Rating: Summary: Boring and disappointing Review: I wish I had read the reviews on this one and saved my money. I did read the whole book but it was pretty boring and predictable. I did not care about the main character at all, wondered exactly why she was a Bergdorf Blonde (it never explains where she got her money from). I heard they are making a movie from this book and I hope it will be more exciting. My advice is not to bother with this.
Rating: Summary: A little too Bergdorf, and a little too blonde Review: In the tradition of Candace Bushnell's "Four Blondes" and "Trading Up" comes "Bergdorf Blondes" by Plum Sykes, a story about Manhattan's best-dressed women, and their fantastically luxurious highlights, heartbreaks, and Hermes Birkin waiting-list woes. In a sense, the unnamed narrator (a self-described champagne bubble-about-town) and her perfectly blonde best friend, Julie Bergdorf, are refreshingly unlike many rich chick-lit heroines: they're not ruthless or mean-hearted, they're oftentimes charming and witty, and their very self-indulgence has a campy quality that comes across as more amusing than petty. There's a downside: the book never goes anywhere particularly surprising, and the whirl of men-clothes-manicures gets boring and one-dimensional after a while. The characters' very cuteness is a little unnerving as well; I love clothing as much as the next girl, but it's not all that I, or any other girl for that matter, think about. Sykes' writing isn't good enough to make her characters into real people. Rather, they're simply very well-dressed, well-coiffed shells with no interests other than clothes or men, and they're not real enough to make their silliness interesting for more than 100 pages or so. In conclusion, it's disappointing to reach the end of the book and realize that it doesn't go anywhere: there's no well-fashioned plot, just a series of fragmented episodes that pass for a story, and there's no character growth. No one ever learns to care for anything beyond men, clothes, and grooming, and yet, despite this, they're perfectly happy people. Does that mean the book's not worth reading? No, it is; it's good beach or boredom reading. But you may find yourself losing interest in the incessant themes of designer highlights and rotten men, in which case, "Bergdorf Blondes" becomes very unpleasant to finish.
Rating: Summary: terrifically sad...not even a "fun" read Review: My super sweet airhead (but wonderful) friend that I have known forever gave me this book to borrow and read. I was forced so I dug in with full force. I am not a literary snob. I've read my share of classic literature, but also know when to sit down with a light book too.
This book is poorly written. Not only is it poorly written, but it is only about status brand names. It's not about the fabric, or the idea of a designer. It is about HOW MUCH IT COSTS. BOTTOM LINE. I have been 'spoiled' my entire life and have never lost insight. It terrifies me to think that there are girls out there like the characters in Syke's novel, but terrifies me ever more to know that there are people out there writing about them. I love fashion. Just not the fake glamour that surrounds girls that ONLY can afford it; not embrace it as art.
This novel is badly written because I could not force myself to care about the main character. Why? because the main character didn't care about where the story was going! Syke's needs to take some writing classes to develop stronger characters. It was just cheesy and depressing.
-3 stars
Rating: Summary: Only good as a light summer beach read Review: Plum Sykes' first novel, Bergdorf Blondes, displays very little plot or character development. Although the novel itself is a quick and easy read, its ending is quite predictable and the reader will often find him/herself speed-reading simply to get through parts that appear in every romance book under the sun. I have yet to find anything that makes the novel unique, for even the diction is quite mundane. Bergdorf Blondes seems to be targeted mostly for teenagers and women in their early twenties who are still searching for that Hollywood romance that can only occur on the big screen. To summarize, the plot is far from complicated: boy meets girl, girl falls in love with the wrong boy only to realize that the one she wants has been right in front of her all along. Though the setting involves the Manhattan elite, Sykes does a poor job at developing the characters' personalities and leaves some ends untied. Few parts of the novel are quite amusing; however, the negatives far outweigh the positives in what can only translate to be a C class romance novel. I would advise to read only if you desire something light to get your mind off work, school, or all the nonfiction work circulating around the bookstore.
Rating: Summary: makes the devil wears prada look pulitzer prize-worthy Review: this book is one of the worst that i have read in quite some time. the narrator is completely detestable and you get the sense that the author is unaware of this (particularly because it seems that ms. sykes has based the annoyingly named character, moi, after herself). one of the numerous irritating plots attempts to recreate pride and prejudice (a la bridget jones's diary) yet turns the tale into a predictable and unrealistic pile of crap. at least jones, which i also found trite, provided the reader with a protagonist who was somewhat appealing. i wonder if anna wintour actually read her protege's ridiculous novel before so generously providing the compliment on its jacket. if so, her skills as an arbiter of taste are grossly overrated. even more preposterous is the fact that sykes fancies her book is on par with such great novelists as wharton, capote and fitzgerald. i highly doubt that history will regard bergdorf blondes on this level of literature or even remember it. let's hope the inevitable movie fails at the box office.
Rating: Summary: This is not a novel Review: This is advertising. Sykes mentions every luxury brand in the world, adds a couple of vapid and boring characters, no plot, and she calls it a book. Well, the result is about as interesting as the phone book.
Rating: Summary: Great Book Review: This was a great casual read. It was very fun and humorous. I would grab any other book right off the shelf that the author writes in this genre.
Rating: Summary: A Glimpse into the World of the Park Avenue Princesses Review: Welcome to the world of the Park Avenue Princesses, rich young women with nothing to do other than pamper themselves endlessly and try to find some meaning in their lives in the process of pursuing the PH (perfect husband). Men are viewed more as essential accessories than life partners, which probably explains why their relationships and marriages are so short-lived and unfulfilling.
Their days are filled with visits to hairdressers, dermatologists, therapists, , tanning salons, gossip-sessions, endless shopping sprees and society luncheons or benefits at which they sometimes purport to do good works.
They call themselves the Bergdorf Blondes, and getting the hair color just right is apparently not easy (or cheap). The main character (who is never named in the book) is the only one who seems to actually have a job, but it's not exactly a demanding career; she writes an occasional article for a fashion magazine.
The book is peppered with mentions of designer labels, including Manolo Blahnik, Chloe, Harry Winston, Gucci, Cavin Klein, Chanel, Pucci, Louis Vuitton. They drink Pellegrino and Bellini's and hope for an invitation to fly on someone's PJ (private jet) to Aspen or Cannes or The Riviera.
The book is satirical and exaggerated, and is a quick, amusing read. I only hope that the idle rich are not as shallow, jaded, and materialistic as they are portrayed in this novel.
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