Look, I was doing OK. I got through the oil spill on the road that is turning forty. Lost a little control, but I drove into the skid just like the driving instructors tell you to and afterwards things were fine again, no, really, they were better than fine. Kate Reddy had it all: a nice home, two adorable kids, a good husband. Then her kids became teenagers (read: monsters). Richard, her … Richard, her husband, quit his job, taking up bicycling and therapeutic counseling: drinking green potions, dressing head to toe in Lycra, and spending his time–and their money–on his own therapy. Since Richard no longer sees a regular income as part of the path to enlightenment, it’s left to Kate to go back to work.
Companies aren’t necessarily keen on hiring 49-year-old mothers, so Kate does what she must: knocks a few years off her age, hires a trainer, joins a Women Returners group, and prepares a new resume that has a shot at a literary prize for experimental fiction.
When Kate manages to secure a job at the very hedge fund she founded, she finds herself in an impossible juggling act: proving herself (again) at work, dealing with teen drama, and trying to look after increasingly frail parents as the clock keeps ticking toward her 50th birthday. Then, of course, an old flame shows up out of the blue, and Kate finds herself facing off with everyone from Russian mobsters to a literal stallion.
Surely it will all work out in the end. After all, how hard can it be?
Hilarious and poignant, How Hard Can It Be? brings us the new adventures of Kate Reddy, the beleaguered heroine of Allison Pearson’s groundbreaking New York Times bestseller I Don’t Know How She Does It.
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Made me laugh, wince, shudder, and shed a tear!
/ 5 rounded up.
So, I have a confession to make. I didn’t realize How Hard Can It Be? by Allison Pearson was a sequel to I Don’t Know How She Does It when I started reading it. BUT, I don’t think that mattered all that much.
I really hope this book becomes a movie starring SJP. I loved the movie I Don’t Know How She Does It and I think this book would also make a great movie (maybe even a better movie than a book??). This book does seem like a good standalone, but maybe I shouldn’t have watched the movie of the first book before I read this. The book and the movie of I Don’t Know How She Does It definitely don’t seem to match completely (from what I gathered from this book), so maybe don’t watch the movie adaptation before reading this expecting it will make things more clear. I think it actually made things more confusing for me. Example: In the movie Kate only has eyes for her husband and no interest at all for Jack Abelhammer (who I literally can only picture as Pierce Brosnan now), but in this book it sounds like they were in love?? Very confusing.
How Hard Can It Be? expands upon the life of Kate Reddy who is now approaching the big 5-0. She needs to go back to work because her husband decides to take 2 years out of the workforce to train to become a counselor. Noble? Maybe, but he is no help to Kate financially or otherwise. Lets just say he won’t be winning any husband or father of the year awards any time soon. Kate is dealing with hitting 50 soon, trying to find a job where everyone seems to be discriminating against her age and the time she took off to spend with her kids. Plus she is dealing with problems with her kids, her husband Richard’s parents, her mom, her sister, and other random issues.
I think this book could have been a lot funnier than it ended up being. I thought it would make me laugh quite a bit, but there were only a few instances where I thought anything was particularly funny. I did love the short chapters though, and the fact that Kate calls her memory “Roy.” All I could picture was this little old man shuffling around in her head finding her memories. She would often talk to “Roy” as well which was pretty funny.
How Hard Can It Be? was a little disappointing to me because the premise seemed better than the execution. But that was mostly because I was expecting lots of laughs, which I unfortunately didn’t really get. I also think the book was a bit too long. I think it could have easily been around 300 pages and would have been perfect.
Final Thought: I think that lovers of (the book) I Don’t Know How She Does It will be happy with how this one turns out. I do like Kate as a character and I thought there were a few very loveable characters in this book. Some of the lingo was a little confusing, but nothing I couldn’t handle. I think this book would be much better in movie form though so I hope that happens. How Hard Can It Be? is a funny, interesting look at sexism/ageism in the workplace, turning 50, and dealing with everything life can throw at you.
How Hard Can It Be? in 3-ish words: Sweet, Honest, Insightful
I was afraid to read this book.
“I Don’t Know How She Does It” is one of my all time favourite books, with Kate Reddy as my super heroine. That being said, I didn’t want to read anything that might desecrate the sanctity of Pearson’s first novel.
My fears, as it turned out, were completely unfounded.
Age may have eroded Kate’s memory banks, but her razor sharp wit has been honed to scalpel precision. I laughed and cried, but mostly, I empathized.
As a 56-year-old card carrying member of the sandwich generation, I’m well versed in the trials and tribulations of the menopausal mama. Juggling demanding kids, jobs, parents and assorted dementia inflicted family members while enduring sleep deprivation and hot flashes isn’t an easy concept to convey to readers, but Pearson nails it.
I don’t know how she does it, but she’s done it again.
