actually do a job they love and get paid for it, to break away from the corporate bull and quash their fears of failure and rejection.
A great read with believable characters that will make you also want to 'live the dream' - although I still prefer the working title of 'Crying in the Toilet'....!
The book follows friends Emma and Clementine's 'quest' to actually do a job they love and get paid for it, to break away from the corporate bull and quash their fears of failure and rejection.
A great read with believable characters that will make you also want to 'live the dream' - although I still prefer the working title of 'Crying in the Toilet'....!
June 5, 2017
I enjoyed this book! There was humor (bad date, I've been there) and also some frustrating parts that I wanted to the characters to just think and make the right choice! Overall I found this to be a fun, quick, and entertaining read. I love that it took place in London and described city life. I also think this book represents many in their late 20's just trying to do the best they can to figure life out! I received an ARC from LibraryThing.com and was happy to find a new author that I like!
May 25, 2017
I was pleased to have won this book recently in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
This is totally different from the books that I would generally read, but am always ready to try something different. I can only say that it was a fun read and am sure that my 18 yr old granddaughter will enjoy more than I.
This is totally different from the books that I would generally read, but am always ready to try something different. I can only say that it was a fun read and am sure that my 18 yr old granddaughter will enjoy more than I.
December 26, 2021
A charming 21st century chic-lit read. Very much relatable especially for those who are in their late 20s – from figuring Life out as they go to bad dates to finding a job that you actually love.
September 28, 2017
Shout out to abortion without apology. British chick-lit with a lot of good moments - I particularly loved the emphasis on work and Emma's horrible soul-sucking PR job.
December 8, 2017
Lauren Berry's Living the Dream is breezy, quick to read, and rather superficial. It is also encompassed under the umbrella of 'chick lit'. Not to sound like a book snob, but all of these are tropes which I would ordinarily avoid when choosing a new read. Regardless, it worked as a wonderful antidote to thesis research and writing. Whilst I am unlikely to remember that much of the quite predictable plot in a few months' time, this was certainly the right thing to choose to while away a couple of evenings with.
Read
January 10, 201878 pages into this book, I decided life was too short to finish it. Sure, the writing is very readable and slides along easily, but that can't distract forever from the fact that nothing actually happens in the story. Just because your characters are directionless, doesn't mean your novel has to be too.
August 16, 2017
For gifs and nicer formatting, read on my blog.
Living the Dream is Lauren Berry’s debut novel about two best friends, Emma and Clem, navigating adulthood and pursuing their art.
Synopsis
Emma works a soul-sucking corporate job to pay the bills. Unbeknownst to her colleagues, she saves her real creative energy for writing short, humorous pieces for her blog – a well-followed and well-loved but non-lucrative venture.
Clem finishes grad school at Columbia University in New York City and returns to London in debt and jobless. She sends her thesis script to various agents in hopes that someone will pick it up, but until then, she’s stuck bartending, living at home, and borrowing money from family and friends.
As these women near the end of their twenties, they must ask themselves how they define success and whether they’re willing to sacrifice financial security in order to pursue their true goals.
Reaction
Some dislikes:
One – Emma and Clem aren’t perfect, but they can still read as Mary Sues. TV Tropes defines a Mary Sue as a character who “serves as an idealized version of the author mainly for the purpose of wish fulfilment. She’s exotically beautiful…has a similarly cool and exotic name, [and is] exceptionally talented.”
Both women are clever, conventionally attractive, sexually empowered, and very good at what they do. Sure, Emma hates her job and Clementine is struggling financially, but they also have (collectively) a hot, verging-on-famous musician as a friend, a hot, famous actor as an ex-boyfriend, a degree from one of the best schools in America, and lots of people who appreciate their work. Still seems fairly aspirational to me.
This might not have bothered me, if not for…
Two – the disdain with which Emma and Clem sometimes address people, particularly those in conventional jobs. Not everyone has the luxury of following their dreams like Emma and Clem do. Not everyone seeks fulfilment in the workplace. And finally, not everyone can hack it.
It comes down to this – when a book presents a fun, charmed world, I want compelling characters I can root for completely despite their imperfections. Emma and Clem’s occasional snobbishness diminished them in the context of this novel. I wanted either a harsher world or kinder characters.
On the other hand, some likes:
One – Berry’s inclusion of some serious social issues. Ageing, disability, and loneliness. Abortion. Sexual harassment. If anything, I might have liked to see those plot points further developed. (This is where my mom’s voice pops into my head, saying, ‘Carly, no one wants to read about sad people.’… But happiness is boring.)
Two – the relationships. Emma and Clem are great old friends. They’re loyal, affectionate, and proud of one another. Crucially, though, they aren’t without tension; they argue about the right path forward; they are jealous.
Their friendships with Paul, Emma’s housemate, Yasmin, Clem’s childhood best friend, and Adam, Yasmin’s fiance, were also well-handled. Each could have slipped into trope-y territory, but instead, Berry used them as an opportunity to remind her protagonists (and her audience) that those you write off as one kind of person will surprise you.
Three – the fun, snappy dialogue. I wish I was as confident and quick-witted as those women.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Living the Dream was a fun read, if not completely to my taste. If you like the sound of a romp through London with two smart and sassy women and a host of other memorable characters, you should check it out!
[Disclaimer: Virago gave me an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.]
Note: This review has been cross posted on my blog (see above link) and LibraryThing.
Living the Dream is Lauren Berry’s debut novel about two best friends, Emma and Clem, navigating adulthood and pursuing their art.
Synopsis
Emma works a soul-sucking corporate job to pay the bills. Unbeknownst to her colleagues, she saves her real creative energy for writing short, humorous pieces for her blog – a well-followed and well-loved but non-lucrative venture.
Clem finishes grad school at Columbia University in New York City and returns to London in debt and jobless. She sends her thesis script to various agents in hopes that someone will pick it up, but until then, she’s stuck bartending, living at home, and borrowing money from family and friends.
