Sophie Kinsella is a one-of-a-kind author. Like Helen Fielding, she works specifically in the romance genre, yet her books take on a bigger life than that would suggest. That's not to say that romance novels aren’t fun and popular; they are both a million times over. However, there is something special about a Kinsella novel. Her Shopaholic series was a rare wit amongst so many Hallmark Channel-worthy tales. Her characters feel very individualistic. They are funny, endearing and messed up. They also are human, contemporary and attuned to an old-fashioned sentimentality that makes for a perfectly complex story with an imperfectly complex ending.

With her latest book, THE BURNOUT, Kinsella treats us once again to a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown. As she finds herself, she also finds love, but it’s not the kind of love she ever would have considered in the world she lived in before her crisis came to the forefront. This is a fun, funny and heartfelt novel that readers will find very much like their lives and very much not, all at the same time.

"Every character, from Sasha and Finn to the workers at the resort, is beautifully and hilariously defined. Their voices are equally funny and distinctive, the verbal vitriol never without humor, the messages pressing but gentle."

Sasha is a corporate whiz kid, working hard and driving herself to crazy heights to get the work done. Unfortunately, this endless run of urgent emails, office parties and the corporate-forced “joyfulness” program is taking its toll on her. And like a wind-up toy that is running out of strength, Sasha hits a wall and stays there. She is no longer capable of running the rat race. So she does herself a favor and gives in to her burnout (hence the book’s title). Sasha sashays down to a seaside resort she has loved from childhood and decides to spend time there in its off-season --- drinking smoothies, doing yoga, and trying to find some peace for her body and mind. There is only one other person there: a grumpy gus named Finn, who drinks whiskey all day and orders pizza.

Messages begin to appear on the beach that seem to be addressed to Sasha and Finn. This leads them to finally speak with each other, answering the questions posed to them in those messages and trying hard to rediscover their joy in life. Is this going to be a match made in overwhelm? Or something else? Sasha tries hard to ignore everything but her journal, yet life has a way of pulling you back into it that even she can’t resist.

Every character, from Sasha and Finn to the workers at the resort, is beautifully and hilariously defined. Their voices are equally funny and distinctive, the verbal vitriol never without humor, the messages pressing but gentle. For anyone who has ever wanted to walk away from the corporate treadmill and hightail it to somewhere quiet and restful, THE BURNOUT has an important message: A life force is a life force, and desire is desire. Even when they seem to be mired in pain and trauma, they are still there --- feelings and needs to be reckoned with, decisions to be made, honest evaluations waiting in the wings. Sasha and Finn learn that a job is a job, and life is much more than all of that.

This is a great post-pandemic book because those who are burned out get the chance to isolate from society without having to worry about getting sick. Kinsella takes all of the real-world trauma of the last few years and positions it as a genial overriding need to sort things out, as Sasha and Finn struggle to do. During the rush to make the holidays amazing while also working incredibly hard, socializing up a storm, buying gifts, getting cards out, cooking and decorating, find a few moments each day to unwind with Sasha’s journey so you don’t become THE BURNOUT yourself.