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The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada

List Price: $25.95
Your Price: $16.35
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An incredible "Just for fun" book.
Review: Now, why in the world would anyone pick up a book titled "The Devil Wears Prada" and expect anything more than a fun read? What part of that title implies something else?? I just don't understand the reviews that bombed this book out.

This book is a very light and entertaining story about a college grad that gets stuck in a nightmare job- working for that Prada wearing devil, no doubt. It is quite funny and will have you chuckling as you read it. There is a lot of detail given to the inter workings of the fashion industry, designers, clothes and accessories. This also seemed to turn off some of the other reviewers, but the story is about a girl working in the fashion industry. It would be an entirely different story if that were not the focus.

I simply cannot think of a bad thing to tell you about this book. It even comes with a "feel good" ending and a moral to the story that wraps it up for the reader. Just bear in mind that it is a "just for fun" book and you will be very happy with it. Please don't let any of the bad reviews dissuade you from reading it. It is a strong "4 Stars".

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Chills
Review: This book (which I listened to unabridged on books on CD) gave me chills and moments of anxiety as I flashed back to a boss that I had prior to my current job. Although she wasn't quite as bad as Miranda, I could empathize with Andrea in a number of her horrible situations. I have been fantasizing about sending her a copy of the book, but have restrained myself thus far. The ending was satisfying and not at all predictable, I thought.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Fashion fallout
Review: Lauren Weisberger's "The Devil Wears Prada" is probably one of the most alluring book titles in years. If only the actual content of the book were half so interesting. Alas, it's mostly whiny, poorly written and makes rather feeble grabs for sympathy and understanding, but doesn't actually get either.

Andrea Sachs wants to be a writer for the New Yorker. But for any chance at that, she has to work as a personal assistant for Miranda Priestly, chief editor of the prestigious fashion magazine Runway. She doesn't like fashion (despite an overriding concern with top-notch brand names) but is willing to do it to move up the ladder of success.

Soon she discovers that Miranda is, in fact, a boss from hell. Lunch demands, business trips, and phone calls are all given a manic twist as Miranda makes demands that no human being should have to put up with. Is it going to get worse? And just how far into Hades can Miranda take Andrea before enough is enough?

Only fashionistas and wannabe-fashionistas will find this book a compelling read. It's not even a good beach read -- even beach reads are supposed to have some semblance of a plot, or likable characters. This thinly-veiled roman à clef seems only to be a chance for the author to portray her ex-boss Anna Wintour as evil incarnate (get it? "Devil Wears Prada" -- how deviously subtle!). Worst of all, we're supposed to pity a woman who is working at a Vogue-like mag as a first job, getting prestigious resume material, and is making a mint to boot. Cry me a river, you lucky dog.

The writing is quite unbalanced. Despite Andrea's supposed apathy towards fashion, the designer tag of every dress, jacket and shoe is put forward. Weisberger's writing has a certain fluffy charm, but it lacks in zest. Perhaps in time it will balance itself out and be genuinely engaging. At the moment, it's just moderately interesting, with some typos that made me blink in disbelief. ("Heroine-chic" was a joke, right?)

The only characters who you'll remember as you flip the last page are Andrea and Miranda; the others are thin paper dolls. Andrea is pretty thin herself (and I'm not talking about her weight). Her whiny, petty, self-centered behavior has the occasional good deed thrown in, but it isn't enough to make her likable. On the other hand, Miranda's over-the-top evil behavior is funnier than it is evil.

Like wearing an ill-fitting miniskirt, this book is unpleasant and kind of embarrassing. Roman à clef novels are rarely good, but this one is worse than most. The devil who wears Prada is the only truly interesting thing about this flimsy novel.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A laugh a minute!
Review: After hearing so many people talk about this book, I had to see what all the fuss was about. I loved this debut novel! If you need a fun read for fun's sake every now and then, you will love this book. Don't get caught up in the criticisms of Weisberger's grammatical errors...just enjoy this book for what it is...entertainment! If you are not into reading fashion magazines, cannot name a fashion couture designer, or do not follow fashion trends, I would not recommend this book. Andrea's bored attitude and loathing of the fashion industry as well as her snide remarks about Miranda and her co-workers are a riot. Being privy to her thoughts was hilarious! I laughed out loud when Andrea told Miranda off at the end! I am looking forward to Weisberger's next novel.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: High quality chick lit
Review: A bright graduate of Brown finds herself hired as assistant to the highest woman editor (loved and hated by all) in the fashion industry - and relegated to being a go-fer, spending her days, in her own words, "finding, fetching, and faxing." In spite of her grim job, she keeps a realistic outlook on life and shares it with readers as the author pens spot-on anecdotes and character studies of those within the frivolous world of fashion.
A good beach read with a virtuous little moral waiting at its soft and palpable heart.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Trying to read this boring , overated book
Review: It is becoming painful. The title seems interesting, but the detailed writing about fashion is really a torture, no plot, just descriptions after descriptions about shallow peoples (anorexic models). I regret the purchase of this book, I am trying to make my wasted money valuable, but the reading is becoming a torture.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I never even knew much about Prada until this book...
Review: If you've ever had the boss from hell, you must read this book! It actually made me not want to complain about my own job!The story is very funny and yet frustrating, you really start to feel sorry for the lead character and the devil she is hired to work for. It also gives a bit of insight into the world of fashion in New York. Very fun read!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: entertaining, yes; literary, no
Review: Lauren Weisberger has written a moderately entertaining novel- but the lady needs to learn to spell, write grammatically and inject some soul into her prose. Drum-role? Heroine-chic? Eek. How does someone get published by Doubleday with such horrendous typos?