As these women near the end of their twenties, they must ask themselves how they define success and whether they’re willing to sacrifice financial security in order to pursue their true goals.
Reaction
Some dislikes:
One – Emma and Clem aren’t perfect, but they can still read as Mary Sues. TV Tropes defines a Mary Sue as a character who “serves as an idealized version of the author mainly for the purpose of wish fulfilment. She’s exotically beautiful…has a similarly cool and exotic name, [and is] exceptionally talented.”
Both women are clever, conventionally attractive, sexually empowered, and very good at what they do. Sure, Emma hates her job and Clementine is struggling financially, but they also have (collectively) a hot, verging-on-famous musician as a friend, a hot, famous actor as an ex-boyfriend, a degree from one of the best schools in America, and lots of people who appreciate their work. Still seems fairly aspirational to me.
This might not have bothered me, if not for…
Two – the disdain with which Emma and Clem sometimes address people, particularly those in conventional jobs. Not everyone has the luxury of following their dreams like Emma and Clem do. Not everyone seeks fulfilment in the workplace. And finally, not everyone can hack it.
It comes down to this – when a book presents a fun, charmed world, I want compelling characters I can root for completely despite their imperfections. Emma and Clem’s occasional snobbishness diminished them in the context of this novel. I wanted either a harsher world or kinder characters.
On the other hand, some likes:
One – Berry’s inclusion of some serious social issues. Ageing, disability, and loneliness. Abortion. Sexual harassment. If anything, I might have liked to see those plot points further developed. (This is where my mom’s voice pops into my head, saying, ‘Carly, no one wants to read about sad people.’… But happiness is boring.)
Two – the relationships. Emma and Clem are great old friends. They’re loyal, affectionate, and proud of one another. Crucially, though, they aren’t without tension; they argue about the right path forward; they are jealous.
Their friendships with Paul, Emma’s housemate, Yasmin, Clem’s childhood best friend, and Adam, Yasmin’s fiance, were also well-handled. Each could have slipped into trope-y territory, but instead, Berry used them as an opportunity to remind her protagonists (and her audience) that those you write off as one kind of person will surprise you.
Three – the fun, snappy dialogue. I wish I was as confident and quick-witted as those women.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Living the Dream was a fun read, if not completely to my taste. If you like the sound of a romp through London with two smart and sassy women and a host of other memorable characters, you should check it out!
[Disclaimer: Virago gave me an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.]
Note: This review has been cross posted on my blog (see above link) and LibraryThing.
June 28, 2017
Advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Everyone can relate a little bit to Living the Dream's protagonist, Emma - She's almosts thirty, stuck in a marketing career, and the only good thing about her love life is that it provides quality content for her blog. I really enjoy books where they incorporate relevant things such as blogs and Youtube. I would have loved to have seen some of Emma’s writing incorporated into the book. After me other reviews, a common complaint is that nothing really happens in the books, that there’s no story, which is somewhat true; But that doesn’t mean the book is any less entertaining, following Emma day-to-day, laughing and cringing with her.
Berry gets the bits about working in the Creative Department spot on, something I can really relate to. The chapters where Emma is at work is where her narrative becomes very revealing. A lot of women feel similar frustrations to her and it is comforting to see a character struggling with them. Dissatisfaction with jobs is common theme in these young-woman-in-big-city books and you can happily predict that, by the end, they will have the career of their dreams.
The other main character, Clementine, was overshadowed by her best friend’s story. I kept on expecting to find out so much about her and why she is the way she is but in the end, it is up to the reader to make assumptions about her. Considering she is the more ‘fun’ one, I expected far more hijinks from her than Emma. When they meet up with their friend Yas, it is funny to see this caricature of woman, something which adds humour to an otherwise realistic book. Emma’s ‘work friend’, Hillary, turns out to be the best friend of all. After they click on their first meeting, Hillary is the voice of reason in Emma’s hectic life, helping her with sensible advice and junk food.
I thought Berry’s portrayal of abortion was really inspiring - it’s a topic that hasn’t shed its taboo completely yet, so the frankness of the writing was interesting. Emma knew exactly what was right for her and did she wanted to do. The people she need supported her and any criticism of her was ignored. You really feel for her on her journey as it dawns on her that she is pregnant, going to the doctors, and finally having the procedure. The subject is handled well.
One unavoidable criticism is the problematic language towards other women: Emma and Clem seem to have trouble describing other women with kindness or neutrality whether it be their friend Yasmin, or the "PR bimbos' It is so frustrating to read women putting other women down. It’s seems ridiculous in this day and age, that women are pitted against one another, even in writing, and even by another women.
Finally, the ending! Getting here was easy, with Berry's lively writing carrying you through the book, easily stepping from one character to another. I was glad when Emma's life wasn't amazingly perfect at the end, with all of her problems solved on the last page; she doesn't have a boyfriend, or the perfect career, but she has her dad, her mates, and cheap rent - what more could you ask for?
Everyone can relate a little bit to Living the Dream's protagonist, Emma - She's almosts thirty, stuck in a marketing career, and the only good thing about her love life is that it provides quality content for her blog. I really enjoy books where they incorporate relevant things such as blogs and Youtube. I would have loved to have seen some of Emma’s writing incorporated into the book. After me other reviews, a common complaint is that nothing really happens in the books, that there’s no story, which is somewhat true; But that doesn’t mean the book is any less entertaining, following Emma day-to-day, laughing and cringing with her.
Berry gets the bits about working in the Creative Department spot on, something I can really relate to. The chapters where Emma is at work is where her narrative becomes very revealing. A lot of women feel similar frustrations to her and it is comforting to see a character struggling with them. Dissatisfaction with jobs is common theme in these young-woman-in-big-city books and you can happily predict that, by the end, they will have the career of their dreams.
