'And What Do You Do?" Sarah Long

First... a couple of my favourite quotes from the book...

"You said a rude word mum,' remarked her other son helpfully, 'Arsehole, that's where your poo comes out. I don't know any other mummies who say arsehole.'

"Oh good, you got some more carrots. Are they organic?' Laura couldn't understand why Asa was so interested in the provenance of her food, since everything she ate was discreetly regurgitated in the bathroom shortly afterwards.'

"Rice or pasta?' she bellowed back to her boys. 'Pierre-Louis will take rice and I will take pasta.' It served her right for asking.

PLOT: From the outside it seems like Laura has it all... a gorgeous French husband, two darling boys, and a wonderful lady-of-leisure lifestyle in Paris. She fills in her day eating croissants, going to museums, and chauferring her children tooand from school. And yet as perfect as her life appears, something just seems to be missing. How can she possibly stretch out breakfast all morning? Laura's live in au pair is driving her insane! And Laura's husband is hardly even in their beautiful home. He is so often working on weekends and staying back late at work. So when Laura finds out that her husband is having an affair with his stunning assistant Flavia, she decides to get her own back in the most interesting way.

REVIEW: So often other people ask us irritating questions such as 'and what do you do?'  Laura justifies the question that many housewives have come to dread in this light, yet addictive novel.

The setting of this story was flawless and brilliant! I actually felt like I was in France - not just because of the way the Parisian ambiance was set up, but because of the cultural differences highlighted between English and French - in an amusing and lighthearted way. I found Laura's husband Jean-Laurent a tad annoying - and not just because he had an affair. He just didn't want to take responsibility for any of his actions!

I loved the characters, especially the aggravating au pair Ava. I thought Laura was portrayed as a character of multi-faceted depth - making her seem like more of a real person than other more 2-dimensional chick lit heroines. Laura's decision at the end of the novel was a twist that I didn't see coming - modern woman kudos to her!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sarah Long live for ten years in Paris with her husband and three children, before they all moved back to London. 'And What Do You Do' was her first novel.

OTHER BOOKS BY SARAH LONG: