Funny, engaging, crazy, sarcastic and a light read. Not a quick one though.



Bernadette Dunne did a fantastic job narrating this one. By far the best voice overs for Mexican, French, American, drunk and all sorts of snob bit**es. She was just wow!

This starts out pretty slow and it is very heavy on the details but it failed to impress me. The pacing doesn't really get better throughout the book.

I didn't really care about any of the characters honestly. Parts of it, I really enjoyed and others parts just annoyed me. Writing was okay. I liked the movie better than the book in this case.

3 stars

Not bad, I suppose—especially interesting when compared to the film adaptation, which I'd seen first.

The movie was no great shakes, really, although the cast did a solid job with what they'd been given. Still, I sought out the book because I felt that, as with most film adaptations, a lot of depth had probably been jettisoned, and rightly so, in the translation to the screen. After all, a novel can tackle a lot more than two hours of screen time can.

Imagine my surprise to find that the movie had more depth than the novel did. One of the most charming and fully-realized characters (relatively speaking, here) in the movie was nothing more than a throwaway gay joke in the book. And whereas there's growth and change among most of the major players in the movie, the novel pays only lip service to "your characters must change by the end of the book," and then only to the protagonist, whose "change" is telegraphed from page 1. The boss, the "devil" of the title, remains exactly the same from beginning to end—possibly intentionally, but I thought the Hollywood treatment of her, though formulaic, was more satisfying.

These things would have cheesed me off more if I hadn't discovered that the whole thing was written by a 22-year-old, because lord knows I never could have written something as impressive as this at that age, so I'm willing to cut a great deal of slack. And the truth is, it is an enjoyable read on a page-to-page basis, even if the whole book isn't altogether satisfying. Empty calories.

Even though the book's plot events are quite different from the movie's, i enjoyed it very much. The plot is more realistic, in my opinion, and the world of fashion more cruel and difficult compared to the one in the movie. Andy works in an environment that focuses on the image and beauty of a person. Miranda, her boss a such a hateful person, i couldn't stand her while reading the novel. I sympathised with Andrea and her courage showed what a strong person she is after all. An excellent book, i really loved it and simultaneously learnt many things regarding the world of fashion magazines!

The only reason I waste words on this piece of trash is that it holds the distinction of being THE WORST BOOK I EVER READ. The title was held previously (for a good 15 years previously) by "The Bridges of Madison County," and it took some DOING to surpass that awfulness.

I could write for three days about how much I hated this book. I still can't believe I finished it, and the only explanation I have is that it was kind of like not being able to look away from a trainwreck. Actually, "trainwreck" is a compliment to this thing. It assumes that it was, at some point, on track.

Not so. Bleah.

I think this is the first time I can say I liked the movie better than the book. This is supposed to be skewering the fashion industry but the least likeable character in the whole book was the protagonist. Not only did she come off as whiny, entitled and more of a snob than the snobs she was complaining about, she was quite humorless. One would think the fashion industry would be a gold mine of comical materials but if this book was supposed to entertain the reader, it quite failed. Helen Fielding managed to make me laugh out loud at the absurdities of the celebrity world and the entertainment industry in books like Bridget Jones and Cause Celeb. But Devil Wears Prada had no witty insights. It relied on cliches like the flamboyant or promiscuous gay fashion editor and other cringe inducing moments. The rest of the time, it left me utterly bored. It was a chore to finish it. I really don't understand how this became a record breaking best-seller.

I finally finished this horrific
book!

I picked it because the
movie was awesome and the actors did exceptionally well!! But the book is very much girly and found it as an amateur work!! The narration was very dull and moreover it is very repetitive!! The author was very firm to amass the book with more no. of pages rather than trying to present in a readable way!!

If u watch the movie first, u will definitely find the book very much DISAPPOINTING!!

This was literally MISERABLE to read whoever adapted this to a screenplay didn’t get paid enough

It's been a long time since I've had a chance to add a new book to my "the movie is better" shelf, so at the very least, I owe The Devil Wears Prada credit for that.