The other main character, Clementine, was overshadowed by her best friend’s story. I kept on expecting to find out so much about her and why she is the way she is but in the end, it is up to the reader to make assumptions about her. Considering she is the more ‘fun’ one, I expected far more hijinks from her than Emma. When they meet up with their friend Yas, it is funny to see this caricature of woman, something which adds humour to an otherwise realistic book. Emma’s ‘work friend’, Hillary, turns out to be the best friend of all. After they click on their first meeting, Hillary is the voice of reason in Emma’s hectic life, helping her with sensible advice and junk food.
I thought Berry’s portrayal of abortion was really inspiring - it’s a topic that hasn’t shed its taboo completely yet, so the frankness of the writing was interesting. Emma knew exactly what was right for her and did she wanted to do. The people she need supported her and any criticism of her was ignored. You really feel for her on her journey as it dawns on her that she is pregnant, going to the doctors, and finally having the procedure. The subject is handled well.
One unavoidable criticism is the problematic language towards other women: Emma and Clem seem to have trouble describing other women with kindness or neutrality whether it be their friend Yasmin, or the "PR bimbos' It is so frustrating to read women putting other women down. It’s seems ridiculous in this day and age, that women are pitted against one another, even in writing, and even by another women.
Finally, the ending! Getting here was easy, with Berry's lively writing carrying you through the book, easily stepping from one character to another. I was glad when Emma's life wasn't amazingly perfect at the end, with all of her problems solved on the last page; she doesn't have a boyfriend, or the perfect career, but she has her dad, her mates, and cheap rent - what more could you ask for?
November 9, 2017
Thank you to Holt Paperbacks for providing me with a free copy of Lauren Berry's novel, Living the Dream, in exchange for an honest review.
PLOT- Emma works for a marketing firm in London, but dreams of finding success as a writer. She's miserable at her day job, but has a decent following on her blog and keeps pitching article ideas to various trendy magazines. Emma struggles with her desire to quit her day job to chase her dreams against the reality of having a stable income. Adding to her frustrations is her roommate, a DJ who seems to squeak by, despite not having an "adult career."
Emma's best friend, Clementine, has just finished a prestigious screenwriting course in America and has returned to England with the idea that her big break is just around the corner. In the meantime, she is completely broke and forced to move in with her family, who do not understand her creative aspirations.
Pitched as a Bridget Jones's Diary for millennials, Living The Dream follows post-college age friends as they struggle to chase their dreams, find romantic partners, and make ends meet in London.
LIKE- Living the Dream reminded me of Lena Dunham's series, Girls, except the characters in Berry's story were less self-involved and far more likable. Emma and Clementine generally had a supportive friendship, one that can weather rough patches. They are both characters that I liked and rooted for to succeed.
Berry gives equal weight to both Emma and Clementine's stories, making them dual protagonists. However, there is a third friend added to the mix, Yasmin. Yasmin is their high-maintenance, drama-filled friend who is about to marry a wealthy man. At first Yasmin proves to be a difficult character to like, but by the end of the story, as some of her secrets and motives become clear, I totally adored her. It made me think of the somewhat difficult friends that I've had in my life and it's a gentle reminder to be a little understanding and not to rush to judgement.
I'm forty, a touch older than the target audience for Living the Dream, nevertheless less, it transported me back to that time in my life. Berry may be writing for the millennials, but this is a story that should ring true for older women too. The struggles at that stage of a woman's life is will resonate with older generations. Frankly, it makes me happy to be older and hopefully, wiser! The twenties are a stressful decade.
I love novels set in England, especially London. Although the characters are struggling, London is still a glamorous location.
DISLIKE- I enjoyed Living the Dream and Barry is a strong writer, but I don't think in the grand scheme of my yearly reading that this will be memorable. It was a quick, enjoyable read, but not a stand-out.
RECOMMEND- Maybe. Living the Dream would be a good pick for a woman in her twenties who is struggling to figure out her direction in life. It can feel like you're the only one with problems and Living the Dream is a good reminder that everyone facing similar issues.
Like my review? Check out my blog!
PLOT- Emma works for a marketing firm in London, but dreams of finding success as a writer. She's miserable at her day job, but has a decent following on her blog and keeps pitching article ideas to various trendy magazines. Emma struggles with her desire to quit her day job to chase her dreams against the reality of having a stable income. Adding to her frustrations is her roommate, a DJ who seems to squeak by, despite not having an "adult career."
Emma's best friend, Clementine, has just finished a prestigious screenwriting course in America and has returned to England with the idea that her big break is just around the corner. In the meantime, she is completely broke and forced to move in with her family, who do not understand her creative aspirations.
Pitched as a Bridget Jones's Diary for millennials, Living The Dream follows post-college age friends as they struggle to chase their dreams, find romantic partners, and make ends meet in London.
LIKE- Living the Dream reminded me of Lena Dunham's series, Girls, except the characters in Berry's story were less self-involved and far more likable. Emma and Clementine generally had a supportive friendship, one that can weather rough patches. They are both characters that I liked and rooted for to succeed.
Berry gives equal weight to both Emma and Clementine's stories, making them dual protagonists. However, there is a third friend added to the mix, Yasmin. Yasmin is their high-maintenance, drama-filled friend who is about to marry a wealthy man. At first Yasmin proves to be a difficult character to like, but by the end of the story, as some of her secrets and motives become clear, I totally adored her. It made me think of the somewhat difficult friends that I've had in my life and it's a gentle reminder to be a little understanding and not to rush to judgement.
I'm forty, a touch older than the target audience for Living the Dream, nevertheless less, it transported me back to that time in my life. Berry may be writing for the millennials, but this is a story that should ring true for older women too. The struggles at that stage of a woman's life is will resonate with older generations. Frankly, it makes me happy to be older and hopefully, wiser! The twenties are a stressful decade.
I love novels set in England, especially London. Although the characters are struggling, London is still a glamorous location.
DISLIKE- I enjoyed Living the Dream and Barry is a strong writer, but I don't think in the grand scheme of my yearly reading that this will be memorable. It was a quick, enjoyable read, but not a stand-out.
