Pear Shaped

Pear Shaped by Stella Newman

This was recommended to me by my friend Kate Long who'd been a tutor on an Arvon course, where Stella Newman was a pupil while she finished this book.

Sophie is a dessert designer for a large supermarket chain. She's a woman who knows her food and loves her job, except for her crappy boss. She meets James, older, rich, good-looking, and falls head over heels in love with him. But he's the kind of man who can't commit to a relationship, and thinks women should be stick-thin and always perfectly presented. Sophie tries to be what he wants her to be, but it costs her her happiness. All her friends tell her to ditch James. Eventually when the relationship breaks up, Sophie breaks down in a bad way, and then has to rebuild herself and her self-esteem.

This is a sparkily written, amusing romp of a chick-lit novel, but one which has a serious message about the importance of moderation in all things and being true to yourself. It's a great book for foodies - the author includes some recipes and restaurant recommendations at the end. In some places the book reads like a beautifully written catalogue of all the very best desserts - do not read if you are on a diet! But do read it if you love chick lit, and want a satisfying story of a woman's relationships with food, her body, and her men.