I had no idea when I started this book that it was book 2 in a series. This was such a fun book to read that I definitely need to get book 1 in the Kate Reddy series on order. (From my experience, it’s no problem to read these books out of order.)
In her late 40s with two teenage kids and a husband who has quit his job and is trying to ‘find himself’, Kate has decided that its time to go back to work. Her kids, especially her daughter, are horrible and her husband has totally checked out on his family life. Add to the mix, a mother who is very forgetful and a mother in law with dementia. Kate has her first struggle writing her CV – she knows that at her age, she will be immediately out of the running for any job. Plus she is dealing with the invisibility that comes with age. Kate faces lots of different problems but it is all handled in a humorous way that is fun to read but doesn’t over shadow the issues. This is a book that will make you smile as you go through life with Kate.
The author deals with a lot of current issues – being part of the sandwich generation, marital problems after being married with children for many years, social media and teenagers. Despite some of the serious subjects, its all handled with just enough humor to make it fun.
Thanks to the publisher for an advance copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.
In all fairness, Kate Reddy is about to turn 50. Her husband, Richard, lost his job. Instead of finding another, he decided to change careers and become a counselor, a course that takes a couple of years with no income. And a cash outlay for his own counseling in the process. In addition to all the money he is spending on his new obsession with cycling. Kate gave up her career to raise their kids, who are now snarky, expensive teenagers. Kate and Richard also bought an old house that is making The Money Pit look like a bargain. The renovations are draining their remaining savings. Her own mother is aging, but Richard’s mother is in a state of steady decline due to Alzheimer’s and Richard’s frail father simply cannot care for her. Richard shirks all responsibility, leaving it to Kate to cope with the challenges of balancing her own household with parental needs. And, as noted, Kate is having a bit of an existential crisis as she stares down 50, which is considered practically prehistoric in the competitive world of investment management.
After hilariously padding her resume and squeezing her rounder body into iron-like undergarments, Kate secures an entry-level temporary position back at the very firm where she was previously employed — and where she founded a hedge fund that has, in the interim, been badly mismanaged. And where, of course, she is now answering to so-called managers who are years younger and infinitely less wise not just about investment portfolios, but also about life and the lessons it provides.
When a former client for whom Kate had strong feelings shows up, she finds herself at the breaking point and questioning the choices she has made but, more importantly, what she wants from her life on the other side of 50.
How hard can it be to become the primary breadwinner, manage home renovations, teenagers, financial stress, and a crumbling marriage all while deciding whether you want to risk it all for a shot at happiness with a man who contends that, despite 7 years apart, he has never stopped thinking about and desiring you?
Allison Pearson presents Kate’s struggles with those dilemmas in a fast-paced, often sarcastically hilarious narrative with which every woman — especially those who have already experienced the joys and changes that accompany aging into the 50’s and beyond — will relate. But Pearson’s breezy, laugh-out-loud writing style should not be dismissed because under the often ridiculous situations in which Kate finds herself lie troubling and thought-provoking truths about the ways in which women are expected to conform to societal and relationship expectations, the consequences for not doing so, and the very real pressures upon women to “do it all” with little or no assistance from emotionally absent husbands and resentful family members. In other words, there is a depth of emotion contained in Kate’s story — and readers will find themselves cheering for her & hoping that she finds her happily ever after. Because after everything she has put up with, she deserves it.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader’s Copy of the book!
How hard can it be?
When I first started reading this, I didn’t think I’d be able to finish it. My fear was much like Eat, Pray, Love; I couldn’t relate to the story and I wasn’t going to fully enjoy it. There are many aspects to this book that I can’t relate too. I haven’t been married for as long as Kate, I don’t have teenage children and so that huge, scary dilemma isn’t a reality for me….yet. However, I am a mom of two girls, one who just started Kindergarten and the kids not wanting to play with her are already breaking my heart. I’m not trying to get back into the workforce (again) yet, but I do know that I want to return someday and I fear I’ll have the same issues as Kate.
But the things that I can relate to I couldn’t stop laughing! The battle of the chin hairs is a constant battle. Once I’ve vanquished them, I swear to god the come by two’s as if to cast revenge for the fallen soldiers that were plucked from their posts the day before. The hot flashes (dear good God! And I live in TEXAS!!) I think they will find me in a huge puddle and well, won’t need an autopsy for that one ladies! And Roy…..good ol’ Roy. I haven’t come up with a name for my “Roy” yet, but I fear I’ll need one soon. Front bottom is going to be my new favorite word!
Allison Pearson, loves to go into long, drawn out detail, much like Kathy Riches. Why I do love Allison setting the scene, I think that sometimes it really could use some editing.
I have to admit, once I got past the first 50 pages of the book, I really couldn’t put it down. I have to admit that there were things that I saw coming long before clues really came around. I think that for women who can relate to the main character more than I could, they will really enjoy this book.
