Brit chick lit at its finest

I Don't Know How She Does It," the debut novel from British author Allison Pearson, is a delightful romp through the hectic world of Kate Reddy, a senior fund manager at a British money management firm and mother of two small children. The trials and tribulations Reddy experiences at home and work are hilarious. The overworked and underappreciated Reddy manages to get herself into predicament after predicament that help the pages of this book turn themselves.\nKate Reddy is a working mother in a posh area of London. Not only does she have the pressure to be the perfect money manager, but also to be the perfect mother. That's no small job when her work takes her overseas once a week, working day and night when she is there. Add two demanding children and a lackadaisical husband, and you have the recipe for one stressed-out mother.\nReddy's world turns upside down when she meets the man whose money she is managing in the United States. Jack Abernathy, a suave New Yorker, makes Kate long for the days when she wasn't tied down by her husband, children, a deadbeat father and a house that is falling apart. The pair exchange e-mails all day, and Kate believes she is falling for a man an ocean apart from her.\nTo complicate matters, when she meets Abernathy in New York to discuss his fund, Kate manages to make a spectacular fool of herself after imbibing a few too many at a Sinatra-themed restaurant. After slinking back to London, Reddy once again resumes her hectic life complacently, all the while avoiding Abernathy's e-mails.\nKate gets jolted out of her daze by two traumatic events: her husband leaves her while she is on a business trip, leaving a note for the nanny to read Kate, and her assistant is sexually harassed by one of Kate's boorish peers. Kate realizes how much of a strain her jet-setting life has put on her husband and secretly wishes that they would get back together. Kate's assistant's problem takes a bit more creativity.\nAnd what is Kate to do after all of this? What else but move out to the English countryside, stay at home with her children and reconcile with her husband. That is, until Kate once again hears the siren call of the business world, leaving the reader wondering whether or not she goes back.\nAll in all, "I Don't Know How She Does It" is a delightful romp through the toils of a posh British working mother. It is stylish and well written -- you can practically feel the exasperation Kate exudes. However, the book is not very substantial and doesn't make any significant statements. In the end, it is formulaic and a bit disappointing. Take the book for what it is: delightful, entertaining fluff. \n"I Don't Know How She Does It" is available at several local retailers. The paperback edition lists for $13.95 but is discounted at several locations.