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jetsilver's review against another edition
3.0
This was an enjoyable romp of a read. I've been a political junkie in a past life, so a got a lot of giggles out of Ruby's campaign trail shenanigans.
Ruby Stanhope is likable, sympathetic and horrifying in the same vein as Bridget Jones - a walking disaster whose competence and courage carry her through her frequent bouts of impulse and embarrassment.
The cast of characters were great fun; from Ruby's aunts the foul-mouthed lawyer and the elegant baker to Oscar the morally bankrupt but hot journalist.
I enjoyed the book a great deal, though it was predictable and contrived in places.
Ruby Stanhope is likable, sympathetic and horrifying in the same vein as Bridget Jones - a walking disaster whose competence and courage carry her through her frequent bouts of impulse and embarrassment.
The cast of characters were great fun; from Ruby's aunts the foul-mouthed lawyer and the elegant baker to Oscar the morally bankrupt but hot journalist.
I enjoyed the book a great deal, though it was predictable and contrived in places.
klb72's review
4.0
Great chick-lit. Love dear Ruby who is thrown into a totally unfamiliar work situation and wings it with aplomb. Can definitely see the comparison with Bridget Jones, but some how Ruby seems less worried about things. Easy fun read.
samstillreading's review
5.0
Australians probably would have heard about this book recently as it’s scarily prophetic. Shafted prime minister’s daughter writes a book about an Australian prime minister being ousted from office by his female colleague who then calls a snap election- it all reflects our recent political climate. But is Jessica Rudd cashing in on her father’s name and fate?
No! Even though I am an ardent Kevin Rudd fan (geeks and academics can be prime minister…hope for us all, but that’s another story for another blog) Jessica Rudd has done a wonderful job in producing a truly funny chick lit where politics is anything but boring.
Campaign Ruby centres around Ruby Stanhope, an investment banker who is sacked as part of the credit crunch. She goes home, gets blind drunk and books herself a ticket to Melbourne. (Why Ruby has a Qantas Frequent Flyer number even though she’s never been to Australia is never explained). It’s too expensive to get out of the ticket, so luckily she flies in to a stinking hot summer where she is met by her aunt. By luck, she meets the Leader of the Opposition (leader of political party not in power) and is offered a job on the election campaign. Here Ruby makes the most of her Englishness and lack of knowledge regarding Australian slang, leading to some awkward (and funny) moments. Will the Leader of the Opposition win? Will Ruby realise which of the team has her best interests at heart in time?
Ruby is a very likeable character (even though she has a better knowledge of Australian fashion labels than most Australians) and the supporting cast (particularly the aunts and her niece Clementine) are skillfully written and unique.
Jessica doesn’t have the literary verbosity of her father (phew, I hear most of you say) but she does have an incredible talent for humout- I don’t think I’ve ever giggled my way through a chick lit as much.
It was interesting to read this in the wake of the recent Australian federal election, when we didn’t know what was going to happen in regards to who would form government- I was hoping that Jessica would predict the result!
No! Even though I am an ardent Kevin Rudd fan (geeks and academics can be prime minister…hope for us all, but that’s another story for another blog) Jessica Rudd has done a wonderful job in producing a truly funny chick lit where politics is anything but boring.
Campaign Ruby centres around Ruby Stanhope, an investment banker who is sacked as part of the credit crunch. She goes home, gets blind drunk and books herself a ticket to Melbourne. (Why Ruby has a Qantas Frequent Flyer number even though she’s never been to Australia is never explained). It’s too expensive to get out of the ticket, so luckily she flies in to a stinking hot summer where she is met by her aunt. By luck, she meets the Leader of the Opposition (leader of political party not in power) and is offered a job on the election campaign. Here Ruby makes the most of her Englishness and lack of knowledge regarding Australian slang, leading to some awkward (and funny) moments. Will the Leader of the Opposition win? Will Ruby realise which of the team has her best interests at heart in time?
Ruby is a very likeable character (even though she has a better knowledge of Australian fashion labels than most Australians) and the supporting cast (particularly the aunts and her niece Clementine) are skillfully written and unique.
