Dit boek kwam ik 3x tegen bij het opruimen van mijn kast, dus deze mag verder reizen.

Dit boek gaat morgen mee naar de Boekenweek-geschenk BC meeting in Oss.
Veel plezier met dit boek.

Looks like something along the lines of 'Bridget Jones' Diary', but the big attraction for me was the title. How could I resist taking home a book called 'Getting Rid of Matthew' when it's the name of one of my sons? Not that I'm *really* trying to get rid of him, you understand.

Unfortunately, taking this book on holiday to tease my son with turned out to be a bad idea as he wasn't allowed to travel on from Japan to Singapore because his passport was only valid for another 5 months and 3 weeks instead of 6 months. Apparently this is a requirement in Singapore that KLM failed to mention and it didn't occur to us to check. So poor old Matthew had to go back to the Netherlands on his own while the rest of the family headed off to Singapore. Next time I shall be more careful about the titles of my holiday reading!

In actual fact, I didn't read the book until we were back home after all, to add insult to injury. The book didn't really live up to my expectations, either. Here is my review from Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/883234438:


The blurb on the back cover made me think that this was along the lines of Bridget Jones's Diary, which is absolutely brilliant as both a book and a film. I know Getting Rid of Matthew has been made into a film and I can imagine it is also hilarious because the situations the main character, Helen, gets herself into are ridiculous. However, the book itself is far from hilarious. In any case, it didn't make me laugh (unlike Bridget Jones).

The problem, I think, is that the author is a television producer, so the action is too spread out to come across well in book form. Many people will already be put off by the idea that the main character with whom we are supposed to sympathise is having a long-term part-time relationship with her married boss, in the full knowledge that he has a family. To be honest, some of the best characters and even relationships in films and TV are the immoral ones, so don't let that put you off! Helen, however, is not enough of a bitch to enjoy hating. She is not a loveable, ditsy character like Bridget Jones, but comes across as somebody who blames all her problems on someone else. After all, it takes two to tango and if she had said 'no' to Matthew (her boss) in the first place, she would have been able to find a relationship with somebody who didn't lie and cheat, plus continued improving her job prospects instead of being sidelined as a secretary.

The only really sympathetic character in the whole story is the jilted wife, Sophie. The question is, will Helen manage to ruin Sophie's life a second time, first by taking away her husband, then returning him as damaged goods (though it turns out he was that in the first place).

There are a lot of ridiculous and farcical twists and turns in the plot that make Getting Rid of Matthew worth reading, but don't expect to fall in love with any of the characters. I haven't seen the film, but I suspect it's better.

By the way, in Swedish, this book is called Dumpa Matthew, which is wonderful! I only wish there had been more tips about how to dump irritating partners, because that would have been hilarious.

This book has been released as part of the following BookCrossing challenges:
- The Ultimate Challenge - read and release books, with extra points for a monthly theme
- Reduce Mount TBR (To Be Read) - read and release books on the TBR list since before the end of 2014. My reading goal is 36 books.

Sounds funny and a little bit mean.
Looking forward to reading this

I started this book some time ago, then stopped for a bookring and now I cannot start again.
When picking up this book I hoped for fun, but there isn't so much in it and I really don't care for any of the people. So this book will travel on soon

Travelling again

Arrived safely today. Thank you very much for this kind RABCK.

Unfortunately this was no where near as funny as the blurb on the back of this book made it out to be. But it’s good to try new authors!

Off to chrissini next as part of the wishlist tag game.

Thanks for the book in a release bag and with bookplates that will come in handy. :)

A little bonus for a fellow BookCrosser...have fun reading. :)

A bonus *4, not 1 but 4 wishlistbooks. I am so happy with this surprise