прочитала половину и больше не могу это какой то такой бредовый текст …
буквально вся книжка пропитана мизогинией люто патриархального мира под призмой матриархата выставляя при этом женщину в самом ужасном свете.
я не понимаю как женщина могла написать такую хуйню с подлизыванием к мужикам …
хз может я просто не правильно понимаю эту книжку потому что не понимаю такой нужды в половых связях которые описываются в книге но честное слово таких отвратных чувств от книги я давно не чувствовала

Biggest takeaway from reading this is just HOW GOOD of an adaptation the show is

I was really looking forward to read this book, since I'm a big fan of Sex and the City. At first I thought the book was a bit confusing. I had assumed that the characters; Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte as a group of friends would be in focus, like in the TV-series. In the beginning I was therefore a bit disappointed. As I continued to read, my view changed. I really started to enjoy reading this book.
What I really liked about the book was that even though the characters and the situation was quite different from the TV-series, there was moments that I really could see similarities. Like the modelizers, the international crazy girls and the thing about threesomes. Even though the book was nothing like I had imagined, moments like these created the same atmosphere that I loved about the TV-series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ four stars -

This was a must read chick lit book during the time of its original publication (1997), and especially during the time when the SATC was a weekly HBO ritual. Now that there’s buzz of a new movie coming out, I felt that it was time to revisit this one…

I read this originally back around 1999 when the HBO show was in full swing. I really enjoyed the TV/HBO version so much, and I wanted to delve into the characters more. Well, as I’m sure most everyone knows already, the book is not at all like the show. While you do get a better glimpse of the characters from the book, you’re not really getting a positive view of their innermost thoughts here…

Candice Bushnell is known more as a satirical writer who loves to poke the edges of high-brow NYC society. She excels at this, and is a skilled commentator on the social norms of the high flyer Manhattanite types. This novel is no exception, but readers will find that as a story, it’s choppy and reads more like excerpts from a column imo.

Lovers of the show will be disappointed, but taken as a novel alone, while it’s entertaining, it’s views are overall harsh and have undertones that will leave you sadly shaking your head.

I would still classify this as a 20th century must read, though. It’s a glimpse of what first class society was like when Manhattan was in the throes of its second roaring twenties time period, as the backdrop depicted here will immerse you into NYC at one of its most decadent times of excess.

Don’t expect to find the TV characters here, but instead a true well written satire. I would recommend this read for those enjoy who this genre (social satire), and who would enjoy a step back in time to the 1990s.

Four solid stars for a modern classic.

Mejor la serie, la verdad.

Didn’t hate it and actually am baffled as to why so many people did, especially so vehemently.

Let me back up a bit. I have a lukewarm fascination with the show. It’s bubble-gum sweet and draws you in, but at the same time I always found it difficult to relate to such a glorification of capitalism, egotism and selfishness. It was always this weird, nuanced, emotional rollercoaster for me, because it was great to have women be sexually liberated and daring to be free and unlikable and selfish and not sacrificing their everything for the conventional things women are supposed to like and want. But as all feminist-ish friendly shows of the era, and as bubblegum and celebrity feminism itself, the social structures this kind of narrative enforces and glorifies are as harmful as the ones we laud it for subverting. So you know, my general feelings remain as “meh” and the show always stays in the realm of “guilty pleasure” and “hate watch” for me. So this is where I come from, unable to actually call myself a fan of the show, despite having watched it more than twice. Both movies included.

When I found this book I thought it would be perfect for the little bad-book-club we have with a friend, where we try to read exclusively bad, and mostly popular, books, so we can vent about them later and bond and have fun and not be petty at all. I thought going to the source of Sex and the City, the fountain of vain, privileged, thin, white, women, would actually fit our book-club vibe perfectly. The myriad one-star reviews, and did-not-finish shelvings promised me so.
Alas,’ twas not meant to be.

The book reads more as a sociological narration of how mating worked in 90s NY than anything else. The narrator doesn’t take sides, nor tries to glorify the women’s lifestyles or sympathize with them. It felt more like she was describing the modern conundrums these women find themselves in, living in a faux-liberated era and being caught between changing gender roles and expectations. They have money, beauty and want to experience everything promised, freedom, good sex, and romance. But they still are chased by old phantoms, most desperately wanting a husband, maybe children, and fidelity. All while men and social conventions judge them with both old and new standards thus rendering them unable to succeed in all they want.

The characters are not made to be likeable. They are presented as people molded by the fast rhythms of the city, by absurd situations, vile men, exceedingly strict beauty standards. They are hardened, cynical, egotistic, opportunistic women, who can’t connect with their true feelings and wants. The glorification of this lifestyle is also absent, a fact that elevates this book so much more from the movie. Absent are the fashion shows, the fawning over manolos, the infatuation with the posh and glam sparkles the tv show thrived on. We don’t have all that jazz to blind us from what is really going on, from the story this book has to say. Instead we get to be a cold observer of their lives, each with its ups and downs, and the most prevalent feeling in all of this, is a kind of sadness. It’s the same kind of sadness I have when I think about my mother’s life, caught between housework and career, being swallowed, tired and overworked by both, because as fast as the economy changed to accommodate women entering the workforce, domestic life remained stuck in the conventions of the previous century. So while these women are not likeable, it’s very hard to be overly critical and judge them harshly. It’s the kind of nuance and complexity real life has, and the book presents that wonderfully. They’re not idols, nor villains; they are what they had to become to survive.

