This book sucked

I just finished reading this book. It sucked.

I read it because B told me I'd like it. Because half the women who saw me reading it told me that it was good, and I'd like it. And, after I finished reading it, they told me I ought to watch the movie because the movie was better. I should have just skipped the book and waited for the movie to come out on demand. Any book where someone tells you the movie is better is probably not worth reading.

The book was painfully boring and could have easily been half its length. I hated it. But, because everyone I knew who had read the book told me they liked it, I wanted to like it. I read page after page of bitching and moaning about how hard work is, how mean the protagonist's boss is, how horrid life is because of the long work hours, and how guilty the central character feels because she has to choose work over family and friends. After a while, I began to resent the book because even though I thought it was a drag, I felt I had to keep on reading because everyone was convinced that I'd like it. I kept waiting for the part of the book that everyone was convinced I would like; I kept hoping that the book would eventually redeem itself. It never did.

The book was just an excuse to rattle off lengthy lists of couture clothing. While I like couture as much as the next girl, I don't have to read 368 pages when I can just surf the web, call Bergdorf's or go to Soho. To my disappointment, even the end of the book was boring and predictable. [SPOILER. STOP READING IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK AND PLAN ON DOING SO.] The central character is faced with a situation where she must choose between a successful career and the people she cares about. She tells her boss to "Fuck off." Wow, shocker. The book just managed to have the same ending as most pre-teen coming of age novels.

As many of us who live and work in NYC know, sleep deprivation, unreasonably demanding bosses, conspicuous consumption, status symbols and social climbers are examples of just another day in the big city. For most of us, lives like that don't come with fancy clothes or perks. Neither is it difficult or interesting. It just is.