Summary: Who are you when you are forced to walk in someone else’s shoes?
Nisha Cantor and Sam Kemp are two very different women.
Nisha lived the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband inexplicably announced he wanted a divorce and cut her off entirely. Nisha is glamorous, fearless, and determined to hang on to the life she has created for herself. But in the meantime, she must scramble to adjust to an entirely new landscape — she doesn’t even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in.
That’s because Sam — at the bleakest point of her life — has accidentally taken Nisha’s gym bag. But Sam hardly has time to worry about something as petty as a lost bag — she’s struggling to keep herself, her out-of-work husband, and her sarcastic teenage daughter afloat. Or is it petty? When she tries on Nisha’s six-inch-high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes for a series of important meetings, the unexpected results give her a jolt of confidence that makes her realize something must change — and that thing is herself.
When the two women finally meet, they will discover that each needs the other to put right the wrongs that have been done to them — and to the women around them, from Nisha’s enterprising colleague Jasmine to Sam’s steadfast best friend, Andrea.
Full of Jojo Moyes’s signature humor, brilliant storytelling, and warmth, Someone Else’s Shoes is a moving heartfelt story about how, for any of us, just one little thing can suddenly change everything.
(Summary from the book flap – Image from checkreads.com)
My Review: Sam Kemp accidentally grabbed someone else’s bag at the gym and now she’s faced with a decision — wear the grimy, gym-issued flip-flops to her important business meeting or don the mile-high red stilettos she seems to have stolen. Her choice will change her life.
Nisha Cantor is horrified when she realizes that someone has made off with her designer clothes and left behind a knock off bag, wouldn’t-be-caught-dead-in-these rags, and, worst of all, ghastly black pumps. She doesn’t know it yet, but her day is about to get so. much. worse. Being forced to wear someone else’s shoes, is the least of her problems.
Sam and Nisha’s story is set in England and focuses on their perspectives over the course of a several days, with a few rare detours into a side-characters POV. Sam is married with a snarky adult daughter,, incredibly needy parents, and an out-of-work husband who is going through some things. Nisha is a well-to-do American transplant, happily married (or so she thinks) to her husband of eighteen years with a son who is unwillingly ensconced in an American boarding school. It takes a while for the two women to meet, but when they finally cross paths, the story certainly takes a turn that is at turns terrible and hilarious. Cue the shenanigans.
The upside. One of my favorite things about Moyes’ writing is her ability to write about complex female emotions in a way that often makes female readers feel seen and understood. Someone Else’s Shoes really brings that to the table as we see inside the lives of two very different women. Although I identify with Sam more readily as a character (to a point), Nisha’s arc is my favorite. I genuinely hated her at the beginning of the story, but as the plot unfolds she learns some valuable lessons about what matters, and really starts to grow on you. I loved the feminist themes that wove throughout the story (especially in regards to equality, sexual harassment, unequal treatment in the work place, etc). My favorite part of the book came towards the end when two incredibly deserving characters finally get their comeuppance. That’s all I will say about that.
The downside. First, if you’re opposed to the F-word, this is probably not your book. Just move right along and find a book about trees or puppies or something. Second, it wasn’t always clear who was speaking and I would sometimes have to backtrack to the last time the author used “[insert name] said,” and then work my way forward in the conversation to figure it out. Third, infidelity trope is a no-go for me and there is some in this book. Without giving out spoilers, I will say that it is fairly mild and things resolve in a way I can live with, but it was touch-and-go there for a bit. Other than that, there were a few characters that really grated on my nerves (Sam’s mom and Simon, in particular) but they were supposed to be grating, so I can’t really complain if they made me want to throw things.
Someone Else’s Shoes had the misfortune of being read immediately following my immersion in a thrilling sci-fi adventure series. I’m afraid I was still suffering from a book hangover and so this standalone probably didn’t get a fair shake. It did hook me, eventually, and I was invested, wondering how it would all wring out, but it didn’t consume my very being in the way I always hope a book will do. The ending is heartwarming and satisfying, so be patient; it gets there, I promise.
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
For the Sensitive Reader: Plenty of profanity (especially the F word). Some innuendo, crass language, and imagery. Some emotional infidelity and one instance of (mild) physical infidelity. One sex scene (M/F) that a character is accidentally privy to (more hilarious than sensual). Some makign out (M/F) and one fade-to-black inferred sex scene (M/F). TW: Infidelity, Mental Illness (Depression)