RECOMMEND- Maybe. Living the Dream would be a good pick for a woman in her twenties who is struggling to figure out her direction in life. It can feel like you're the only one with problems and Living the Dream is a good reminder that everyone facing similar issues.
Like my review? Check out my blog!
July 6, 2017
First of all happy publication day to author Lauren Berry with her debut novel, Living The Dream! Secondly, a huge thank you to Grace Vincent and Little, Brown publishers for allowing me to read a copy in exchange for an honest review. To be perfectly honest, I don't normally read books within this genre. However, when Grace contacted me and I read the synopsis I was in the mood for something light-hearted and funny so I was happy to give it a shot and was intrigued to read a story about a group of twenty-somethings living the hectic, London life attempting to balance work, friendship, having fun and falling in love.
Our story focuses on two girls of a similar age and personality, best friends Emma and Clem (the latter of whom just happens to have a fantastic name - Clementine Twist). They both appear to have what the other one desires, Emma has the stable job in advertising with a steady, decent wage that enables her to pay her rent on the flat she shares with a friend, go out occasionally and treat herself from time to time if she wanted. Clem on the other hand has just come back from New York where she was studying film, getting involved and then breaking up with an idiot actor boyfriend and trying her hand at writing her own script, still to be commissioned as she touches back down on Earth (aka London).
Both girls are miserable. Emma is desperately unhappy at her job and wants to jack it all in to pursue her real dream - writing, but is terrified of making that big jump and losing that guaranteed wage that she has become accustomed to. Clem is attempting to set up meetings with directors and people interested in her script with varying degrees of success but is having to live with her mum and stepfather and is completely broke, forced to take up bar work just to get some money coming in. Living The Dream looks at both girls lives as they attempt to navigate the scary adult world of budgeting and chasing your dream whilst realising the grown up experience might not be everything it's cracked up to be.
As I mentioned before, this isn't the genre I would normally go for and, as a result, I didn't fall head over heels in love with this novel. However, it does have some terrific things going for it and in the right pair of hands would be highly enjoyable I'm sure. I did sympathise with the plight of both characters and enjoyed the strong friendship between the two although also appreciated that the author wasn't afraid to take the story to darker places on occasion, something I wasn't expecting. I also liked that this novel didn't harp on about "finding the right man," which was a breath of fresh air in this genre and focused more on the interactions between friends than the dynamics of male-female relationships. I don't really want to criticise the novel as I believe it's purely a personal preference why I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped to and there are no stand out writing flaws or character quirks that I out and out disliked. So even though I may have not been the perfect reader for this story, I can still appreciate the positive aspects of the narrative and am certain there is a strong readership out there who will love it.
For my full review and many more please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com
Our story focuses on two girls of a similar age and personality, best friends Emma and Clem (the latter of whom just happens to have a fantastic name - Clementine Twist). They both appear to have what the other one desires, Emma has the stable job in advertising with a steady, decent wage that enables her to pay her rent on the flat she shares with a friend, go out occasionally and treat herself from time to time if she wanted. Clem on the other hand has just come back from New York where she was studying film, getting involved and then breaking up with an idiot actor boyfriend and trying her hand at writing her own script, still to be commissioned as she touches back down on Earth (aka London).
Both girls are miserable. Emma is desperately unhappy at her job and wants to jack it all in to pursue her real dream - writing, but is terrified of making that big jump and losing that guaranteed wage that she has become accustomed to. Clem is attempting to set up meetings with directors and people interested in her script with varying degrees of success but is having to live with her mum and stepfather and is completely broke, forced to take up bar work just to get some money coming in. Living The Dream looks at both girls lives as they attempt to navigate the scary adult world of budgeting and chasing your dream whilst realising the grown up experience might not be everything it's cracked up to be.
As I mentioned before, this isn't the genre I would normally go for and, as a result, I didn't fall head over heels in love with this novel. However, it does have some terrific things going for it and in the right pair of hands would be highly enjoyable I'm sure. I did sympathise with the plight of both characters and enjoyed the strong friendship between the two although also appreciated that the author wasn't afraid to take the story to darker places on occasion, something I wasn't expecting. I also liked that this novel didn't harp on about "finding the right man," which was a breath of fresh air in this genre and focused more on the interactions between friends than the dynamics of male-female relationships. I don't really want to criticise the novel as I believe it's purely a personal preference why I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped to and there are no stand out writing flaws or character quirks that I out and out disliked. So even though I may have not been the perfect reader for this story, I can still appreciate the positive aspects of the narrative and am certain there is a strong readership out there who will love it.
For my full review and many more please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com
May 31, 2017
I was very lucky to ‘win’ an ‘Advance Reader’s Edition’ of LIVING THE DREAM: A NOVEL by Lauren Berry, from Library Thing’s Early Reviewer Program.
LIVING THE DREAM is due to be published July, 2017. It is Ms. Berry’s first novel.
It consists of 3 Parts with 42 chapters.
Two best friends, Emma Derringer and Clementine Twist are reunited after Clementine returns home (to London) after graduating from Columbia’s post-grad film program. She sees herself as a serious screenwriter. Clementine is a ‘party girl’ leaving the cocoon of her film studies and entering the huge, cruel world of London.
Emma sees herself as a serious writer and is trying to ‘pitch’ her blog and articles for various publications.
Both young women are a bit ‘down and out’ - Emma is constantly complaining and feeling depressed at her advertising job. They both spend money like drunken sailors. (Actually they are drunk most of the time.) They talk, work, dress, party - all in cliches, drowning in self-pity.
The characters (at first glance) are only mildly likable and interesting. The story line is very chatty with a brisk pace and constant despair and self-loathing - over money, lost opportunities, friendships and relationships.
Emma is introduced with the opening sentence, “The 3rd floor of of the Soho office block smelled of instant coffee and disappointment.”
Clementine is introduced in her airline seat suffering from a ferocious hangover with the thought that, “Everything tastes better when it’s free.”
They are not impressive characters! (Yet)
Enter Yasmin - a mutual friend/best friend and planning her wedding to Adam.
