Altar Ego door Kathy Lette

Auteur: Kathy Lette
Titel: Altar Ego
Jaar van publiciteit: 1998
Bladzijden: 353
Plaats: Londen
Tijdsperiode: ongeveer 5 jaar

Rebecca Steele: This is the main figure in the book. She is in her midlife crisis, and she begins an affair with a much younger boy, Zack. She doesn’t want to hurt people, but she always does. In the begin of the story she ran out of her own wedding, because suddenly the idea of being a married woman scared her. So she is very impulsive.

Julian Blake: In the begin of the story I felt sorry for him, because he let every thing do with him, but at the end, everything is changed. He first had an affair with Kate, and later with Anouska, while Rebecca is begging him for taking her back. In his marriage with Rebecca he was a dedicated advocate. But the most important thing is that he always went back to Rebecca, they were made for each other, but it only took a long time for them to realize that.

Zachary Burne: He was a very poor boy when he was born, and he never had any education. When he meets Rebecca he loves her from that moment. Rebecca thinks he is very attractive and every time he smiles to her he is irresistible! He is very romantic and sweet for Rebecca, (he dedicated one of his songs to her).

The book exists of three parts:
• Part one, the wedding, 163 pages
• Part two, the affair, 98 pages
• Part three, the divorce, 90 pages

Part one, the wedding

On a traditional Girls Night Out, Rebecca (Becky) Steel spoke with her two best friends, Kate and Anouska, about marriage. She was very sure that she was going to marry Julian. But the next morning she thought about the reasons she doesn’t marry him.
She became confused and decided that she don’t want become a married woman.

She told her friends about her plans and Anouska is trying tot persuade her that she has to marry Julian. Kate is trying to convince her that a husband is useless.
When she tells Julian that they can’t get married, he’s first afraid that she doesn’t love him anymore, but he isn’t mad and they stay together.

On the marriage of Anouska, Rebecca meets a good-looking black man and before they know each others name, she made love with him. She is trying not to think about him, but slowly she becomes in love. A few weeks later she goes with Julian to a dinner with a client. This client is Zachary Burne, the black man she made love with. She is on a dinner with her fiancé and her lover, but Julian still doesn’t know about them.

She promised to herself that she’ll not see him again, but when they meet each other again in a work-out-place, they made love again. She didn’t want first, but he’s so very attractive that she couldn’t resist him. The next days they see each other and she is in love with him, but she still won’t commit it.

Because they see each other so much, she has to lie against Julian. Julian becomes suspicious about why she never wants to make love with him. He asked her if she had a lover, but she convinced him that these thought are ridiculous. She continuous her relationship with Zachary.
When she is another time in a dinner with him and Julian she sees how stupid she’s been. She married Julian and doesn’t see Zachary anymore. But she can’t get him out of her mind. Everything reminds her of him. Because Zachary is a famous rapper, she reads about him in the Guardian and the Rolling Stone. Also she isn’t happy with her marriage with Julian. He cares for her, but he’s always busy with his work as advocate.

When she gets tickets for the concert in the Wembley stadium from Zachary, she goes there with Kate. Zachary dedicated a song to her. He shouted trough the microphone that he wrote the song Love You Much, special to her. She’s felt in love with him again, and after the concert they made love again in his room. She asks her to move in at his place. She answers that she can’t leave Julian and told her that they are married. He gives her the choice: he won’t be the ‘toy boy’ of a married woman.

When she told everything to Kate and Anouska, she commits for the first time that she is in love with him. Kate tells her that she has to stop with her affair, and she first has to think before she does something. After this conversation she has plans tot leave Julian for Zachary. But then she would stop with Zachary because Julian is the right man. She compares the two men and she decides that she is going to leave Julian.

The day she would tell him, he organised a surprise-party for their two month marriage anniversary. Julian invited Zachary also for the party and Julian sees how Rebecca and Zachary are kissing. When he comes closer Rebecca sees him also and tells him that she’s going to leave him for Zachary. Julian is mad, throws a pudding in her face and runs out of the party.

Part two, the affair

After she told Julian that she was leaving him, Rebecca went to her house. In the middle of the night, she heard that Julian was coming home. He was drunk and he was very angry. But then he begged her not to leave him, but she doesn’t listen to him. She goes to Zack and he makes her feel good.

Rebecca’s friends want to know Zack better, so they invited them into a dinnerparty.
Once Rebecca and Zack are there, Zack becomes angry, and gets in a fight with all the people who are on the party. But when they just want to go, Julian comes in. He begged her again to take him back. After Rebecca and Zack have left the party she is trying to change him. He had no education, eats like a cow, calls everyone babe and belching and didn’t even know the English language very good.

When Zack is nominated for a Best Newcomer Award, he invited Rebecca to go with him. They meet his ex-girlfriends and she’s becoming jealous. All the girls are trying to kiss him and asking him to go with them to their houses, because he is very pretty.

The next day she reads The Express and that tabloid described her as Zack’s mother, and a another girl as his girlfriend. The tabloid also describes Zack as a wife-stealer, because officially Rebecca is still married with Julian. For the third time Julian is asking her if she wants him back, but the only thing she says is that she wants a divorce.

Zack asked her if she wants to joy him on his first real tour. First she says no, but because his ex-girlfriend, Celestia, also goes, she takes the invitation. Rebecca thinks that the life of a star is always glamorous. But she is wrong, every night they all sleep in their tourbus and she Rebecca becomes very unhappy. But Celestia still is trying to get Zack back. But 4 weeks for the tour ends, Celestia gets a infection in her mouth, and Rebecca thinks it is safe now to go home.

