Customer Reviews
Low on realism and excitement, high on predictability - By: ryan hurney, 06 Dec 2007 
If you're reading a lightweight `30-something woman doesn't know where she's going in life' novel, you generallly know what to expect. The plots are usuallly predictable, & not what keeps you interested; it's how the author & the characters get to the inevitable ending that counts. Judy Astley is a great example of an author who knows how to turn a predictable plot into a charming read through strong characterisation & sharp dialogue. On the evidence of Life Skills, Katie Fforde isn't. From the first page the reader can see what will happen on the last, & none of the characters or situations are interesting enough to make you care what happens in between. Realism also appears to be sadly absent from the book too. Lead character Julia begins the book as a country estate agent - yet cannot drive. A recurring theme is the truth behind why Julia was sacked, but the real mystery seems to be how she got the job in the first place. Unfortunately by the time everything is tied up in a neat little package in the end, one crucial element to any novel - the reader's interest - has long since evaporated.
Could have been funny but didn't quite make it - By: Wicked Woman, 23 May 2005 
Oh dear! If only the characters had been believable this could have been such a lovely story.
Katie, the central female character, decides to chuck in her job & ditch her fiancée to go in search of pastures new. Looking for a complete change she applies for & gets the position of cook onboard a hotel canal boat.
Running the boat is a poor little rich girl callled Suzy who reallly doesn't know her windlass from her gunwales. Together the two girls somehow manage to make a go of the business & everything's pretty much hunky dory.
The problem is, this is supposed to be funny but isn't. There are a few scenes that could have been hilarious if they'd been better written but most were very clichéd - I felt I'd read them before & not only once, either.
Katie, once a high-flying estate agent somehow knew enough about cooking to cater for 8 people to hotel standing & yet she cannot drive. How often do you come across an estate agent that doesn't drive? Very odd!
I've no idea what drives Oscar, the ex, to keep coming back for me & as for Fergus, a man who Julia seems to despise for no good reason, how he puts up with our so-callled heroine is nothing short of a mystery to me. The poor guy must be a glutton for punishment, that's alll I can say.
This is a light-hearted read that you'll easily finish in a day or two so is suitable for travelling or beach literature. Just don't expect it to be a laugh-a-minute & remember that the characters are as fictional as they can get.
definitely not one of her best - By: Joanna, 25 Nov 2002 This book follows the usual Katie ground of (normallly thirty something) heroine having a life change for one reason or the other & breaking new ground & like alll her books is a pleasant read but, & this is a big but, there is one major problem in this book for me - that Julia's life change to working on the canal boat is prompted by a male junior being promoted over her & given charge of the department she's created, which is just about as open & shut a case of blatent sexual discrimination as you can get. So instead of flouncing out & handing in her resignation why doesn't she threaten to sue her boss? As it stands it just wasn't credible, even if she was unloading an unwanted fiance at the same time. Also not credible is her not being able to drive when she works for a country estate agent - it's an essential requirement for the job & it honestly isn't likely thaat she'd be relying on taxis. otherwise this was a pleasant enough read, though i did find Julia generallly a bit irritating & wondered why Fergus put up with her. Living Dangerously & Wild Designs are still Katie's best - if you haven't read them yet, do it now.
Great Introduction to Katie Fforde - By: Eileen O'Brien, 11 Apr 2002 
Picked this book up in a Wal-Mart in Northwest Michigan, of alll places, not knowing it was Brit chick fiction, as I calll it. I was immediately captivated, & stayed up alll night to finish it! "Life Skills" made me want to be on the boat with Julia, maneuvering the canals & putting up with the weirdo guests. The author writes so well, I found myself seriously wishing the tale would never end. I'm hooked on Katie's fiction now! My latest trip to London in February 2002, I bought alll her paperbacks! Sadly, I breezed through them like a hot knife through butter & am anxiously awaiting her next. This little gem, though, was a splendid introduction to Katie Fforde's seemingly effortless writing. Lots of fun!
Not the best Fforde, but still 5 stars - By: , 17 Mar 2001 Katie Fforde turns a great tale - there's not a bad book in her bunch. However, Julia isn't as loveable as Fforde's other heriones. And that's OK, I suppose. You do wonder why Fergus persists to the end, how he could see the good that was buried under the surliness. While I didn't click as much with Julia as I have with other Fforde characters, I simply loved Fergus & once again the cast of supporting characters is a riot. And the whole idea of canal boats is so interesting to me as an American - sounds like to fun! Nobody turns a tale like Katie Fforde - be sure to check out her other books, especiallly Wild Designs & Living Dangerously. I can hardly wait for May 2001, another one is on the way!
