Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino

 

It always amazes me to see the books that are selected for Reese’s Book Club, or Oprah’s, or The Good Morning America Book Club. They are nothing if not trite. Or, poorly written. At least Marisa Kashino seems to use her experience as a reporter, and her Japanese-American ethnicity, to support her novel, Best Offer Wins.

When I put this book on hold at the library, I actually thought it would be suitable for the Japanese Literature Challenge 19. 

It is not.

Instead, it is a novel that resembles The Devil Wears Prada in that we have a young, professional woman, aspiring to achieve more than she has. In fact, Margot borders on having a psychosis so eager is she to have a house. And a baby. But first, the house.

When she hears of a home which will soon be listed, she stalks the owner, getting herself invited to the owner’s home for dinner, and consequently ruining any chance of buying it before it hits the market when her ruse is uncovered.

But, her plans to obtain this house continue to unfold, each more bizarre than the next, until we are left with an outrageously tragic scenario that further spoiled the whole plot with its unbelievable, overly dramatic, nature.

Maybe it’s because I already have a house. Maybe it’s because I’m not materialistic. Maybe it’s because I know that things do not a person make. But, I am shocked by the accolades that this book has received, from Alex Michaelides for one, because personally, I cannot wait to return to a piece of true literature.

And, I have some advice: do not get sucked into reading what celebrities endorse. It’s has never been worth the effort for me.