Kate tells her that Julian has agreed to divorce. When she goes to her house, Julian has changed the locks. Rebecca doesn’t like it that Julian doesn’t love her anymore and wants to look young and firm. When she goes to a gym with Anouska they found out that Julian booked a room in the hotel. Rebecca goes in the room and sees Julian making love with Kate.

Part 3, The divorce

The weeks after, Rebecca is stalking Julian and Kate. Julian is changed a lot, he is wearing Armani Suits, goes to a gym and is taking day offs. Rebecca tries everything to get Julian back; she sends him flowers, cards and other things.

One night she broke into their house and she didn’t hear them coming home. She hides herself under their bed. When they are making love, she sneezed (). Kate and Julian looked under their bed and found Rebecca. They were very angry and threatened to call the police.

A few weeks later Rebecca is arrested by the police, they say that there was an anonymous call saying she has drugs in her bag. She says that she isn’t guilty, but she has to go to court a few months later.

When she meets Julian another time, she tells him that she still loves him and that she wants him back. He answers that he doesn’t love her anymore, but then they start kissing. And from that moment she is cheating her lover with her husband!

Zack is suspicious that she is seeing someone else, and also is Kate. And when Kate discovers that Julian has an affair with his wife she is very mad to Rebecca. Rebecca wants to tell Zack that she is back to Julian, but then he is very romantic to her and she promises herself to tell him the next time.

But then she is pregnant. She has no idea who of the men the father is. And she tells neither Julian nor Zack that she is seeing the other. Both of them are glad and want to care for the baby. But she wants an abortion, but she can’t make a decision.
Then she gets a miscarriage. When she is coming home, Julian and Zack are sitting in the room and are very mad. They both run out of the room.

Rebecca is very sorry and lives again with her parents. Then she receives a invitation card for Julians marriage. When she meets Kate she asks her how it is with Julian. Kate doesn’t know and they find out that Julian is going to marry Anouska.

Then has Rebecca to go to court. When she comes there, Julian has that the charge against was dropped. This is also the day of his marriage. When Rebecca is back to Kate, Kate convinced her to go to the church. Once she sees Julian, they talked and she says she loves him. Then they kissed and are running away… together!

1. In welke mate heeft het boek je aangesproken of niet?

Ik vond het echt een heel erg leuk boek. Ik vond het vaak zo grappig, ik heb niet vaak dat ik echt hardop lach bij een boek, maar bij dit boek wel. De zinnen waren allemaal zo grappig geformuleerd, Rebecca was zo sarcastisch, en eigenlijk ging het soms over echte ‘vrouwendingen’. Er staan echt heel grappige zinnen in:

‘Marriage is the chief cause for divorce.’

‘From that moment I started cheating on my lover with my husband.’

Anouska was getrouwd met een man, Darius, en later in het boek bleek dat hij homo was. Maar omdat Anouska zo rijk was, wilde zij niet van hem scheiden, omdat hij dan de helft van het geld zou krijgen. Dus wilde ze hem vermoorden. Ze stuurde hem op vakantie naar allerlei gevaarlijke gebieden en liet ze hem gevaarlijke sporten beoefenen, maar hij ging maar niet dood. Maar op een nacht toen hij heel erg snurkte heeft zij twee tampons in zijn neus gedaan, om hem door zijn mond te laten ademen. En dat heeft Darius niet overleefd.

2. Geef van drie personen aan wat je van ze vond.

Rebecca, vond ik heel erg grappig maar toch vind ik echt belachelijk wat ze heeft gedaan met haar leven. Ze heeft heel veel mensen erg gekwetst en dat zou ik nooit zo doen. Ook hoe ze met haar toekomstige baby omging: ze heeft geen babykleren gekocht, een kamer gemaakt of een naam bedacht. Ze heeft er niet eens over nagedacht terwijl een kindje wel je hele leven verandert en een grote verantwoordelijkheid oplevert.

Zack, ik kan me denk ik goed voorstellen wat voor persoon hij zou zijn. Een grote, stoere rapper die veel vrouwen om zich heen heeft. Maar ondanks dat hij iedereen kan krijgen is hij er maar voor één vrouw. Dat is wel bijzonder.

Julian, in het begin leek hij een zielige workaholic die steeds met zich laat sollen, maar later blijkt dus dat hij ook best gemeen kan zijn. Hij heeft affaires gehad met Anouska en Kate, terwijl hij nog getrouwd was met Rebecca.

3. Vertel wat je van het boek geleerd hebt.

Mijn woordenkennis Engels is erg goed vooruitgegaan. Maar verder heb ik er niet iets van geleerd dat ik ook in mijn eigen leven wil doen. Het is beter om de hoofdpersoon in dit boek niet na te doen. Ik ben na dit boek niet gaan nadenken over bepaalde serieuze zaken, maar soms schiet er nog wel een grappig stukje door mijn hoofd (Rebecca’s recordtijd tussen iemand ontmoeten en er mee naar bed gaan was 9 minuten!).

4. Geef aan waarom je klasgenoten het boek ook moeten lezen of juist niet.

Ik raad iedereen aan het boek te lezen, maar niet voor een boekverslag. Het is wel een heel erg leuk boek, maar je moet het wel rustig kunnen lezen, omdat je anders over de leuke stukjes heen leest. Nu ik de samenvatting heb gemaakt heb ik ook weer allerlei bladzijden doorgelezen en nu worden me dingen duidelijk, waar ik de eerste keer gewoon overheen heb gelezen.
Ik denk dat ik nog wel een boek van Kathy Lette uit de bibliotheek ga halen want het zijn echt grappige boeken. Maar die neem ik dan wel mee op vakantie, zodat ik echt de tijd kan nemen.