From the same collection of books as American Psycho, Foetal Attraction couldn't be more different. Funny chick-lit, Lette's book follows Australian Maddy Wolfe and her relationship with TV wildlife expert Alex. Maddy moves to London to be with her beau, but she soon finds herself an outsider with Alex's snooty friends, and then when the relationship begins to crumble she finds herself pregnant.
I don't normally go in for female-focussed fiction like this, so I was a bit unsure what I would make of this book, particularly as it seemed to be all about pregnancy and babies. And then I read the first line 'My female friends had told me that giving birth was like shitting a water melon', and the first chapter had me laughing a lot at Lette's wonderful use of language so I was gripped. Part fish-out-of-water comedy and part realistic love story, Foetal Attraction is a simple idea realised brilliantly, with wit, sarcasm and a good cynical take on relationships and pregnancy. The funniest chapters of the book are the 4 or 5 pieces that begin each Part of the novel, when Maddy is describing in glorious detail the agony of childbirth in the first person. The rest of the book follows Maddy's journey from her move to London through to conception and ante-natal classes, meeting a host of horrifically funny members of the British upper classes along the way. The unpatronising, very modern take on impending motherhood had me in stitches, and gave me a different perspective on a subject I won't ever get to experience firsthand.
briefly...
Funny, modern and very real - if all chick-lit is this good then maybe I'll give more of it a chance.
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