Sure enough, with the cultural obsession and glorification of fashion and its commerce, the tv adaptation strayed from this portrayal, transforming these characters into role models. Women making it, navigating this life and thriving. It was written as most American tv is, with optimism, likeable characters, and a purpose to promote a certain type of lifestyle while attaching positive feelings to it. Maybe this is why so many people hated the book. In comparison it’s gloomy and full of people you really wouldn’t want hanging around you. Gone are the tales of talented Carrie and fearless Samantha. Gone is the girly vibe of sisterhood, good food and shoes. Instead we get something very close to real life, and real people and our sweet escapism comes crashing down.

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As a fan of the ubiquitous, outrageous and beloved show, I had a desire to read the sourc material as I have always always enjoyed the book over the show/movie/puppet re-enaction. This is the very first time (that I can remember) where that is not the case: I'll take the show and even those two atrocious movies over this crapfest. What was a fun, frothy, sexy show with independent and strong women was a soul-crushing excursion into the minds of characters so flat I could apply makeup while standing on them. Candace Bushnell might have had the right idea but she had no idea about how to execute it. Without Darren Star and the writing team at Showtime, the Samantha, Charlotte, Miranda and even Carrie we all love or love-to-hate would never even have come close to existing. There are no tangible storylines here - just a series of disjointed vignettes.

It is a bleak, and entirely off-putting book. There are no real characters, just darkly humorous facsimiles of modern people in a big city. No one is likable; no one even really has a tangible storyline! I have no idea where the writers of the eponymous show found their inspiration for Charlotte, Miranda, Samantha and Carrie: it certainly wasn't in the pages of this book. This was an incredibly depressing and unfulfulling read for me. I'd rather I'd never even started it, but I can't figure out how to unread this tripe. While it may seem I have a complete total hate-on for Bushnell, this is not true: her expansion into the YA market with the novel The Carrie Diaries had three-dimensional characters and a valid (if weak) plotline that I had fun reading. I just HATED both of these novels to a rather large and voluminous degree, and the characters so so much as well that I'll be needing a nice looooooooong break before I try another of her work.

Although I enjoyed reading the original content that inspired the TV show, Sex and the City is nothing without a strong bond between four female friends, sharing their life experiences. I missed the group dates with Cosmopolitans...

Todo lo que puedo decir es que despreciaba este libro y prácticamente me apresure a leerlo solo para terminar con esto. Me refiero a la forma en que los hombres y las mujeres son retratados en este libro me enferman físicamente. Tuve que obligarme a terminarlo, todo el tiempo que leía esto seguía deseando poder leer algo que realmente quería leer. Qué pérdida de tiempo.

No logré superar esto. Todo lo que puedo decir es que los escritores de la serie de HBO realmente tuvieron cierta visión, porque el programa (y las películas) fueron aproximadamente 4000 veces mejores que el libro.

This was a great TV show in its heyday. I have seen every episode numerous times and feel like lately when I rewatch an episode it hasn't quite stood the test of time, but that doesn't deny the fact that this was a great, ground-breaking show.

I was really excited to read this book, due to my love of the show. But it was so completely different from the show, the characters were so flat, the writing so poor that I rue the fact that I paid even the Target low price of like 3 bucks for this piece of shit. It's amazing that such a shitty book inspired such a fabulous television series.

Leer este libro ha sido una cosa.

¿Te lo quieres leer por la serie? Lo más interesante es que Stanford tiene pelo, largo y rizado.

La forma en la que está escrito es como han montado los episodios después. Te van contando historietas en cada capítulo, supuestamente siguiendo todas el mismo tema. Me he pasado la mitad del libro no entendiendo que estoy leyendo, porque en realidad escribe lo que le sale del mismísimo en cada párrafo nuevo.

Leí en algún comentario que es increíble lo bien que han hecho la serie con la basura que viene en el libro. Sinceramente, han cogido el libro, han ordenado las ideas, les han dado sentido y lo han convertido en algo que sí se puede disfrutar.

Hay una barbaridad de personajes y sus historias son súper inconexas. En la serie lo han hecho bien, porque le han dado sentido haciendo que sean personas entrevistadas por Carrie, pero aquí no pasa eso.

Podría no haberlo leído hasta el final y estaría igual. Lo único que me ha hecho leerlo entero es qué quería comparar y ver que cosas se han rescatado para la serie. Si tienes esta paciencia, léetelo. Si estás viviendo algo malo y quieres experimentar algo peor para que lo tuyo se sienta menos malo, léetelo. Si eres una fan esquizofrénica de la serie como yo y quieres escribir una parrafada de un libro cutre de los 90, léetelo. Que te sale de los mismísimos leerlo, como a la escritora este libro, léetelo. Y si no, échate una siesta o algo yo que sé.

Un beso y bebed agua.

The movie was such a blockbuster that one would expect the book to be at least a little good but it is just full of little anecdotes from trashy lifestyle magazines for women. It is so sad that sex sells so much that people ignore any nonsense in the form of falsity and artificiality for it.