Enter Paul - Emma’s platonic flatmate. He seems quite level-headed.
My reactions:
I know advertising isn’t for everyone,but why can’t Emma make the most of it (the job is paying her bills, after all) or at least try to enrich herself in her off hours rather than getting ‘pissed’ every few days. How does she afford it? She doesn’t. A further reason for more self-loathing.
On pp.155-157, I wrote in my notes, “Stop fighting! You are both selfish, immature and unrealistic.”
I liked Hillary’s doctor’s advice to Emma. He was enlightened, practical and reasonable. Nothing like the U.S. medical establishment.
I liked Emma’s feeling that she was on “a conveyor belt of sadness.” It was in chapter 31, when Emma was on her way to her appointment in Richmond that I began to feel a bit of likeness for her. I think that I was thinking of Virginia Wolf’s life in Richmond.
I liked the London sense of place. The city felt very alive to me in a realistic, working-class way.
I liked the ending with Yasmin and Adam’s wedding. All the characters began to gel and start to find their way. - an exit ramp of new identities and independence.
I would recommend this book, but it took me a while to cozy up to the characters.
LIVING THE DREAM is due to be published July, 2017. It is Ms. Berry’s first novel.
It consists of 3 Parts with 42 chapters.
Two best friends, Emma Derringer and Clementine Twist are reunited after Clementine returns home (to London) after graduating from Columbia’s post-grad film program. She sees herself as a serious screenwriter. Clementine is a ‘party girl’ leaving the cocoon of her film studies and entering the huge, cruel world of London.
Emma sees herself as a serious writer and is trying to ‘pitch’ her blog and articles for various publications.
Both young women are a bit ‘down and out’ - Emma is constantly complaining and feeling depressed at her advertising job. They both spend money like drunken sailors. (Actually they are drunk most of the time.) They talk, work, dress, party - all in cliches, drowning in self-pity.
The characters (at first glance) are only mildly likable and interesting. The story line is very chatty with a brisk pace and constant despair and self-loathing - over money, lost opportunities, friendships and relationships.
Emma is introduced with the opening sentence, “The 3rd floor of of the Soho office block smelled of instant coffee and disappointment.”
Clementine is introduced in her airline seat suffering from a ferocious hangover with the thought that, “Everything tastes better when it’s free.”
They are not impressive characters! (Yet)
Enter Yasmin - a mutual friend/best friend and planning her wedding to Adam.
Enter Paul - Emma’s platonic flatmate. He seems quite level-headed.
My reactions:
I know advertising isn’t for everyone,but why can’t Emma make the most of it (the job is paying her bills, after all) or at least try to enrich herself in her off hours rather than getting ‘pissed’ every few days. How does she afford it? She doesn’t. A further reason for more self-loathing.
On pp.155-157, I wrote in my notes, “Stop fighting! You are both selfish, immature and unrealistic.”
I liked Hillary’s doctor’s advice to Emma. He was enlightened, practical and reasonable. Nothing like the U.S. medical establishment.
I liked Emma’s feeling that she was on “a conveyor belt of sadness.” It was in chapter 31, when Emma was on her way to her appointment in Richmond that I began to feel a bit of likeness for her. I think that I was thinking of Virginia Wolf’s life in Richmond.
I liked the London sense of place. The city felt very alive to me in a realistic, working-class way.
I liked the ending with Yasmin and Adam’s wedding. All the characters began to gel and start to find their way. - an exit ramp of new identities and independence.
I would recommend this book, but it took me a while to cozy up to the characters.
December 5, 2019
3.5 Stars
The tag line for this book irrationally annoys me "A millennial tale about...". From having read this book it is just a standard about that good old work / life balance and how much the world is ready to stab you in the back at every turn. Honestly, if this story is representative of the millennials then it equally applies to us doddery old Gen X'ers too. I'm sure it applies to those who have gone before and those who are yet to come too.
Okay, that mini-rant over I did enjoy the story, it just didn't "grab" me. I enjoyed each page and the way the plot (such as it is) unfolded and the characters were relatable. It was just vaguely pedestrian. It had nothing to say, ultimately, that we don't already know but it was fun and fluffy and passed the time in an agreeable fashion.
Emma, hates her job but can't see a way out to do what she really wants to do. She lives in a very dodgy flatshare that means it's inhabitants can't register for a doctor or register to vote because it isn't actually a domestic property but at least the rent is cheap and they avoid Council Tax. Not forgetting the perk of as many pleather handbags as you can get a five finger discount on. Throw in a friend that she doesn't seem to actually like very much and a best friend who is as messed up as she is by the whole working life and "following your dream" guff as she is and you have a pretty standard chick lit set up.
Make no mistake, despite the blurb and the tag line this is a solid piece of chick lit. Complete with handy resolutions all around and a couple of happy endings thrown in.
Emma and the delightfully named Clementine Twist are relatable (to an extent) and fun characters. They mess up, they own their mistakes and you know from the first few chapters that they will come good. This makes it enjoyable in a box set binging kind of way. You don't really want to savour the story you just want to barge through it like a bulldozer.
The cringy office at APRC will be familiar to anyone who has ever worked in an office environment. Maybe that is where the appeal for this one really lies; the reality of working life and office politics blown up to exaggerated proportions. Certainly the resolutions for the two main characters don't exactly ring true to life for the vast majority of us wage slaves.
I did enjoy it but it didn't pull me deep and keep me turning those pages.
THANK YOU TO THE PUBLISHERS FOR A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK TO REVIEW.
The tag line for this book irrationally annoys me "A millennial tale about...". From having read this book it is just a standard about that good old work / life balance and how much the world is ready to stab you in the back at every turn. Honestly, if this story is representative of the millennials then it equally applies to us doddery old Gen X'ers too. I'm sure it applies to those who have gone before and those who are yet to come too.
Okay, that mini-rant over I did enjoy the story, it just didn't "grab" me. I enjoyed each page and the way the plot (such as it is) unfolded and the characters were relatable. It was just vaguely pedestrian. It had nothing to say, ultimately, that we don't already know but it was fun and fluffy and passed the time in an agreeable fashion.
