Sophie Kinsella’s novel, The Undomestic Goddess, starts off with the question, “Would you consider yourself stressed?” I smiled when I saw that. It was a question the main character Samantha reads on an intake form before her massage appointment. And it so resonated with me considering this stressful pandemic life I’ve been living, that we’ve all been living, since 2020. I couldn’t stop reading. I mean, my answer to that question was “yes, without a doubt!”

As the massage starts, Samantha grows so worried about an email she forgot to send that she simply leaves the table before she can even relax. Ha, I can relate to that one. Later, after bombing out at work, she heads out of the city and is mistaken for a housekeeper applicant at a wealthy home. Can’t relate to that one, but not against it. The premise of a city attorney being mistaken for a housekeeper is pretty implausible for sure, but I ended up suspending my disbelief and going with the flow. The silly domestic life Samantha suddenly landed in mirrored my own experience well.

Trapped in a House with Lots of Housework

First of all, Samantha’s voluntarily trapped in a big house. During the pandemic, I’ve been trapped in my house, at least to varying degrees. I so related to being thrust into a situation where one’s anchored to the every day tasks of domestic life.

Second, Samantha struggles with cooking. Though I knew how to cook long before the pandemic, I leaned on eating out in restaurants and getting carry out to buffer the constant work of preparing and cleaning up after meals. During the height of the pandemic, I had to buy more groceries and plan more meals. I got more acquainted with a wider variety of foods. We ate carry-out meals a lot less often and never went to a restaurant (at least until that summer when cases were down and outdoor patios popped up). The book spoke to me there too.

And third, Samantha struggles with cleaning chores. She has trouble with the washing machine and iron and such. During the pandemic, I got more acquainted with my vacuum and dishwasher than ever. We got a new washing machine because the old one got hampered by me constantly washing clothes. Plus, with overall house cleaning before the pandemic, my kids and husband or an occasional house cleaner always helped. But with the kids stressed out over online learning and my husband working late every night, I was head house cleaner.

A Handsome Man and Hearty Humor

There’s also a romantic story line between Samantha and Nathaniel. This subplot was fine enough though the constant will-they, won’t-they question was a little tiring, maybe the only flaw of the book. The whole house and its distinct personalities were enough for me. Still, it kept the book light and sweet and I appreciated that.

Where Kinsella really shines is in the humor department. She knows how to write in a super funny voice and keep that bouncy rhythm going. Anyone who’s read her books knows she’s the queen of this quirky chick-lit style. And this book was definitely funny. Samantha’s perky personality and chatty manner charmed me.

Overall, I recommend The Undomestic Goddess. Even though the book was published in 2005, finding it now seemed like kismet for me. As Samantha switched from a super-busy work situation and highly social life to a remote country home with quotidian tasks, so did I in a sense. It was the right book at the right time for me.