They say that a good idea is to write about what you know. Well, Klaffke seems to have heeded that piece of advice. She writes here about a fictional fashion writer called Sara B (note the pretentious second capital letter) who is the central character. And although Sara B is now in her middle years, she's still acting like a teenager. She's got the younger boyfriend/lover, got the latest fashion look which she can deftly put her stamp on, got the invites to the best parties in the best venues with the must-be-seen-with minor celebrities. But - is she happy? I know, it seems a silly question, but is it?
| Snapped by Pamela Klaffke | |
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| Category: General Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Louise Laurie
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| Summary: A contemporary book from the ex-journalist Klaffke. And it's all about fashion, fashion and more fashion; with its dreadful mistakes, good new looks and all those fashion points in-between as snapped by a certain local style guru, Sara B. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Maybe |
| Pages: 320 | Date: January 2011 |
| Publisher: Mira | |
| ISBN: 978-0778304333 | |
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This book opens at an almost manic pace and doesn't really let up. It's a style you either love - or not. I felt as is Klaffke was cramming everything in to this novel, whether it was relevant or not. It was also as if she was trying too hard to impress her readers. And was I impressed? I'm afraid not. I really prefer a more subtle approach.
The story has, at its centre, a fictional magazine running a very popular DO and DON'T section on a regular basis. Basically, lampooning the sad fashion victims out there on the street (DON'Ts) and applauding the savvy (DOs). There seem far more of the former than the latter. Great fun for Sara B and her magazine, of course. This feature is, to be fair, a nice, effective recurring theme but my, Klaffke does go on about it. Likewise, with her opening chapters we read about Parrot Girl. Now once or twice is fine, I could see the point - but it just goes on and on till I was heartily sick of hearing about Parrot Girl. I also took a bit of time to get into the story proper. Perhaps it wasn't helped by the fact that it's all about Sara B and her manic life lived at a manic pace surrounded by, on the whole, manic people. Too much mania. I would happily have put the book down after Chapter One as I didn't care about the characters. The overall feeling was too fragmented in the story-telling coupled with in-your-face wit.
We find out that the middle-aged and rather fed-up Sara B hires a young assistant and yes, I felt strains of 'The Devil Wears Prada. Perhaps this book would be more effective in 3D with all its frantic action and pumped-up characters.
There's an awful lot of words and phrases which are repeated over and over again. Just when I thought I'd read the last of a particular section, up it pops again like a bad penny. I can see, up to a point, what Klaffke is trying to achieve but the result for me was a bit of a mess on the page. Sorry to sound so brutal. Yes, there's some good and witty lines here and there but the majority of the book was less than engaging.
I think that on the whole this book will probably appeal to younger readers - and also those with a short attention span. I wasn't keen on the title either. After I'd read the book, I'd thought of several titles which, in my opinion, would have been more apt and more attractive to the reader. I'm racking my brains to finish on a positive note but sorry, I simply can't think of anything. Not a book which I enjoyed.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.
For more of real fashion try Through Thick and Thin by Gok Wan.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Snapped by Pamela Klaffke at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Snapped by Pamela Klaffke at Amazon.com.
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