Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes Published by Penguin on February 13, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Literary, Fiction / Romance / General, Fiction / Women
Pages: 464
Format: Hardcover
Source: Book of the Month
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
“Very few authors have the power to make you laugh on one page and cry on the next. Moyes is one of them.” —The New York Times
A story of mix-ups, mess-ups and making the most of second chances, this is the new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jojo Moyes, author of Me Before You and The Giver of Stars
Who are you when you are forced to walk in someone else’s shoes?
Nisha Cantor lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband announces a divorce and cuts her off. Nisha is determined to hang onto her glamorous life. But in the meantime, she must scramble to cope--she doesn’t even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in.
That’s because Sam Kemp – in the bleakest point of her life – has accidentally taken Nisha’s gym bag. But Sam hardly has time to worry about a lost gym bag--she’s struggling to keep herself and her family afloat. When she tries on Nisha’s six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes, the resulting jolt of confidence that makes her realize something must change—and that thing is herself.
Full of Jojo Moyes’ signature humor, brilliant storytelling, and warmth, Someone Else’s Shoes is a story about how just one little thing can suddenly change everything.
My Review
I am starting off by first admitting that this is the first-ever Jojo Moyes book I have read. I selected this book from Book Of The Month last year and decided that it would be one of my 24 in 2024 books that I was going to read this year. Reader, have you heard of this trend? Basically, it is pick the number of books that you are going to read for the year that you are in, so for this year, I have 24 books chosen that I want to have read for 2024. Make sense? Anyway, I digress back to Jojo Moyes. I have to say that I enjoyed this book very much, and I am happy to say that it will not be the last book I will read by this author. For me, this book reads like a good chick flick on television if that makes sense.
In this story, we follow two women from completely different worlds. Nisha is very rich, has a son, travels the world, and is into taking care of herself to stay appealing for her husband. Nisha also came from a super poor family growing up where she lived with her dad, who was an alcoholic and taught her about the finner side of stealing (booze for him and other things). Sam, the other woman we follow in the story, works at a job she used to love until the new boss was hired (he is trying to get rid of her), has a grown daughter, and is dealing with a husband who has lost his job and is in the depths of serious depression. Both of these women are in their forties and have little in common with one another. In fact, they do not even know one another because, I mean, why would they? Their lives are completely different. Well that is about to drastically change for these two women.
Sam starts her morning off doing something for herself which she never does, she ends up going to the gym/spa. She leaves her bag on the bench in the locker room and goes about using the facilities like any normal patron would do. Nisha is in the same gym/spa, running on the treadmill, venting to herself about how much she hates running and some other things in her life. At the end of Sam’s stay, she reaches for a bag in the locker room, believing it to be her own, and heads out the door to go to work. Nisha finishes up her run and heads to the locker room to get cleaned up and put her things on. She is completely shocked and infuriated to discover that the bag left in the locker room is not her own. She heads to the front desk and demands to know where her things have gone. The worker behind the desk informs her that they are not liable for any personal possessions that may come up missing.
Once Sam is in the car with her partners (co-workers), she reaches into the bag to discover that the bag she has in her hands is, in fact, not hers. She tells them she needs to go back and return the bag, but the problem is if she does that, they will be late for their meeting. Sam informs them that she has nothing she can wear on her feet because her shoes are in her bag, which is back at the gym/spa. Her co-workers (who happen to be men) tell her not to fret and just put the sexy heels on that are in the bag she is holding. This is the start of Sam’s transformation, if that is what you want to call it. This simple move will change Sam’s life in ways she does not expect.
Nisha, sadly, is not handling the mix-up nearly as well as Sam. The clothes and shoes that were in Sam’s bag are not designer, and Nisha, being the snob that she is, along with her germaphobe tendencies, refuses to touch any of them. She prefers to stay in the robe from the facility and marches out of there with her head held high and downright fuming mad. Things only begin to get a whole lot worse for Nisha when she gets back to the hotel and discovers that her husband has locked her out of their suite, blocked all of her cards, and refuses to answer her phone calls. Nisha has been kicked to the curb like a dirty old rag.
Throughout this story, we follow these two women as they try to navigate their worlds. The confidence that Sam gains from wearing Nisha’s shoes has sparked something in her that she does not really understand but that she is willing to embrace. Nisha has to start over with nothing, not even her son. She has to learn how to work again and get off of her high horse just to be able to survive. They must also navigate how their lives become entwined and learn to work together. These women go through some serious things in their lives, which can be triggering, but I can honestly say that I very much enjoyed the story. Reader, have you read anything by this author, and if so, what have you read? Is there anything you recommend that I read that this author has written? Until next time, Reader, Happy Reading.
Trigger Warnings:
- Talk of Suicide Attempt
- Depression
- Unfaithful Spouse
- Cancer
- Parental Death
- Home Break In
- Mistreatment of a Cat