Emma, hates her job but can't see a way out to do what she really wants to do. She lives in a very dodgy flatshare that means it's inhabitants can't register for a doctor or register to vote because it isn't actually a domestic property but at least the rent is cheap and they avoid Council Tax. Not forgetting the perk of as many pleather handbags as you can get a five finger discount on. Throw in a friend that she doesn't seem to actually like very much and a best friend who is as messed up as she is by the whole working life and "following your dream" guff as she is and you have a pretty standard chick lit set up.
Make no mistake, despite the blurb and the tag line this is a solid piece of chick lit. Complete with handy resolutions all around and a couple of happy endings thrown in.
Emma and the delightfully named Clementine Twist are relatable (to an extent) and fun characters. They mess up, they own their mistakes and you know from the first few chapters that they will come good. This makes it enjoyable in a box set binging kind of way. You don't really want to savour the story you just want to barge through it like a bulldozer.
The cringy office at APRC will be familiar to anyone who has ever worked in an office environment. Maybe that is where the appeal for this one really lies; the reality of working life and office politics blown up to exaggerated proportions. Certainly the resolutions for the two main characters don't exactly ring true to life for the vast majority of us wage slaves.
I did enjoy it but it didn't pull me deep and keep me turning those pages.
THANK YOU TO THE PUBLISHERS FOR A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK TO REVIEW.
July 4, 2017
Two young women in their twenties, two dreams. Emma dreams of working as a writer, she blogs about her life with quite a remarkable success, but actually she is stuck in an advertising company where she has to be creative in the dullest of imaginable ways. Her best friend Clementine Twist has just returned to London from a Year in New York where she attended Columbia film school to become a screenwriter. The feedback to her work is throughout positive, but back home she has to secure her living and moves back in with her parents and accepts a job as a receptionist of a club. Only their friend Yasmin seems to get it all right: she’s got a fancy job that she exerts successfully and the wedding with Mr Right is just around the corner. The more goes right with Yasmin the more seems to go wrong for Emma and Clementine. When does the adult life they always dreamt of finally start?
Lauren Berry really managed to catch the mood of women at the end of their twenties. Emma and Clementine are full of energy and passionate about what they love, but somehow life is in their way and they are stuck between mundane everyday-life problems. Reality and dreams seem to be many miles away from each other. Even though they are good at what they want to do, the chances just do not come to really show the world what they are capable of. The necessities of the world keep them from just indulging in their creativity, bills have to be paid, food has to be bought, so the need to earn some money is overwhelming and paralysing.
What I liked about the novel is the fact that even though the girls could easily give up and despair, they somehow stick to their dream and they have a certain sense of humour not to take themselves and their lives too seriously. Many scenes are quite funny – as long as you just read them and do not have to live them through. Even though it is at times quite close to being chick lit, the author can keep some seriousness in the story and the fact that her protagonists find themselves in the same situation as masses of young women who can surely identify with them, gives the novel an actual relevance.
Lauren Berry really managed to catch the mood of women at the end of their twenties. Emma and Clementine are full of energy and passionate about what they love, but somehow life is in their way and they are stuck between mundane everyday-life problems. Reality and dreams seem to be many miles away from each other. Even though they are good at what they want to do, the chances just do not come to really show the world what they are capable of. The necessities of the world keep them from just indulging in their creativity, bills have to be paid, food has to be bought, so the need to earn some money is overwhelming and paralysing.
What I liked about the novel is the fact that even though the girls could easily give up and despair, they somehow stick to their dream and they have a certain sense of humour not to take themselves and their lives too seriously. Many scenes are quite funny – as long as you just read them and do not have to live them through. Even though it is at times quite close to being chick lit, the author can keep some seriousness in the story and the fact that her protagonists find themselves in the same situation as masses of young women who can surely identify with them, gives the novel an actual relevance.
July 6, 2017
This book is a playful, lighthearted, fun read all about Emma and Clem as they negotiate their way through life, juggling parents, bosses and one night stands as they try to establish a career. It's also a novel about friendship. And drinking!
I'm not sure I'm the right target audience for this novel as I'm a lot older than the characters in the book and at a very different stage in my life, but there were aspects I could relate to and there were plenty of more universal themes or situations in which we've all found ourselves to some degree. I think that transition between leaving college and trying to find where you fit in the world is a good choice to write about as it gives the author lots of opportunities to place her characters in entertaining situations as they navigate their way through their twenties and into "adulthood".
London is a great backdrop as a setting and adds to the sense of youth, vitality, life and laughter. I also liked the scenes in the office. I thought the author evoked the sense of frustration, disbelief and the difference between expectation and reality well. There is a lot of sarcasm and wry observations to bring this to life and the internal thoughts of Emma did make me smile.
Even if I'm not quite the right readership, everyone enjoys a novel that is fast paced, light and more importantly, funny. This novel really bounces a long. There is a lot of humour and to me, the voices of the young female characters felt reasonably believable. As I mentioned before, I enjoyed a lot of the passages about work; the frustrations, the questions, the eye rolling. Again, that theme of expectation, desire, striving for those ideal goals set against the actual reality and restrictions in life is a recurring idea that is well explored and well captured.
This book reminded me of Lisa Evans "Not Working" and is perhaps striving towards being a kind of new Bridget Jones - Bridget Jones' blog, rather than diary!
I'm sure there are plenty twenty somethings who will enjoy this entertaining debut and find much in it that resonants. It's an easy read; well paced, cheeky and fun.
I'm not sure I'm the right target audience for this novel as I'm a lot older than the characters in the book and at a very different stage in my life, but there were aspects I could relate to and there were plenty of more universal themes or situations in which we've all found ourselves to some degree. I think that transition between leaving college and trying to find where you fit in the world is a good choice to write about as it gives the author lots of opportunities to place her characters in entertaining situations as they navigate their way through their twenties and into "adulthood".
