Book Review: Looking for La La by Ellie Campbell

Reviewer:  Allie

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Summary

This British Chick Lit story is about Cathy, a stay-at-home mother at a crossroads in her life.  What does a woman, who’s given up her career for home and family, do when the last child goes to school?  Does she join the ranks of school volunteers or get a job that actually pays?  Cathy is feeling the pressure from her husband Declan and her fellow working mom friends to get a job. But Cathy has no desire to work, nor in her opinion, any marketable talents.  She also has a terrible fear of interviews.  She’s not feeling any appreciation for what she does as a wife and mother, either.  To Cathy it seems that since giving birth, she’s entered a period of indentured servitude.  This is an issue that will resonate with many mothers who’ve come to feel this way, believe me!

The story begins with Cathy receiving a post card from someone named La La.  La La insinuates that she has something going on with Declan, who of course denies it.  Neither husband nor wife knows anyone named La La.  When more cards arrive, La La causes a whole lot of trouble for Cathy’s marriage, her friendships and her responsibilities as a mother.  Who is this La La?  A quest begins.  As Cathy’s life spirals out of control, we’re not sure is it’s because of La La or Cathy’s own disenchantment with the way her life has turned out.

Review

Village life, English humor and unfamiliar dialogue and slang confused me in the beginning of the book, so it took be a little while to get into the plot.  Eventually I appreciated these things, because they helped set the scene for the madcap adventure Cathy embarks on to find La La and discover why she’s tormenting her.  There’s a unique cast of characters in this book, many of them over the top, but I think they add to Cathy’s mystique as the slightly batty housewife.   She’s definitely the beacon who brings these unlikely players together, any one of whom is just off balance enough to be La La.    Because of the number of suspects, I did sometimes have trouble keeping them straight.  The author successfully kept me intrigued and I found myself getting excited to see what was going to happen.  There are many subplots in this story, but they all support the central mystery and all are neatly, although in some cases preposterously, tied up.  The ending was very satisfying and I enjoyed the ride.

4 stars