Why Mummy Swears by Gill SimsMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Time taken to read - on and off over 4 days
Pages - 368
Publisher - Harper Collins
Source - Review copy
Blurb from Goodreads
Why Mummy Swears is the much anticipated new novel from Gill Sims, author of the hilarious Why Mummy Drinks and online sensation Peter and Jane.
It’s every parents’ nightmare – the start of the school holidays – and instead of sitting in the sun, reading a book over a cold, crisp glass of Pinot Grigio, Mummy has two bored moppets to attend to. After frantically booking sports camps, child minder slots, not to mention time off work, Mummy is exhausted. But this is only the beginning…
After being dragged to join the school’s PTA in the new term by an annoyingly kind-spirited neighbour, Mummy is stuck with organising the Christmas Fayre and pleasing all the overly disapproving parents. In combination with getting to know her father’s surprise new glamorous (and much younger) wife, and being forced to spend more time with her narcissistic mother, life isn’t cutting her much of a break. What more could possibly happen?
My Review
Over the space of a year we delve into Ellen's life, in diary format. A no holds barred look into parenthood, marriage, two children, interviews/work, family and juggling the added pressures from all corners. Ellen is hillarious, she has a mouth that could make a sailor blush, she swears like almost every other sentence. She is really funny, has different names for the kids, not all pleasant and I think if you don't take it in the humour it was intended some may be offended.
Even if you don't have kids I think you can appreciate and get a kick out of this book. It shows you the madness that is the life of a mum, wife and trying to find time just to be you. We can slip into that domestic situation, get a feel for it, experience it without the committal of being an actual parent.
Lots of ups and downs, some things infuriated me, the relationship with her mother and sister sadly it echos some of the real life family dynamics. The "politics" and behaviours of some parents when trying to arrange things for the kids ugh. However, I loved the shallow, Instagram obsessed Kiki and whilst it is wrote in humour there really are real life Kiki's out there #priorities
For me there were some echos of Bridget Jones in there and what it is like trying to raise kids in a day and age where everything is device and social media obsessed. Laughter, inappropriate humour, emotional, sadness, cursing, joviality to name just a few. Certainly a book you can read poolside and I think it is relate-able for pretty much any reader. This is my first read of this author, it won't be my last 3.5/5 for me this time.
It sounds like you enjoyed this book. Very nice review!
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