London is a great backdrop as a setting and adds to the sense of youth, vitality, life and laughter. I also liked the scenes in the office. I thought the author evoked the sense of frustration, disbelief and the difference between expectation and reality well. There is a lot of sarcasm and wry observations to bring this to life and the internal thoughts of Emma did make me smile.
Even if I'm not quite the right readership, everyone enjoys a novel that is fast paced, light and more importantly, funny. This novel really bounces a long. There is a lot of humour and to me, the voices of the young female characters felt reasonably believable. As I mentioned before, I enjoyed a lot of the passages about work; the frustrations, the questions, the eye rolling. Again, that theme of expectation, desire, striving for those ideal goals set against the actual reality and restrictions in life is a recurring idea that is well explored and well captured.
This book reminded me of Lisa Evans "Not Working" and is perhaps striving towards being a kind of new Bridget Jones - Bridget Jones' blog, rather than diary!
I'm sure there are plenty twenty somethings who will enjoy this entertaining debut and find much in it that resonants. It's an easy read; well paced, cheeky and fun.
October 8, 2019
I know that most authors don’t really want to read this in a review, but if you are looking for a quick, fun read for a holiday, then Living the Dream by Lauren Berry is probably perfect. I don’t mean this condescendingly though; in fact, I get the impression that Lauren Berry would be complemented by this assessment.
I have seen some refer to Living the Dream as the “Bridget Jones for millennials.” As a millennial (forgive me) who just happens to love Bridget Jones, I do not agree at all. I can see why some may make the comparison – both books are about single women in London grappling with the dating world and their careers. Beyond this, I see no similarities between the two – Bridget Jones is memorable and hilarious, while Living the Dream falls short and is, quite simply, forgettable. It will make you laugh out loud a few times, but most of the attempts at humour fall short.
This book lacks that certain something which I can’t quite put my finger on. Perhaps it is this – I felt that more could have been done with it. The characters were likeable enough, and yet nothing seems to really happen to them until the very end, when everything is seemingly tied up in a little bow. When I hit the hundredth page mark of this book I started to ask myself what it was really about. The story lacks a catalyst for action, I had no vested interest in the characters. I was vaguely interested in what was going to happen to them, but I was not rooting for them. This is a crucial flaw in my opinion. And yet – if I happened to be lying on the beach in the sunshine, perhaps I would not have minded so much.
Ultimately, I feel like this book fell short of its potential. If the author had focused on the perspective of only one of the characters, while the other one acted in the background, perhaps it would have been more enjoyable.
If you do happen to be looking for a book about millennials in London, or something that could be compared with Bridget Jones, I would suggest Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton (my review here) and One Day in December by Josie Silver over Living the Dream.
I have seen some refer to Living the Dream as the “Bridget Jones for millennials.” As a millennial (forgive me) who just happens to love Bridget Jones, I do not agree at all. I can see why some may make the comparison – both books are about single women in London grappling with the dating world and their careers. Beyond this, I see no similarities between the two – Bridget Jones is memorable and hilarious, while Living the Dream falls short and is, quite simply, forgettable. It will make you laugh out loud a few times, but most of the attempts at humour fall short.
This book lacks that certain something which I can’t quite put my finger on. Perhaps it is this – I felt that more could have been done with it. The characters were likeable enough, and yet nothing seems to really happen to them until the very end, when everything is seemingly tied up in a little bow. When I hit the hundredth page mark of this book I started to ask myself what it was really about. The story lacks a catalyst for action, I had no vested interest in the characters. I was vaguely interested in what was going to happen to them, but I was not rooting for them. This is a crucial flaw in my opinion. And yet – if I happened to be lying on the beach in the sunshine, perhaps I would not have minded so much.
Ultimately, I feel like this book fell short of its potential. If the author had focused on the perspective of only one of the characters, while the other one acted in the background, perhaps it would have been more enjoyable.
If you do happen to be looking for a book about millennials in London, or something that could be compared with Bridget Jones, I would suggest Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton (my review here) and One Day in December by Josie Silver over Living the Dream.
June 8, 2017
What a delicious romp through London.
Living the Dream by Lauren Berry is an entertaining book and I look forward to more by this new author. What attracted me about this book was the description and the setting in London.
“Living the Dream is a cheeky, charming debut about twenty-something best friends in London navigating their careers and love lives past post-collegiate turmoil and into adulthood with lots of pints along the way.”
Sounded like a fun romp through London. Certainly I am much older than our main characters – Clementine Twist and Emma Derringer – but I read for entertainment and traveling vicariously via books so this was perfect. I can still relate to their frustrations in the workplace, looking for a job, enjoying a pub/bar get together with girlfriends and their youthful outlook on life in general. Clementine is just back from New York after getting her degree in film. She wants to be a scriptwriter and is apparently a good writer. She just needs that big break and a paycheck so she can move out of her mum and stepfather’s home.
Emma has a job and while she has no enthusiasm for the work, she is awaiting her break as a writer for magazines. The frustrations she goes through with her boss Adrian and interviews with pompous editors at magazines is spot on. You can feel her frustrations.
Lauren Berry is the founding editor of satirical feminist ‘zine KnockBack and has been writing for and about women since 2005. Her work has been featured in Easy Living, Guardian, Observer and Independent. She was born, raised and works in North London. Living the Dream is her first novel.
I won an advanced reader’s copy of this book from LibraryThing. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated.
Living the Dream by Lauren Berry is an entertaining book and I look forward to more by this new author. What attracted me about this book was the description and the setting in London.
“Living the Dream is a cheeky, charming debut about twenty-something best friends in London navigating their careers and love lives past post-collegiate turmoil and into adulthood with lots of pints along the way.”
Sounded like a fun romp through London. Certainly I am much older than our main characters – Clementine Twist and Emma Derringer – but I read for entertainment and traveling vicariously via books so this was perfect. I can still relate to their frustrations in the workplace, looking for a job, enjoying a pub/bar get together with girlfriends and their youthful outlook on life in general. Clementine is just back from New York after getting her degree in film. She wants to be a scriptwriter and is apparently a good writer. She just needs that big break and a paycheck so she can move out of her mum and stepfather’s home.