For someone who claims to know nothing about fashion, Andrea Sachs, the protagonist, sure drops those designer names from the get-go. (more errrors: Bobbi Brown, the makeup guru, is re-christened Bobby). She tries hard to make us feel pity, or at least empathy for her suffering at the hands of hellish boss Miranda Priestly, but doesn't quite succeed. Andrea herself is too flawed- a bigot who thinks all southerners are rednecks, a self-centered person who'd rather flirt with the hot writer with his 'adorable curl' than spend some quality time with her boyfriend. Yes, her boss is quite an insufferable character. But Andrea knows from day one what her job will be like, and she is compensated accordingly, 'making out like a bandit' at the end. If Weisberger's intent is to tar and feather Miranda Priestley (based on Vogue's Anna Wintour, we are told), she succeeds to only a limited degree. And if Andrea's dreams of writing for the New Yorker are in fact, Lauren's, she has a long hard road ahead of her.

In its praise, the book is quite an entertaining read, if you are moderately interested in fashion and couture. The book definitely conveys the workings of the fashion world- everything from the anorexia and shallowness to the price of a Chanel gown to the frenetic pace of work at a magazine. For someone who scoffs at fashion and wears her declassé Ann Taylor shoes to work (to Miranda's great displeasure), Andrea succumbs to the whole thing too easily. When a desperate teenager writes to Miranda about how she hates her own body and craves Miranda's help, Andrea has the opportunity to give the girl a lesson in self-esteem, but fails. Ultimately it's a shallow book about shallow people. Don't buy the book if you can borrow it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: "A million girls would die for your job" ---from the book
Review: "A million girls would die for your job,"---everyone seems to tell Andrea this, from the moment she gets her job as assistant to chief editor Miranda Priestly at Runway, the hottest fashion magazine.
Fresh out of college, Andrea Sachs is hoping to enter the world of magazine publishing at the New Yorker, but breaking into the occupation isn't all that easy. So, she applies for a job as assistant to the editor and miraculously gets it. Unfortunately, its not at the New Yorker, its at Runway, a fashion magazine (Andrea doesn't even care about fashion.)
From her first day on the job, Andrea dislikes it, but this grows to a hatred of it. she works amidst beautiful, anorexic models who consider her size six fat, and other intresting characters. Unfortunately, Andrea barely gets to meet any of them, as she is always busy following the huge demands placed on her by Miranda Priestly. Lunch must be on time and warm, or Andrea has to go out again, the layout for the magazine must be brought to her house a night no matter how late, and a trip to Europe can be demanded of Andrea at a moments notice. Those arn't even the worst scenarios, Miranda often eaves incoherant instructions, that must be followed without question, or Andrea will be promptly fired.
The demands of her job cause Andrea to lose track of what's truly important in her life. Her best friends alcoholism (until its too late) her boyfriend (or should I say ex) and family. Andrea is left to choose her family and friends or job.
This novel blends the serious with comical expertly. However, the plot tends to be overly simplified and is quite predicatable, making this a great read for stress relief or on the beach but not so great for intelligent brain stimulation.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Title, Great Book
Review: I adore this book. Part of me didn't want to - but the more I read, the more I found myself thoroughly enjoying it. We've all had a Miranda Priestly in our life at some point, and I often found myself relating to Andrea in the novel. It was highly enjoyable and I would definitely recommend it. Be forewarned - if you are not a fashionista or are not up on fashion, you will not enjoy this book. There are many "insider" type fashion references that one without a thorough knowledge of fashion and the industry would not appreciate or understand.


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