Jessica doesn’t have the literary verbosity of her father (phew, I hear most of you say) but she does have an incredible talent for humout- I don’t think I’ve ever giggled my way through a chick lit as much.
It was interesting to read this in the wake of the recent Australian federal election, when we didn’t know what was going to happen in regards to who would form government- I was hoping that Jessica would predict the result!
emkoshka's review
3.0
Chick lit is not my thing. But I worked in politics for 3.5 years so I decided to give this a go. Thank you, Jessica Rudd, for inventing political chick lit! Roo and I are worlds apart in terms of interests, but she's such a funny, hapless and endearing character that you can't help rooting for her. Rollicking bollocking good fun.
boobooks's review
2.0
I think like a lot of people I was prompted to read Campaign Ruby given it was written by the former Prime Minister's daughter and spookily foreshadowed his downfall and the subsequent appointment of Australia's first female Prime Minister. This for me, I'm sorry to say, was the only thing that really interested me in the book.
Although I loved the opening chapter in which English shoe-lover and investment banker Ruby is notified by her redundancy via email and so responds with a terrific reply that quickly goes viral, I found it a struggle to get through the rest of the book. Perhaps I just really don't like chick-lit and perhaps I'm really just not that interested in politics but there were some things that annoyed me throughout the book.
While I do love a locally-set story I found the Australian voices a bit too cliched... Everyone adresses each other as 'mate', even women who don't know each other in formal settings which seemed strange to me. Also kind of predictable references to Minties, Fantales and Anzac biscuits...
I also couldn't quite understand how on practically the same day Ruby arrives in Melbourne she is suddenly welcomed into the inter sanctum of the opposition leader's staff as a policy advisor without a working Visa, any experience in politics or even knowing who the Australian Prime Minister is (or was). Given Campaign Ruby provides such a great glimpse into what goes on behind-the-scenes during an election campaign I was distracted by constantly wondering whether such responsabilities would really be given to someone with no political experience who hadn't even handed over a CV!
That said I really liked Jessica Rudd's writing style. She doesn't bog down the story with details or by outlining intineraries and so we jump from city to city before we know it and the narrative races along nicely reflecting the frantic pace on the campaign trail.
So although I didn't enjoy this one quite so much I'm intested to see what Jessica Rudd writes in the future.
Although I loved the opening chapter in which English shoe-lover and investment banker Ruby is notified by her redundancy via email and so responds with a terrific reply that quickly goes viral, I found it a struggle to get through the rest of the book. Perhaps I just really don't like chick-lit and perhaps I'm really just not that interested in politics but there were some things that annoyed me throughout the book.
While I do love a locally-set story I found the Australian voices a bit too cliched... Everyone adresses each other as 'mate', even women who don't know each other in formal settings which seemed strange to me. Also kind of predictable references to Minties, Fantales and Anzac biscuits...
I also couldn't quite understand how on practically the same day Ruby arrives in Melbourne she is suddenly welcomed into the inter sanctum of the opposition leader's staff as a policy advisor without a working Visa, any experience in politics or even knowing who the Australian Prime Minister is (or was). Given Campaign Ruby provides such a great glimpse into what goes on behind-the-scenes during an election campaign I was distracted by constantly wondering whether such responsabilities would really be given to someone with no political experience who hadn't even handed over a CV!
That said I really liked Jessica Rudd's writing style. She doesn't bog down the story with details or by outlining intineraries and so we jump from city to city before we know it and the narrative races along nicely reflecting the frantic pace on the campaign trail.
So although I didn't enjoy this one quite so much I'm intested to see what Jessica Rudd writes in the future.
megelzbth's review
3.0
I'm usually first to put my hand up and declare my nil interest in politics so when I found myself wanting to pick up Campaign Ruby I thought I was unwell. I soon realised that I was happy to take the risk for Australian chick-lit, a genre I hadn't explored since reading Gemma Crisp's Be Careful What You Wish For (to a poor review). I was so curious about how well a former PM's daughter could write. Oh em gee. Jessica Rudd is hilarious. I'll admit I found the most part of the plot a bit painful and dull (because politicians), but there were moments where her wit and humour completely out shone that. Although it will never be a book I'll rave about, I'm keen to pick up the sequel.
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