Advanced Search

The story appears on

Page A10

May 14, 2017

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » Sunday » Book

Tale of two lives in a digital age

By Lincee Ray | 00:00 UTC+8 May 14, 2017 | Print Edition

HAVING the ability to determine if someone is truly genuine or posing as a replica is something college graduates try to master before heading off to the real world.

Sadly, being the low man on the totem pole only makes career politics more confusing. In her debut novel, “Fake Plastic Love,” Kimberley Tait follows the lives of two 20-somethings in New York who are trying to make their mark without getting caught up in the chaos.

M. and Belle are unlikely best friends from college. M. is the logical one, who has just accepted a position at Bartholomew Brothers, a prestigious investment bank. She plans using her intellect to turn the heads of men both in her firm and in her personal life.

Belle, on the other hand, is the creative one, who is following M. and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Chase to Manhattan on a whim to start her new lifestyle blog. She plans using her beauty and charisma to charm her way into high society.

Long hours and strenuous deadlines immediately dominate M.’s schedule. She doesn’t mind the hard work needed to achieve excellence, but it’s irritating that Chase and her friend Jeremy seem to be taking it all in their stride.

One day Belle breezes in on her old-fashioned bicycle. Jeremy’s focus shifts from the daily grind to the dazzling woman before him. A love triangle develops, and Belle chooses romantic Jeremy over beefcake Chase.

M. worries about Jeremy, knowing Belle likes to flit from one eligible bachelor to the next. Jeremy is a fun-loving guy, full of hopes and dreams. He’s the perfect prop for Belle. Her “fans” expect her to behave, dress and act a certain way. It’s hard to tell where the old Belle ends and the online perfect version begins.

“Fake Plastic Love” dives into the depths of the digital age and the cost of a healthy work/life balance.

M. and Belle offer varying perspectives on living an ambitious life stuck in a cubicle versus a fabricated life on the Internet. The book pushes readers to step away from the screen to invest in those living around them.

Book


 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend