Title: The Devil Wears Prada
Author: Lauren Weisberger
Publisher: Broadway Books
Pages: 360
Rating: 2/5 Stars
Although I've never seen the movie, the hype surrounding it has made it impossible for me not to have heard about The Devil Wears Prada. A friend gave me the book years ago (years after the movie came out) and since chick lit is not my genre of choice it took me another few years to finally read it.
I think I could have kept waiting.
I have to give Lauren Weisberger credit because even though I found the main character completely annoying by the end, I still wanted to see what happened. As a story, The Devil Wears Prada was pretty refreshing for the genre. Andrea isn't a complete and total trainwreck, searching for Mr. Right in order for her life to be complete. She already has Mr. Right - or at least thinks she does - in her college boyfriend Alex. Andrea's parents aren't completely out of touch idiots. Andrea is not perfect - she smokes, drinks to excess at times, swears, succumbs to the glamorous perks of her job, lies when she has to, is a bitch when it serves her and in general is remarkably with it for the heroine of a chick lit novel.
Bridget Jones she's not. Thank god.
In the beginning of the novel, I liked Andrea. I actually liked all the characters, even the ones who were supposed to be horrible. I sympathized with Andrea and even congratulated her for understanding that at the beginning of ones career, sacrifices have to be made, butts have to be kissed and someone has to do the grunt work. She wasn't afraid to pay her dues. She also wasn't stupid and took advantage of a position at Runway - even though fashion is not her thing - in the hopes that it would let reduce her dues paying time down to one year instead of five. Okay, so far I congratulate her for her ingenuity as well as her determination and realistic outlook.
The problem, I discovered about halfway through the book, was not the plot, it's the characters. I soon grew to hate them. The first to go were Andrea's best friend Lily and her boyfriend Alex. For two people who supposedly knew Andrea better than anybody, they turned on her really freaking quick. Yes, Miranda Priestly was a ridiculous boss. Yes, Andrea's job was basically 24/7 slavery that meant she often had to cancel plans at the last minute and in general be unavailable to her friends a lot of the time.
You know what, though?
Alex and Lily knew this going into it. Nobody lied to Andrea about the demands of the job she was accepting and she certainly didn't hold back when talking about it to her friends. Plus, all involved knew it was only for a year. This wasn't a career for Andrea, it was a job, a stepping stone to help her get her career started. Thus, I ran out of patience for Alex and Lily's whining about Andrea's lack of availability pretty quickly. I didn't think it fair to support Andrea's decision in theory and then turn on her when the actuality of it wasn't acceptable to them. I don't think Alex or Lily should have put their lives on hold while they waited for Andrea's year of servitude to end, but I also think they had obiligations to her as a friend as well that they seemed to forget when they felt she'd slighted them. I intensely disliked Lily's neediness and Alex's guilt-tripping preachiness.
Plus, fyi, Ms. Weisberger, Andrea is not responsible for how Lily chooses to deal with her issues. Insinuating that Andrea's job demands were in some way to blame for Lily's choices is unfair and untrue. Lily needed to grow up and it wasn't Andrea's job to make it happen.
By the end of the book, however, most of my goodwill toward Andrea had disappeared in light of her attitude toward the fashion industry, her co-workers and her boss, as well as her overall sense of entitlement. In the beginning I understood that getting used to Miranda would have been a challenge - especially for Andrea, being a relative outsider to the fashion industry. I can see how the importance these people placed upon Fashion - yes, that's Fashion with a capitol F - would have seemed ridiculous and strange to her. Eleven months in, however, her disdain read as arrogance and I was done with her.
Andrea's unwavering antipathy for the Fashion industry was grating. I understand that she wasn't into it and found it all ridiculous, but the way she let it be known that she considered herself above such pettiness was so rude and disrespectful I lost all patience with her. Fashion may be irrelevant to you, Andrea, but it is not to the people at Runway who want to be there. Judging them for what you deem shallow and materialistic concerns is just as bad as them judging you for not wearing the right shoes with the right dress.
Now, I'm not going to lie, I wouldn't want to work for Miranda. The demands she placed upon...basically everyone were ridiculous. But that's what bosses do, especially the ones who are so far from where they started that they've lost all touch with the reality of being the lowest person on the totem pole. Andrea's incredulity toward Miranda made sense in the beginning, but by the time she had her meltdown in Paris it was just pathetic. Yes, Andrea, your boss's demands are outlandish, humiliating and inconsiderate, but it's not your job to tell her that, it's your job to accomdate them. You're getting paid. You're not doing Miranda a favor by showing up for work everyday, you're receiving money for a service you agreed to perform. Get over your entitled self.
Now, I realize that Andrea is young and as a result might not immediately understand that life is a lot different than college. I could forgive her for the entitled attitude if I felt that by the end she learned from her experience, but she hadn't. All she had was a sense of relief that she was free from Miranda's dictatorship.
This review is quickly becoming a rant, so I'll bring it to a close by saying that I think Lauren Weisberger is a talented storyteller. Given the fact that the only two characters I liked by the end were Miranda and Emily - the supposedly evil ones - I think she needs to work on her characters.
One Nerd's perspective on books from every corner and genre of the galaxy.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers
Title: Personal Demons
Author: Lisa Derochers
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages: 365
Rating: 3 Stars
I really wanted to give this 3.5 stars. Personal Demons started out really, really well and I was reading it super fast - always a good sign. I enjoyed Frannie and loved Luc. I'm a sucker for a leather jacket and a pierced eyebrow. ;p The fact that he registered emotions as scents was a little odd and could have been awkward in its obvious attempt to be 'different', but for the most part it worked.
Although, I've never thought of ginger as being particularly lustful.
Lisa Desrochers walked the fine line of being a book about religious themes without becoming a religious book and I appreciated that. The only character that ever preached at me was Frannie's younger sister Grace and she was supposed to be zealous, so it worked.
I kind of felt like the switches between Luc and Frannie's first person POV were cheating a little, but I really liked getting into both of their heads, so I let it slide.
The only problem I had with the book was Gabe. I understand why his character was important. There needed to be a player from Heaven in the mix, not only to give Luc a little competition, but to save Frannie. As much as I like the badboy, this was not a book where Hell was some misunderstood place for castoffs and outsiders. It was Hell in every sense of the word. Frannie did NOT belong there.
The issue comes with the fact that I never got a clear picture of Gabe's feelings for Frannie until I was told - by Luc - that yes, he was in love with her and yes, he'd risk his wings for her. That's all well and good and I was expecting as much, but having to be told something I should have been shown is never good. I think Ms. Derochers made a mistake with Gabe in one of two ways - either he shouldn't have really fallen for Frannie or she should have written from his POV as well.
I was hoping it would come out that while Gabe sincerely cared about Frannie and wanted her safe, the way he made her feel was all a ruse - that Gabe was pushing his power on her to woo her like Luc did to humans. Given the fact that we don't get a Gabe POV, I think this would have been the better way to go. In the sequel, Ms. Desrochers could have delved into Gabe's love for Frannie and surprised everybody with the fact that he really was in love with her.
Ms. Desrochers writing style was very accessible and easy to read. Personal Demons had quite a few references to Top 40 Pop which is fine, but it will date the book in a couple of years - it kind of already did - and I'm not sure that's worth the risk, so to speak.
While I'm not surprised there's a sequel, the book ends in a very satisfying way, so I'm curious where the next installment will take us. I'm assuming we'll learn more about how Frannie is supposed to use her Sway and how Luc deals with being human - a plot point I'm rather 'meh' about, but I'll deal with it as long as he doesn't lose his edge.
Author: Lisa Derochers
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages: 365
Rating: 3 Stars
I really wanted to give this 3.5 stars. Personal Demons started out really, really well and I was reading it super fast - always a good sign. I enjoyed Frannie and loved Luc. I'm a sucker for a leather jacket and a pierced eyebrow. ;p The fact that he registered emotions as scents was a little odd and could have been awkward in its obvious attempt to be 'different', but for the most part it worked.
Although, I've never thought of ginger as being particularly lustful.
Lisa Desrochers walked the fine line of being a book about religious themes without becoming a religious book and I appreciated that. The only character that ever preached at me was Frannie's younger sister Grace and she was supposed to be zealous, so it worked.
I kind of felt like the switches between Luc and Frannie's first person POV were cheating a little, but I really liked getting into both of their heads, so I let it slide.
The only problem I had with the book was Gabe. I understand why his character was important. There needed to be a player from Heaven in the mix, not only to give Luc a little competition, but to save Frannie. As much as I like the badboy, this was not a book where Hell was some misunderstood place for castoffs and outsiders. It was Hell in every sense of the word. Frannie did NOT belong there.
The issue comes with the fact that I never got a clear picture of Gabe's feelings for Frannie until I was told - by Luc - that yes, he was in love with her and yes, he'd risk his wings for her. That's all well and good and I was expecting as much, but having to be told something I should have been shown is never good. I think Ms. Derochers made a mistake with Gabe in one of two ways - either he shouldn't have really fallen for Frannie or she should have written from his POV as well.
I was hoping it would come out that while Gabe sincerely cared about Frannie and wanted her safe, the way he made her feel was all a ruse - that Gabe was pushing his power on her to woo her like Luc did to humans. Given the fact that we don't get a Gabe POV, I think this would have been the better way to go. In the sequel, Ms. Desrochers could have delved into Gabe's love for Frannie and surprised everybody with the fact that he really was in love with her.
Ms. Desrochers writing style was very accessible and easy to read. Personal Demons had quite a few references to Top 40 Pop which is fine, but it will date the book in a couple of years - it kind of already did - and I'm not sure that's worth the risk, so to speak.
While I'm not surprised there's a sequel, the book ends in a very satisfying way, so I'm curious where the next installment will take us. I'm assuming we'll learn more about how Frannie is supposed to use her Sway and how Luc deals with being human - a plot point I'm rather 'meh' about, but I'll deal with it as long as he doesn't lose his edge.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes
Title: The Lodger
Author: Marie Belloc Lowndes
Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers
Pages: 224
Rating: 4/5 Stars
I cannot believe how long it took me to read this. Really, it had nothing to do with the book and everything to do with other things occupying my attention.
I have an unhealthy fascination with true crime. I could watch Investigation Discovery 24/7 much to the dismay of my roommate - then again, she could watch Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty 24/7 with a healthy dose of Say Yes To The Dress thrown in there to torment me, so I'd say we're even - so it should come as no surprise that I'd be equally interested in reading what is considered to be the first true crime novel.
Written by a woman, no less.
I'm not a feminist in the strictest sense, but I love the fact that The Lodger was written by a woman. Considering the times Ms. Lowndes lived in, I find it wonderful that she was able to get this novel published.
The Lodger is a very obvious homage to the most notorious unsolved serial killer in London at the time - Jack the Ripper. Told mostly through the third person perspective of Mrs. Bunting - half of a married couple on the brink of financial disaster - The Lodger tells the story of The Avenger. A madman stalking the streets of London at night and savagely killing immoral women, specifically those who enjoy a little too much alcohol.
From the beginning, Ms. Lowndes leads the reader to suspect Mr. Sleuth, Mrs. Bunting's lodger who's serendipitous arrival saves the Bunting household from financial ruin, of being the perpetrator of The Avenger crimes. The point of the story is less who-dun-it and more psychological rollercoaster as we take the journey with Mrs. Bunting from mild suspicion to outright certainty that her savior is actually a psychotic killer. By the time the ending arrives - a marvelously open-ended conclusion - Mrs. Bunting is on the brink of complete emotional and physical breakdown.
Questions go unanswered in The Lodger: where did Mr. Sleuth get his money? What were his motivations? What experiments was he conducting in the second room he was renting from the Buntings? Still, I was not left unsatisfied. Perhaps it was from reading the entire book knowing Mr. Sleuth was the killer or perhaps it was my desire for Mrs. Bunting to get some relief from her emotional torment, but when Mr. Sleuth finally disappeared into the busy streets of London, I was simply glad to see him go. Mrs. Bunting wasn't the most likable character I'd ever read, but she was a good person and Ms. Lowndes did a marvelous job of making me understand her desperation and fear from the very first page.
From a technical standpoint, The Lodger did not feel as dated as I expected. I found it a very easy read, not bogged down by descriptions of the scenery or daily life as some pre-television/movie classics can be. Ms. Lowndes's pacing was also excellent, in my opinion, and she did not drag her story out unnecessarily. What's really commendable, though, is her characterization and using some truly horrific crimes as a framework for a psychological horror story.
Author: Marie Belloc Lowndes
Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers
Pages: 224
Rating: 4/5 Stars
I cannot believe how long it took me to read this. Really, it had nothing to do with the book and everything to do with other things occupying my attention.
I have an unhealthy fascination with true crime. I could watch Investigation Discovery 24/7 much to the dismay of my roommate - then again, she could watch Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty 24/7 with a healthy dose of Say Yes To The Dress thrown in there to torment me, so I'd say we're even - so it should come as no surprise that I'd be equally interested in reading what is considered to be the first true crime novel.
Written by a woman, no less.
I'm not a feminist in the strictest sense, but I love the fact that The Lodger was written by a woman. Considering the times Ms. Lowndes lived in, I find it wonderful that she was able to get this novel published.
The Lodger is a very obvious homage to the most notorious unsolved serial killer in London at the time - Jack the Ripper. Told mostly through the third person perspective of Mrs. Bunting - half of a married couple on the brink of financial disaster - The Lodger tells the story of The Avenger. A madman stalking the streets of London at night and savagely killing immoral women, specifically those who enjoy a little too much alcohol.
From the beginning, Ms. Lowndes leads the reader to suspect Mr. Sleuth, Mrs. Bunting's lodger who's serendipitous arrival saves the Bunting household from financial ruin, of being the perpetrator of The Avenger crimes. The point of the story is less who-dun-it and more psychological rollercoaster as we take the journey with Mrs. Bunting from mild suspicion to outright certainty that her savior is actually a psychotic killer. By the time the ending arrives - a marvelously open-ended conclusion - Mrs. Bunting is on the brink of complete emotional and physical breakdown.
Questions go unanswered in The Lodger: where did Mr. Sleuth get his money? What were his motivations? What experiments was he conducting in the second room he was renting from the Buntings? Still, I was not left unsatisfied. Perhaps it was from reading the entire book knowing Mr. Sleuth was the killer or perhaps it was my desire for Mrs. Bunting to get some relief from her emotional torment, but when Mr. Sleuth finally disappeared into the busy streets of London, I was simply glad to see him go. Mrs. Bunting wasn't the most likable character I'd ever read, but she was a good person and Ms. Lowndes did a marvelous job of making me understand her desperation and fear from the very first page.
From a technical standpoint, The Lodger did not feel as dated as I expected. I found it a very easy read, not bogged down by descriptions of the scenery or daily life as some pre-television/movie classics can be. Ms. Lowndes's pacing was also excellent, in my opinion, and she did not drag her story out unnecessarily. What's really commendable, though, is her characterization and using some truly horrific crimes as a framework for a psychological horror story.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Back to the Books Giveaway Winner!
Wow. This certainly took me long enough. So sorry the announcement was delayed, but rest assured I let the winner know on September 8th.
Congrats to Ceri! She is the winner of my very first Giveaway Hop and an ARC copy of Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson!