(seriously, I could talk to the screenwriter of the movie for literally hours about the process of adapting the book and how she arrived at some of the brilliant choices she made)

I can't get over how night and day the two versions are. To show just one example: the character of Christian, in the book, functions purely as a temptation for Andy, teasing the reader with the threat that she'll cheat on her boyfriend (who, in the book, is so tooth-achingly perfect that I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and find out that he's been having an affair the whole time or something). And she never even sleeps with Christian in the book, so his character is ultimately pointless and should have been cut from the novel entirely. But in the movie he actually has a function outside of just being the guy Andy might cheat on her boyfriend with - the book still has the challenge where Andy has to get a copy of an unpublished Harry Potter book for Miranda, but she just finds some rando at a publishing company to get it for her. Having Christian be the connection that gets her the book in the movie version was, frankly, a stroke of brilliance and I bet Lauren Weisberger is really mad that she didn't think of that.

The sad truth about The Devil Wears Prada is that it could have functioned perfectly well as an in-depth magazine article. Because ultimately, this novel is attempting to shine a light on the toxic work culture at Vogue, and specifically to show the world that Anna Wintour is straight-up abusive to her underlings. But when the book came out, all of that got lost as people just scrambled to read all the dirt about what it was like working inside the hallowed halls of one of the most influential fashion magazines running today. There were probably (and probably still are) plenty of garbage people who considered "Andy" ungrateful, and thought that she should be forced to pay her dues by working a shitty job for a shitty boss. What people lost sight of - including Weisberger herself, because she's mostly concerned about how her job affected her and isn't interested in seeing the bigger picture - is that no one should ever have to go through what Andy goes through in this book.

The sad thing is that I don't think Anna Wintour ever faced any significant backlash for how she's portrayed in this book. If anything, The Devil Wears Prada actually benefited Wintour, because it made her a household name. (We would not have The September Issue without The Devil Wears Prada) Which, when you think about it, is really fucked up: that Wintour became more famous thanks to a book that portrayed her, in no uncertain terms, as a horrible human being, and there were never any real consequences for all of that ugliness coming to light. There is almost certainly some girl at Vogue working today who performs all of Andy's former duties, but that person is probably an unpaid intern now.

And how did this all shake out for "Andy", aka Lauren Weisberger, who wanted to write for the New Yorker and scoffed at the idea of Vogue having "literary articles" (a skepticism that goes unchallenged in the book, because the screenwriters had to scrape five book characters together in order to create the movie's version of Nigel)? At the end of the book, Andy publishes a magazine article about a recent college grad who gets hired at a super demanding job, and almost loses herself in the process. Weisberger tries to lampshade this by having Andy's family joke about how closely this skews to her real life, but it seems to be a pretty accurate estimation of Weisberger's post-Prada career. A quick look at her author page shows that she managed to wring two sequels out of her star-making novel, and most of her other books seem to follow the same formula of a simple, good-hearted girl who gets swept up in a world of glitz and glamour that she's fully unprepared for.

For better or for worse, Weisberger has built her career off of that one terrible year she spent at Vogue. Anna Wintour made Weisberger's writing career, and Weisberger gave Wintour widespread fame. They deserve each other.

“Millions of girls would die for this job”

OK, I know what you’re saying, “you’re that knuckle dragging redneck from Tennessee, what’re YOU doing reading about high fashion in New York and Paris”???

Fair question. I’d say it’s important to read different books, try on diverse genres from talented writers I’ve never explored before, think outside the box. My wife bought the 2006 David Frankel film starring Meryl Streep and I’ve seen it multiple times and liked it. The book seemed interesting, fresh and vibrant.

And it was. Lauren Weisberger’s prose is witty and endearing, funny but also poignant. I liked her erudite use of language, she can turn a phrase with the best of them.

For any out there who don’t know what this is all about, quick summary: college grad with aspirations of being a writer lucks into “the dream job” as the personal assistant to the editor of Runway magazine, a thinly disguised roman e clef about Vogue magazine and Weisberger’s time there. Most notably it is about her off-the-charts difficult boss, Miranda Priestly.

