Home :: Books :: Literature & Fiction  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction

Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
Bergdorf Blondes : A Novel

Bergdorf Blondes : A Novel

List Price: $23.95
Your Price: $16.29
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 .. 10 >>

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Unfortunately Bad
Review: As much as I adore the strange universe that is NY's Upper East Side, this book is just daft drivel, not even FUN drivel. There is no structure; it simply wanders around like an uninformed shopper, on and on and on. The episodes are linked together with little insider tip offs on where to get the best fake bake, where to get bikini waxes. Reading a copy of Vogue will give you more of a sense of narrative and structure, even content. Don't buy this book. Wait for another more intuitive, sensitive and skilled writer to depict this world in all of its high-fat riches, rife with Chloe jeans and Manolos, sure--but utter saddness and hope too--as it really is.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Utterly vapid.... and not in a fun way.
Review: I wasn't expecting real literature, here. I was hoping for an effortless little bit of fluff to distract me for a spell. But frankly, this isn't even a good beach read. It's pallid and flat and lifeless and dull... It has no plot, it goes nowhere, and the characters are so tediously arrogant that I wanted to club them senseless with their own Jimmy Choos. I get the distinct impression that this is a talentless but rich and spoiled celebutante's attempt to write a thinly-veiled memoire. It had such potential to be a fun read, but it's as dull and soulless as "Moi" herself. Yawn. Glad I borrowed it from the library-- I'd feel ripped off if I had actually wasted my money on it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Slow start, but nice, warm ending
Review: Being an educated (at least I would like to think so) woman, the shallow characters in this book first annoyed the hell out of me. I stuck with the book, and found that the author has at least gave some depth to the confused heroine.

Rating: 3 stars
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: 1 stars
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: This book doesn't even qualify as a bad beach read. Shallow characters, poor writing, non-existent plot, forgettable dialogue, and improbable events. Even the ending is silly and predictable.
The young women, who live in NYC, are borderline anorexic, or anorexic, insipid, and unsympathetic. The plot is simplistic (self absorbed silly young women want to find a rich husband). Finishing the book is only possible if you have absolutely nothing to watch on TV, nothing else to read, or if you have the desperate determination to finish it because you spent the money to buy it. Doesn't even deserve a one star rating.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The most enjoyable book I've ever read
Review: I absolutely loved this book. Although it is certainly not intellectual literature, it is sooo much fun to read this book, but only if you're very intrested in the world of fashionistas and socialites. It is a very happy, bubbly book, just like the main character, but you simply CANNOT take this book seriously. If you do, you will come out like all of these other mean, ugly, fat people who do not like this book. This book is light hearted, and hilarious if you have the sense of humor that a fashionista has. I laughed out loud many times during the book. If you're looking for a break from you own life, pick up the book. I believe that Plum Sykes is a brilliant writer, and I also enjoy her articles in Vogue very much. To say that you do not like this book simply means that you are not a fashionista.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: NO, I was not expecting much
Review: HOWEVER, stating that, I was still disappointed. It's NOT funny whatsoever, and you will notice the author has zero talent at fiction writing. I do believe a fiction writer needs to add mystery or humor or something to draw the reader in, not just name-drop gaylord designers.
"Going to Brazil" - how unsexy was that?

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Unreadable
Review: I honestly couldn't finish this. I can't imagine how anyone who calls herself a writer could be so lacking in an understanding of satire and humor. I was cringing while reading the obvious efforts at cleverness ("going to Brazil") which fell flat the first time - and then were repeated over and over again. The other Amazon reviews have been much more entertaining than the book, especially the 5 star reviews from people who can't spell and recall having martinis at Bergdorf's during their New York days. Too funny!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A good beach/plane read...but not much else
Review: This book was just okay. I bought it to read on a plane and it certainly passes the time. The story is rather predictable, the characters somewhat likeable, but the book is entirely forgettable. Much better reads in the same vein would be Bridget Jones or the Nanny Diaries.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A quick enjoyable read
Review: I think some people are missing the point of this book by taking the characters seriously. Although I've read some things about the author that makes me believe she may actually be as shallow as her characters, I think she is skewering the whole New York scene not celebrating it. When the character tries to commit suicide and then worries about meaningless crap like dresses and her possessions, I felt the author was just trying to show you that there are unfortunately people that stupid and that superficial. She's not making fun of suicide, but of someone stupid enough to try to commit suicide in the fashion that Moi tries to. I liked the book, because it shows you a slice of life that on the surface looks enviable, but would you really want to live like these people? Not moi. Anyway, I found the book to be a great quick read, a good summer book


<< 1 2 3 4 .. 10 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates