Rating:  Summary: What a waste of paper! Review: I am sick to death of books about whiny, b*tchy, vain NY women (Trading Up, The Nanny Diaries, this book). I used to work and live in NYC, so I "get it," but this book was trash. I got about 15 pages into it and said "Enough!" The characters are one-dimensional caricatures, and Andrea should have just QUIT if she was so unhappy. I didn't want to waste my time with this.
Rating:  Summary: UGH! Review: What a total waste of time. The author has NO aidea how to develop her characters--they were cardboard cut-outs. She did not give ANY detail about what Andrea's life was like before she interviewed at " Runway"( except for drifting through Europe and Asia with her boyfriend) I rather liked Miranda, at least her antics kept me guessing about what outlandish stunt she would pull on Andy next.
Rating:  Summary: The triumph of the tyrant Review: Ineptly written, clumsily edited, Weisberger's thinly disguised autobiography is one of those quick reads that's perfect for a long trip or a night when you're too tired to focus on anything with more substance. Devil keeps the readers plowing ahead by describing a year's worth of excess and boss-from-hellishness. Can Miranda really be as awful and obsessive as she sounds? Oh sure, and Weisberger delights in regaling us with example after example of Miranda's lack of empathy and her emotional lability. How did Miranda get that way, how did she manage to achieve such success, and why does her kind of behavior exert so much power over people who should realize that they aren't indentured slaves? Weisberger doesn't explore this aspect at all. How can someone with so little regard for financial issues be running a major magazine? Weisberger doesn't care, and we don't find out. Nor does she ever seem to truly appreciate the fact that she was very lucky; if not for her stint with Miranda, she would never have had the chance to publish this book. (I don't think she could be a reporter for a college newspaper, let alone a writer for a major magazine.)I kept waiting for Miranda to get her comeuppance, but instead, it was more of the same old until the fictitious Andrea told off the boss and flew home from Paris, a quick but merciful ending to Anna's and our ordeal. At the end of the book, she's still babbling about the celebs she met and the clothes she got to wear (why bother with $800 shoes whose heels won't stay on?). Perhaps in ten years she'll have gained some perspective on her experience and polished her storytelling ability. Meanwhile, I'm giving her first awkward effort two stars because of the great Bad Boss anecdotes.
Rating:  Summary: Don't fiction writers have EDITORS any more? Review: There's so much garbage fiction out there and garbage writers like this one. But what really bothers me are the stories that could have been made so much better. In the "olden days," an experienced, qualified editor would have developed the novel and made the writer rewrite, rewrite, rewrite! Does that cost too much now? Also, are copy editors extinct?
Rating:  Summary: It's gotta be the shoes Review: Originally Reviewed on October 31, 2003 An easy predictable pleasurable read, I loved the portrayal of the many fashion editors balanced with the main characters parents. I would love to have seen both at the launch party for "Devil wears Prada." Not a book I am proud to have read, but certainly one I enjoyed. Michael Duranko, Bootism: a shoe religion www.bootism.com
Rating:  Summary: Un-Referenced Good Read Review: I really enjoyed this book, even though it took me until well over half-way through the book to really get into it. There was one thing that bothered me. There was a reference to Walt Disney World's Epcot that showed me that the author didn't do much research. I found that to be a little un-professional. If she was going to use such a reference, she should have at least researched it and found out the proper spelling of Epcot. Other than that, I loved it!
Rating:  Summary: Terrific airplane book Review: This is light reading of a fine sort. Very funny and irreverant, shallow but not silly. Perfect for the airplane trip and for the beach at the end of the flight. I laughed out loud while reading, which doesn't often happen.
Rating:  Summary: Hilarious and Fun! Lighten up! Review: I purchased this book through Amazon.com right after another great purchase, THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez, about an unlucky writer addicted to the personals. Both books are semi-satirical and set in 'big, bad' New York City, but that's where the similarity ends. The plot for THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA revolves around Andrea Sachs, who graduates from Brown and gets a job that 'a million girls would die for.' She is the personal assistant to Miranda Priestly, the editor in chief of Runway Magazine. Ironically, Andrea doesn't even want the job -- she has only accepted it because she thinks it will help her land her personal dream job: working as a writer for the New Yorker. That just the tip of the iceberg, but it only gets better. If you enjoy fun, lively novels, why wait? Also recommended: WILL@epicqwest.com (medicated memoir) by Tom Grimes
Rating:  Summary: Similiar to the Nanny Diaries Review: This book is very similiar to the Nanny Diaries. It was fun to read, but the ending was very predictable. The writing was fair. It is a book to read if you have the time and are looking for an easy, not too complex read.
Rating:  Summary: Fun, easy read, couldn't put it down Review: I really enjoyed this book. No, its not going to change the world or win any literary prizes but if you are looking for a good story with interesting characters that will make you laugh and really feel for them you will enjoy this book. Its an easy read and very enjoyable.
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