Book Review / What Does It Feel Like? by Sophie Kinsella

“What Does It Feel Like? is fiction, but it is my most autobiographical work to date. Eve’s story is my story.”—Sophie Kinsella

Eve is a successful novelist who wakes up one day in a hospital bed with no memory of how she got there. Her husband, never far from her side, explains that she has had an operation to remove the large, malignant tumor growing in her brain.

As Eve learns to walk, talk, and write again—and as she wrestles with her diagnosis, and how and when to explain it to her beloved children—she begins to recall what’s most important to her: long walks with her husband’s hand clasped firmly around her own, family game nights, and always buying that dress when she sees it.

Recounted in brief anecdotes, each one is an attempt to answer the type of impossible questions recognizable to anyone navigating the labyrinth of grief. This short, extraordinary novel is a celebration of life, shot through with warmth and humor—it will both break your heart and put it back together again.

“Why did I write such a personal book? I have always processed my life through writing. Hiding behind my fictional characters, I have always turned my own life into a narrative. It is my version of therapy, maybe. Writing is my happy place, and writing this book, although tough going at times, was immensely satisfying and therapeutic for me.”—Sophie Kinsella

Published:  8th October 2024

Publisher:  Dial Press

Goodreads : Click Here

Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone

Source:  Bought

MY REVIEW

What I loved about this story...   This book was so much fun and heartbreaking, at the same time, to read.  I always hope that every book I pick up from this author has the same feeling to it, and it did.  This time this has a hint of seriousness to it with Eve struggling with her memory and the issues that she has to deal with, but along with that the fact that this book was more autobiographical than her other works.  

Would I recommend?  For fans of Sophie Kinsella, this is a must read.  For others who have not yet experienced this author's writing, this is a must read along with her other novels (although, personally and honestly, I wasn't a big fan of the Shopaholic series).