From being a mom with teenagers going through school, technology and popularity issues; a wife trying to connect with her husband after year of marriage and normal life; and a woman trying to get back into the workforce, despite years of experience and success, finds herself with more problems trying to get back in, just because she’s a woman and she’s older. Much of all of what Allison writes in unfortunately true.
I love a strong main character and I think Kate fits the bill quite nice. I’ve never read Allison’s books before, but you can be sure that she’s made a fan out of me. Much like many other authors, I’ll be waiting for Allison’s next master piece. Happy Reading Ladies!
Loved this book!!
How Hard Can It Be? Quite hard … to get into this book or get through it. This is the sequel to “I Don’t Know How She Does It” where we meet a 35 year old Kate Reddy with a 2/3 year old son Ben, and 5/6 year old Emily.
This book picks up seven (7) years later (as stated in the novel when Kate meets with a “headhunter”) – now, as of this book “How Hard Can It Be?”, Kate is 49/50 (she should be 42), Ben is now 14 (should be 9/10) and Emily is 16 (as opposed to 12/13). And, that’s just one of the problems right off – the continuity in ages. Also, Kate recalls a memory of the World Trade Center which was destroyed in 2001, however she recalls it 10 years from this book (set in 2014, so incident was in 2004) – it couldn’t have happened.
This story drags on for at least half (½) to two-thirds (2/3) of the book then has a rapid slide to the finish. It reads as more of a daily/hourly diary of the main character Kate Reddy – like a glimpse into someone’s day planner with no real plot.
Kate seems more interested in buying her children’s affection as opposed to disciplining them. This is evident when she hosts a party for her daughter that results in far too many kids, alcohol use, and disturbing the peace (ends at 3am). Kate’s husband is content to do his thing – and working isn’t part of that. He’s only seen as he arrives home or leaves. The writer doesn’t give the reader a reason as to where he goes, what he does, why this happened.
I received an ARC in March 2018 from the publisher (St. Martin’s Press) to review, forgetting to post here on Barnes & Noble. I have reviewed it on Amazon and GoodReads though.
I would say that this is better geared for the 30+ crowd, and not for anyone under 18. I’m in my 40’s and I didn’t even relate to it.
I personally found Kate to be almost OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) about her appearance, sex, and memory. Hasn’t this woman heard of a day planner? For a professional woman, I would deem a planner as crucial equipment – even if it was a spiral notebook. With regard to her technology issues, I found that a bit preposterous which diminished my respect for the character, especially given her business industry.
Despite the writer trying to make the woman seem “smart” (which Kate probably is in her field) – Kate comes off a bit ignorant in life skills/management. She simply cannot manage her life outside of work.
Kate also comes across as ungrateful and quite the complainer and quite pathetic especially with such a focus on sex, her age, and attractiveness. This is not making her sympathetic but more shallow and vapid.
By the time the reader reaches chapter thirteen (13) – it takes the writer twelve (12) chapters to get through only two (2) months. That’s roughly six (6) chapters per month. Kate is about four (4) months away from the 50th birthday.
The story finally picks up by chapters 17/18 and speeds towards the end. The fate of Kate and Richard’s marriage is revealed, Kate’s origins of her history with the company are revealed which results in a permanent position there, and she finally hits the millstone milestone with little fanfare. Kate also finds romance with a returning character.
I gave two stars due to the lack of continuity, the issues with her husband and his lack of involvement towards anyone in the family, and the bad parenting.
I’m glad there was some resolution with Kate’s life; however I’m not interested in another installment.
For women of a certain age, this is spot on. Very funny, I loved the heroine and hero. A quick read of very British humor.
I had no idea that this was a sequel to another book. I’ll be purchasing it as well. I loved this book; it had so many laugh out loud moments for me. For women of a certain again group this is a must read!
Not as good as expected. Pretty predictable.
Main character finally gets a back bone with parenting.
I received this book from Saint Martin’s Press in a giveaway. My first book from this author, I know that it is the 2nd book in the series and I have not read the first one. The story was sort of hit and miss with me, I enjoyed parts of the book and got several good laughs from it, having said that I was very disappointed in Kate’s character. I know as parents we do at times keep secrets for our children, but this was a huge one. How can you not realize what your daughter is going thru and just go with the flow. Constantly giving in to her moods, helping her to fit in with the wrong crowd of people certainly isn’t doing her daughter much good, and as for your son they both need a attitude adjustment. Her loser of a husband, needed to be booted to the curb long ago. I know we all don’t like the same type of books. For me this was a decent read, but not one that I would re-read again, or pick up as a gift for a friend
It was totally awesome and so true. I am same age as woman in book and to see her go through in the pages that I am going through in real life is reassuring.
Such fun to read and perfect for a day at the beach 🙂