The Devil Wears Prada
Ratings216
Average rating3.4
Oh yes. The funny thing is, Miranda is such a good anti hero you almost see yourself cheering for her.
Many people love to read books about the fashion world, and one of the most famous is The Devil Wades Prada. The title comes from the poem ‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia' and refers to the devil's apprenticing a new devil. The name also alludes to a prada bag, which is a shoulder bag often carried by women. The novel is about a reporter who becomes her subject's assistant and learns some amazing things about the fashion world. For fashionistas, the setting for The Devil Wears Prada is in a realistic portrayal of the fashion world. It takes place in New York City at an advertising agency called ‘Prada.' Everyone at the company works very hard and is driven by success. They live in Union Square and are friendly with one another but competitive with one another. One of the highlights of this book is seeing how their personalities affect their work life.
One thing that helps set this novel apart from others about the fashion world is how it illustrates the various personalities found in this industry. The characters in this book all have distinct qualities that help them succeed in the fashion world. Some of the notable ones include Donna Karan, the CEO; Andy ‘Ace' Adams, her deputy; and Rosemary Casey, the creative director. Each character has her strengths and weaknesses- and their interactions give us insight into how they interact with each other as well as with their customers. Andy Sachs, the main protagonist, embodies many of the negative aspects of the fashion world's culture. She's an attractive yet ruthless woman who belittles others and refuses to acknowledge her own mistakes. Readers learn that she's successful because she refuses to acknowledge her flaws or try to improve herself. Instead, she stays stuck in her own ways, which leads to her success but also to unhappiness.
This is a classic novel that people love because it shows how a young woman can climb up in a male-dominated field like fashion journalism. It also shows how some people can succeed without acknowledging or admitting when they're wrong. Anyone who's ever worked in any industry knows that it's not easy to be successful without making mistakes- but it's even harder if you're unwilling to try to improve yourself. Great book for fashionistas that need something more than Pret A Porter.
I enjoyed the humor throughout. Weisberger is certainly talented at telling a story. I care nothing for fashion or social drama and still found it to be a page-turner that I couldn't put down. For me it worked better as a film only because I lack the fashion knowledge to visualize most of the clothing talked about in the book. It's not my typical read, or I believe it would probably rate higher. Simply not the subject matter for me.
Overall, I liked this one. I was mad at all of the characters the whole time, but they felt so true to life. I kept waiting for Andrea to speak her mind and was very satisfied when she did.
The movie was soooo much better than the book. To be fair, the book and movie are 2 completely different stories. Andy in the movie has more heart, although Alex is less likeable. Unbelievable but the book does not resonate as well as the movie. The book seems disjointed and the characters unpolished. Read if you're curious, otherwise hard pass.
Update: 4.05.2020: I've downgraded this review to 2 stars simply because after thinking it over the past two years, I prefer the film to the book. That's not usually the case for me, but I found Andy's character to be spoiled, insufferable, entitled, and downright rude. She acted every bit the mean girl that she supposedly despised.
Not only that but the plot was slow. So slow that I found myself skipping pages ahead just to get to the damn point.
I'll take the movie over the book any day, and I'm genuinely pleased with the changes they made in the movie EXCEPT for her boyfriend. As anyone who has seen the movie will know, Nate in the film is a complete douchebag and should have been dumped immediately. However, Andy in the book seems to encompass all of movie-Nate's horrible qualities (along with almost every other movie-version character's horrible qualities), meaning that the book would have been great if she weren't the main character.
Le fameux roman sur une Anna Wintour pseudo-fictive, qui a a été adapté en film ayant fait un tabac au box-office.
Decent book, but seems long sometimes (could be from listening to it on the iPod).
Weisberger was born in 1977;
I could be her mother and not
even be a teen mom. More and
more, I feel an age gap with
this new generation...the main
character whines about having
to work and hates everything....
she finally triumphs by telling
the devil boss to buzz off (but, of course, she is more bold), in
essence, treating the boss the
same way as the boss has been
treating her. I just couldn't
sympathize and I just couldn't
find her writing funny....