Emma has a job and while she has no enthusiasm for the work, she is awaiting her break as a writer for magazines. The frustrations she goes through with her boss Adrian and interviews with pompous editors at magazines is spot on. You can feel her frustrations.
Lauren Berry is the founding editor of satirical feminist ‘zine KnockBack and has been writing for and about women since 2005. Her work has been featured in Easy Living, Guardian, Observer and Independent. She was born, raised and works in North London. Living the Dream is her first novel.
I won an advanced reader’s copy of this book from LibraryThing. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated.
June 25, 2017
You can also find this review at https://booksbestfriendblog.wordpress...
Note: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Great quick read about two best friends trying to figure out their lives as twenty somethings in London. Emma is the cautious friend who longs to be a real writer but has settled for a blog and a full time job as a “creative” at an ad agency. Clem is the more carefree one who works hard on her film scripts while working service jobs and then goes into debt for a year long film class at Columbia.
As is the case with a lot of friendships, each is a little jealous of the other while also thinking their own way may be the best. Emma dreams of quitting her job to focus on writing full-time, but thinks Clem should get a regular job to solve her money issues and pursue writing in her spare time. Clem wants the financial security and freedom Emma has, but thinks Emma will never succeed as a writer if she keeps treating it as a hobby.
Living the Dream provides a fun and sometimes too realistic picture of what it’s like trying to survive your late twenties when you feel like everyone but you has it all figured out. The office culture at Emma’s ad agency feels all too real for anyone who’s ever had a corporate job they hated (confession: like Emma, I have once been called out for sighing audibly at my horrible job). The ex drama and bad dates Clem deals with are also something anyone in their twenties will recognize.
I also love how Berry treats issues such as sexism in the work place and unplanned pregnancies. These are hard topics to talk about in today’s culture, but Berry describes the very real effects and feelings surrounding them without making the making the book all about them.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who is still trying to figure out their life or feels behind where they are “supposed” to be right now.
Note: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Great quick read about two best friends trying to figure out their lives as twenty somethings in London. Emma is the cautious friend who longs to be a real writer but has settled for a blog and a full time job as a “creative” at an ad agency. Clem is the more carefree one who works hard on her film scripts while working service jobs and then goes into debt for a year long film class at Columbia.
As is the case with a lot of friendships, each is a little jealous of the other while also thinking their own way may be the best. Emma dreams of quitting her job to focus on writing full-time, but thinks Clem should get a regular job to solve her money issues and pursue writing in her spare time. Clem wants the financial security and freedom Emma has, but thinks Emma will never succeed as a writer if she keeps treating it as a hobby.
Living the Dream provides a fun and sometimes too realistic picture of what it’s like trying to survive your late twenties when you feel like everyone but you has it all figured out. The office culture at Emma’s ad agency feels all too real for anyone who’s ever had a corporate job they hated (confession: like Emma, I have once been called out for sighing audibly at my horrible job). The ex drama and bad dates Clem deals with are also something anyone in their twenties will recognize.
I also love how Berry treats issues such as sexism in the work place and unplanned pregnancies. These are hard topics to talk about in today’s culture, but Berry describes the very real effects and feelings surrounding them without making the making the book all about them.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who is still trying to figure out their life or feels behind where they are “supposed” to be right now.
June 29, 2017
I won this book as part of a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
Emma and Clementine are two twenty-somethings living in modern day London. Both are writers and waiting for their big break that doesn’t seem to be coming as quickly as they’d like.
I rated this 3 stars because the writing is really good and this debut novel had a lot of potential to be a fun chick-lit read. I didn’t rate it any higher because I honestly don’t know what to make of it. First off, there’s no story. Like, none. The plot was pretty much non-existent. I kept waiting for something to happen to give this story a point but it never came. Second, the characters of Emma and Clementine are nearly identical. Well developed, but pretty much the same person. As a matter of fact, I had to flip to the front of the book to remind myself who was who. Now I don’t want that to sound like I hated it, because I didn’t. The problem is I really don’t know how to feel about it. It’s not wildly hilarious like it claimed, although there were a few funny moments, and the coffee cup on the front cover still baffles me since I don’t recall either character drinking coffee, but it’s not a bad book. It’s not a great book either. It just……..IS. And that’s what I can’t get over. There’s just nothing to really say about it plot wise.
I did like the writing style though and the author does have some skills, so the fact that I didn’t love this book wouldn’t deter me from checking out future books by Miss Berry. Hopefully there will be some improvement on the storytelling front.
A copy of this review has been posted on my blog at Once Upon A Book
Emma and Clementine are two twenty-somethings living in modern day London. Both are writers and waiting for their big break that doesn’t seem to be coming as quickly as they’d like.
I rated this 3 stars because the writing is really good and this debut novel had a lot of potential to be a fun chick-lit read. I didn’t rate it any higher because I honestly don’t know what to make of it. First off, there’s no story. Like, none. The plot was pretty much non-existent. I kept waiting for something to happen to give this story a point but it never came. Second, the characters of Emma and Clementine are nearly identical. Well developed, but pretty much the same person. As a matter of fact, I had to flip to the front of the book to remind myself who was who. Now I don’t want that to sound like I hated it, because I didn’t. The problem is I really don’t know how to feel about it. It’s not wildly hilarious like it claimed, although there were a few funny moments, and the coffee cup on the front cover still baffles me since I don’t recall either character drinking coffee, but it’s not a bad book. It’s not a great book either. It just……..IS. And that’s what I can’t get over. There’s just nothing to really say about it plot wise.
I did like the writing style though and the author does have some skills, so the fact that I didn’t love this book wouldn’t deter me from checking out future books by Miss Berry. Hopefully there will be some improvement on the storytelling front.
A copy of this review has been posted on my blog at Once Upon A Book
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