Fans of the film, and especially of Streep’s superb portrayal of Miranda (she was nominated for an Oscar but that award went to Helen Mirren) will know about the diabolically aloof and condescending editor. But Streep’s performance and Frankel’s direction gave us a more human character. For all her cold heartedness, Streep’s Miranda is ultimately approachable and strangely likeable. Weisberger’s Miranda is a Nietzschean machine, ruthless to the core, reminiscent of Jack London’s Death Larson (the more purely evil brother to Wolf Larson).

Ironically, Weisberger’s Andy is not as likeable. While Anne Hathaway’s role gave us a vulnerable and dynamic portrayal, Weisberger’s protagonist is not just seduced by a demanding job with a domineering boss, but she is demonstrably self-centered to boot. And the whining about the fashion job got old by the end of the novel making me want to scream “fer Chistsakes either work or quit!”

More than the surface story, though, this book made me wonder about our propensity towards hero worship. Why do we put up with arrogance and pitilessness? Weisberger notes how teenage girls (and grown women) fall over themselves for Miranda, Runway and fashion in general. Why? And guys, you’re not off the hook either. How many boys and men (and men who act like boys) will damn near grovel for sports stars? For all the ridiculous sums paid for a Louis Vuitton product, how many testosterone and beer soaked males drop big bucks for tickets and sports apparel? Why would we stand in line and pay hard earned money to people who care nothing for us and don’t even pretend to?

Weisberger also makes me think about and question our work ethic. Andy’s new job takes all of her time and energy and causes riffs in her relationships with family and friends. Certainly work and a career is vitally important, but so are bonds of affection and through Andy we can get a glimpse at priority and what is important.

Good book.

Tutti conoscono il film di questo libro, la famosissima Miranda Priestley che terrorizza le sue assistenti con richieste impossibili da soddisfare.
Stranamente il film, che personalmente adoro con tutta la mia anima perché l'attrice protagonista è una cutie e anche il resto del cast, soprattutto Nigel,va molto più a fondo nella psicologia dei personaggi del libro, che invece è molto più interessato a elencare le fissazioni del Boss psicopatico e di come Andy sia così fissata dal suo lavoro, che non le interessa affatto, da non riuscire a smettere di ammorbare tutti con le sue lamentele.
Per quanto sia la lettura ideale per rilassarsi e farsi due risate, perché è davvero divertente, si sente che la narratrice/protagonista si sente superiore a tutte quelle "barbie" della redazione anche se finisce per essere esattamente come loro perché "se no non l'avrebbero lasciata mai in pace".
E questo non è l'equivalente a quel che accadeva alla povera Betty, a cui facevano le foto di nascosto e le commentavano con cattiveria, qui si limitano a tirarle dietro vestiti super firmati perché tanto dopo il servizio fotografico non li useranno mai più.
In più i suoi colleghi sono delle assolute macchiette: le ragazze tutte oche e magrissime e quasi modelle mentre gli uomini sono gay che si preoccupano solo di vestire bene e che quelli intorno a loro siano all'altezza del loro stile.
Perché chi lavora nella moda dev'essere per forza una taglia XS se di sesso femminile mentre è ovvio che un uomo che si interessa a questo campo non può essere altro che omosessuale, altrimenti come farebbe mai a resistere a tutta quella carne esposta?
A parte la mia ironia da quattro soldi, capisco che sia stato pubblicato nel 2003 e che sia pieno di cliché, soprattutto lo stupendissimo scrittore che si becca il ben servito dopo un non convincente tentativo di seduzione, mentre nel film ci andava molto più pesante.
La voce narrante è fresca e simpatica, ma Andy ha proprio la puzza sotto il naso e, dopo aver lasciato il suo fidanzato e la sua amica quasi alcolista alla guazza, avrei voluto facesse un po' di più di mea culpa, soprattutto perché se si era arrivati a certi livelli era solo a causa sua, non del suo lavoro che, per quanto duro, impegnativo e stressante, aveva solo portato fuori il suo egoismo ed egocentrismo.

Although an interesting comical expose of the world of fashion publishing, far too long and repetitive. A very good example of choosing a great book title :). 4 out of 12, Two Star read...

2009 read