Four Blondes

Rating:
Summary: Weak
Review: It seems to me the only reason this book was published was to tout the name of Candace Bushnell, who inspired the popular television series, Sex and the City. But if you read it (and Sex and the City) you will learn that the writing is no where near as good as the writing on the television show. The trampy characters in Four Blondes are boring and cliché and give the reader no reason to like them.

Chick lit is fun when it's well written and the characters have some redeeming qualities. This is just a weak attempt to entertain by exposing four bimbos with a repulsive lifestyle.

Sorry.

Rating:
Summary: I wish the stories had intertwined more...
Review: Overall each of the four novellas were very interesting to read. Bushnell did a job job of giving each character her own personality.

But, I kept waiting for these four women's lives to meet up, and effect eachother in some way, and that never happened. Because it never happened, I felt that there was something lacking in each of the stories because the endings were so open, and there was no sense of closure.

Rating:
Summary: SITC gets more intimate but looses some splash
Review: Right after reading $eXz In The City, I tore into Four Blondes, looking for a happy extension to the reading pleasure I previously received from Candace Bushnell. I wasn't disappointed, for the most part.

Bushnell keeps up her frantic, fragmented pace in Four Blondes that she mastered with SITC, but takes a closer, edgier look at four women in particular. While I thought these four women would interact throughout the book, they really don't. It is actually four separate stories of New York women, and I think that let me down just a tad.

First we have Janey, a model, who realizes her only ambition has been getting a man (any man) to pay for her summer in the Hamptons. Of all four stories, I liked Janey's the best. Though she is a ambitionless leech, I found myself actually liking her.

Next is Winnie Dieke, married to James, no children. Winnie is a journalist, as is James, and after seven years of marriage is wondering if James is the best she will ever do. They don't care much for each other, but can't seem to let go of their relationship for mostly selfish reasons.

Third is the story of Princess Cecelia, a beautiful girl who marries a real Prince. This was my least favorite segment, and the reason my rating dropped from 4 stars to 3. I simply could not relate to Cecilia at all, she had no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and I felt it was a little beneath Bushnell to not have come up with at least one, since she is so very good at making likeable personalities out of despicable people.

Fourth and last, is the story of a writer to travels to England to write about how the English have bedroom relationships. The first person narrator of this story is never named, except for what seems to be a nickname of "Minky". Minky was definitely a fun personality, and someone I could see myself liking to be around.

All in all, Four Blondes is a good book, but definitely better if you accustom yourself to Bushnell's style first with SITC. Enjoy!!


Rating:
Summary: I'm still not sure what the point of this book was...
Review: The four stories range from mildly entertaining to mind-numbing. I found the first and the last the most readable ("readable" being a relative term). I should probably call these "vignettes" rather than "stories," as "story" implies some sort of character development and plot occur.

The first vignette centers on Janey Wilcox, a minor celebrity who's "employment" consists of modeling occasionally and sleeping with rich, powerful men frequently. Janey likes to summer in the Hamptons, so each spring she finds a wealthy man with a nice beach house and installs herself as his girlfriend for the season. Some of her liasions are quite amusing, but after a rather unpleasant season she resolves to get a beach house on her own and "do something" with her life. Her attempts at "doing something" (screenwriting, real estate classes) don't quite materialize, but then she gets a lucrative modeling contract with Victoria's Secret and can afford her own summer house. Janey is not entirely unlikeable and there is some amusing dialogue; however, I finished the story thinking "Huh? What was the point of THAT?" I guess at that point I was still expecting some sort of coherent storyline.

The second story is about Winnie and James Dieke, well-known Serious Journalists. They are also Seriously Pretentious. Winnie didn't seem to fit in with the "blonde" concept as she struck me more as self-righteous brunette. Winnie and James are a successful couple with a nice apartment and a child (who is never named and seems not to intrude at all into their lives), and they hate each other as Winnie is a control freak and James a wimp. Eventually they sleep with other people, and Winnie gets a promotion. Once again, "story" is too strong a word -- "bunch of random stuff that happened" might be a more accurate term. Winnie and James are quite unpleasant people, and I found myself disappointed that nothing terrible happened to either of them (other than they remained married to each other).

I confess I didn't make it all the way thru the third story due to extreme turbulence which made reading unpleasant. It seemed to be about a woman named Cecelia who, as far as I could make out, is married to a prince, has an eating disorder and takes a variety of "medications" a la Courtney Love. Cecilia is quite paranoid and convinced her husband is trying to poison her. I really couldn't make it thru this one at all.

The last story is rather entertaining, and mercifully brief. It is the account of a 40 year old columnist who goes to London to find out why English women can find husbands, even though they are so very unattractive (what with their lank hair, sensible shoes, no makeup, and short nails) -- while beautiful, successful Manhattanites can only find endless casual sex. Turns out the Englishwomen are unfazed by small penises, poor technique, and premature ejaculation, while the Englishmen are so baffled by women that they can't conceive of having more than one in their lives. This vignette came the closest to a humorous satire on the mating habits of the Manhattan elite, and was probably the most enjoyable out of all. It is also the briefest.

All in all, the book did keep me occupied during a flight, but I probably wouldn't recommend spending any actual money for it.

Rating:
Summary: VERY VERY OFFENSIVE RUBBISH
Review: This must be the worst book ever written.All the stories are boring but the fourth one was downright offensive.Mizz Bushnell just used this story to talk aload of [...] about the English.I am English and I found this book offensive in the extreme.Also it's a load of [...] I bet she has never been to England in her life,let's hope she keeps it that way .If I could bring [...] I would for this book.