Thanks to everybody who participated and started following me. Keep an eye out for my next giveaway!
Review: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Title: Never Let Me Go
Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Publisher: Vintage Books
Pages: 288
Rating: 4/5 Stars
There is something beautiful about this book and for that I commend Ishiguro. Never Let Me Go transcends genres in that it has notes of science fiction, mystery, suspense, romance, coming-of-age, politics and religion. I've never read anything quite like it.
Ishiguro tells his story through the eyes of Kathy, a woman who calls herself a carer and her two best friends, Ruth and Tommy. We learn of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy's idyllic childhood at a boarding school called Hailsham, then their lives at The Cottages and finally the centers. From the start, there's something different about these children and their lives, something vaguely foreboding, but Ishiguro is in no hurry to tell us as he creates his world bit by bit.
Ishiguro is a master at dolling out information judiciously, which is what makes this novel a suspenseful pageturner without any of the tropes of a bestselling thriller. We first hear about donors, carers, centers and completing in a casual way as they are just part of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy's life. As the true nature of these terms comes to light and as Kathy, Ruth and Tommy leave the sheltered confines of Hailsham and The Cottages for the real world, the darker aspects of their existence push to the forefront and the reader finally has their suspicions confirmed.
To be honest, I can't decide what Never Let Me Go is trying to say. Is it a commentary on the advancement of science and technology at the expense of humanity? Is it trying to ascertain whether there's a difference between life and the soul? Is it pushing or dismissing the idea that life is pointless? Perhaps it's a warning of how easily human beings can be indoctrinated to just accept what they're told without question. This is certainly what stuck in my mind the most as I came upon the end and Kathy and Tommy went to see Madame about a deferral. Obviously, these students understood their fate enough to wish for a way out, so why didn't anybody ever try to run?
Maybe that's the story of someone else, someone who didn't go to Hailsham.
Maybe Never Let Me Go is none of the above and at its core is a creative attempt to prove that regardless of ones origin and environment, we're all connected by the same flaws and weaknesses and that - to quote The Beatles - love is all we need.
As I said, I don't know and I've come to the conclusion I don't need to pick just one message. Never Let Me Go made me think about a lot of things and that's what I'm going to focus on. It has made me want to read other books by Kazou Ishiguro.
A few things of technical note - I wasn't a huge fan of Ishiguro's dialogue. I appreciate the fact that I'm American and he's English, but even so, there were many times when I felt the conversations were odd or stilted because of the dialogue. There were also times I found myself somewhat distracted by the very distinctive way he wrote Kathy. It's very much a stream of consciousness and while I was never confused, I occasionally had a moment of annoyance over the lack of proper grammar. Don't let that stop you from reading it, though. It never made me consider abandoning the book.
As I reached the end, arriving at the only conclusion that would serve the book, I expected to feel sad or angry at the fates of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy, but I didn't. As I said, there's something beautiful in this book, despite the unfairness and in some ways horrifically amoral circumstances. Rather than focusing on what she would never have, Kathy did what so many of us can't and focused on the beauty she'd been lucky enough to experience.
Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Publisher: Vintage Books
Pages: 288
Rating: 4/5 Stars
There is something beautiful about this book and for that I commend Ishiguro. Never Let Me Go transcends genres in that it has notes of science fiction, mystery, suspense, romance, coming-of-age, politics and religion. I've never read anything quite like it.
Ishiguro tells his story through the eyes of Kathy, a woman who calls herself a carer and her two best friends, Ruth and Tommy. We learn of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy's idyllic childhood at a boarding school called Hailsham, then their lives at The Cottages and finally the centers. From the start, there's something different about these children and their lives, something vaguely foreboding, but Ishiguro is in no hurry to tell us as he creates his world bit by bit.
