There you got it! I understand, quite quickly, that the unscrupulous rich man and the mean boss will get what they deserve. But glory as good as it is when it actually happens. British bestselling author Jojo Moyes writes entertainment of the smart kind. Reading her is like watching a TV series where one dramatic climax replaces the next. It’s easy to get hooked. If you are interested in entertaining time jersey, then. Jojo Moyes offers 500 pages of easy-to-swallow entertainment. But not only. Under tremendous entanglements, with love conflicts, money chases and intrigues, Moyes depicts experiences that most women who have passed forty can relate to. There may be challenges in the marriage or with the lover, unreasonable demands at work, or a guilty conscience for aging, and increasingly demanding, parents. The tasks are in a queue. Will it be too much? I am pleasantly surprised at how well Moyes portrays common, human dilemmas. She treats demanding topics with unexpected seriousness. She does not resort to the shallowest life wisdom, and if she were to occasionally utter a witty slur, one of her novel characters immediately distanced herself from it and called a spade a spade. So, prejudice aside, I’m on board. Luxurious trophy wife meets tired worker ant When I write about women, it is not at all accidental, because this is a book that must be written primarily for women, preferably of the well-grown kind. The plot is simple: It’s about exchanging a pair of shoes. The title, “In your shoes”, certainly gives a hint that there is more than the specific pair of shoes at stake in the playful drama that follows. The American upper-class wife Nisha Cantor is rudely thrown out by her hyper-rich husband of 20 years. Without access to their hotel suite in London, without a passport or money, she tempts the job as an anonymous, undocumented room maid: Gives the readers someone to cheer for In Jojo Moyes’ well-directed complex drama, arrogance is about to fall. Rich, fake friends must give up for poor, real friends. Here, strong women stand against self-indulgent men. The men are either of the hideous, abusive and exploitative variety or they are of the beautiful, mysterious and to-be-eaten variety. Clear types. But Moyes also has room for a completely ordinary guy. The middle-aged Phil has lost his job, he is depressed, and suspects his wife Sam of having found a lover. Sam is the one who brought home the wrong training bag, and therefore crazy and extremely expensive designer shoes. When Nisha and Sam finally find each other and team up against an outside enemy – read Nisha’s husband – nothing can stop them. They become our heroines who laugh both last and best. FILM-FRIENDLY PEN: British Jojo Moyes’ “Et helt half år” is called the best-selling fiction book of all time in Norway. The success was also a film. Here is the author at the premiere in New York in 2016. Photo: Evan Agostini / AP Well-dramatized landmarks The shoe exchange is the starting point for a series of landmarks. Not everyone is equally believable, but what does one not do to create the optimal scenes of excitement and joy? It’s like when two lovers who have to find each other go out and in the same door exactly one minute apart. If one had only turned around, misunderstandings and misinterpretations would have been cleared up. But then the story, book or TV series would also be over. Jojo Moyes writes extremely cinematically, so it wouldn’t surprise me if this novel becomes a film, as the bestseller “Et helt half år” became. Moyes herself is a successful author, translated into 46 languages, and her books have sold almost as many millions of copies. She has won the Romantic Novel of the Year award several times. What is the reason for the success? Success criteria Moyes writes well. There is not much loose language to be found in Eva Ulven’s fresh translation. Then she has a flair for both character building and dramaturgy. She cares for her characters, and it is easy to laugh at the embarrassing situations her characters get themselves into. French Anna Gavalda is a writer who does something of the same, and who also reaches a wide audience. Nevertheless: We readers have to swallow some stereotypes. But it is almost a premise: Recognizability and fulfillment of expectations are clear success criteria in the entertainment industry. I’m rooting for the ladies too, but despite Moyes’ sense of timing, she runs just a bit too many complicating rounds for my taste. But if you like complex dramas, interspersed with warm friendships and righteous revenge, you just have to brace yourself for close to 500 pages of enjoyable entertainment. news reviews Photo: Bonnier Title: “In your shoes” Original title: “Someone Else’s Shoes” Author: Jojo Moyes Translator: Eva Ulven Genre: Novel Publisher: Bonnier Pages: 490 Date: 2 February 2023
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“In your shoes” by Jojo Moyes – Reviews and recommendations