Ishiguro is a master at dolling out information judiciously, which is what makes this novel a suspenseful pageturner without any of the tropes of a bestselling thriller. We first hear about donors, carers, centers and completing in a casual way as they are just part of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy's life. As the true nature of these terms comes to light and as Kathy, Ruth and Tommy leave the sheltered confines of Hailsham and The Cottages for the real world, the darker aspects of their existence push to the forefront and the reader finally has their suspicions confirmed.
To be honest, I can't decide what Never Let Me Go is trying to say. Is it a commentary on the advancement of science and technology at the expense of humanity? Is it trying to ascertain whether there's a difference between life and the soul? Is it pushing or dismissing the idea that life is pointless? Perhaps it's a warning of how easily human beings can be indoctrinated to just accept what they're told without question. This is certainly what stuck in my mind the most as I came upon the end and Kathy and Tommy went to see Madame about a deferral. Obviously, these students understood their fate enough to wish for a way out, so why didn't anybody ever try to run?
Maybe that's the story of someone else, someone who didn't go to Hailsham.
Maybe Never Let Me Go is none of the above and at its core is a creative attempt to prove that regardless of ones origin and environment, we're all connected by the same flaws and weaknesses and that - to quote The Beatles - love is all we need.
As I said, I don't know and I've come to the conclusion I don't need to pick just one message. Never Let Me Go made me think about a lot of things and that's what I'm going to focus on. It has made me want to read other books by Kazou Ishiguro.
A few things of technical note - I wasn't a huge fan of Ishiguro's dialogue. I appreciate the fact that I'm American and he's English, but even so, there were many times when I felt the conversations were odd or stilted because of the dialogue. There were also times I found myself somewhat distracted by the very distinctive way he wrote Kathy. It's very much a stream of consciousness and while I was never confused, I occasionally had a moment of annoyance over the lack of proper grammar. Don't let that stop you from reading it, though. It never made me consider abandoning the book.
As I reached the end, arriving at the only conclusion that would serve the book, I expected to feel sad or angry at the fates of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy, but I didn't. As I said, there's something beautiful in this book, despite the unfairness and in some ways horrifically amoral circumstances. Rather than focusing on what she would never have, Kathy did what so many of us can't and focused on the beauty she'd been lucky enough to experience.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
"Back to the Books" Giveaway Hop!
This giveaway hop is hosted by the awesome people from I'm A Reader, Not A Writer and Buried In Books. It will run September 1st - 7th, 2011. A winner will be chosen on September 8th, 2011.
The PRIZE:
An ARC copy of Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson
Description from goodreads:
'As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I'm still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me ...' Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love - all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story. Welcome to Christine's life.
Link to my review here. *Warning! Contains very slight spoilers!*
The Rules:
1. Must be a public GFC follower and comment on this post. (I will be checking!) This is my first giveaway and I'm keeping it simple for my own sake. :D
2. Must have a valid address. I will ship international.
3. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email announcing their win. After that I will pick another winner.
Bonus Entries:
+3 for replying to any of my reviews
+2 tweet about this contest (must provide link and include my handle: @fallinangelz21)
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Waiting On Wednesday
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.
This week I'm waiting on...
The Rivals by Daisy Whitney
Amazon description:
When Alex Patrick was assaulted by another student last year, her elite boarding school wouldn't do anything about it. This year Alex is head of the Mockingbirds, a secret society of students who police and protect the student body. While she desperately wants to live up to the legacy that's been given to her, she's now dealing with a case unlike any the Mockingbirds have seen before.
It isn't rape. It isn't bullying. It isn't hate speech. A far-reaching prescription drug ring has sprung up, and students are using the drugs to cheat. But how do you try a case with no obvious victim? Especially when the facts don't add up, and each new clue drives a wedge between Alex and the people she loves most: her friends, her boyfriend, and her fellow Mockingbirds.
As Alex unravels the layers of deceit within the school, the administration, and even the student body the Mockingbirds protect, her struggle to navigate the murky waters of vigilante justice may reveal more about herself than she ever expected.
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