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The Devil Comes in Paperback

I find it very hard to read popular books. There's too much pressure to love what was written, and to be completely blown away by the content just because everyone else was. Then (occasionally), halfway through reading a very popular novel, I realize that I don't really like it, but I feel obligated to finish it because EVERYONE LOVES IT! 


But what if you get halfway through the book and lose interest? What do you do then?

 In the case of The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger, I was initially interested but became disenchanted with the novel a third of the way through. However, there is a film starring Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci and Anne Hathaway, which was added incentive for me to finish the book. 

The Devil's Assistant

The Devil Wears Prada is one of the rare exceptions to the rule "the book is always better than the movie;" although the premise of the book (the "heaven-sent job...living in hell") is entertaining, the execution was not captivating for me. There was little character development, and most of the book consisted of Andrea "Andy" Sachs (protagonist) complaining about her boss, Miranda Priestly. Not that some of the things Miranda did weren't shocking, but the constant blurbs that followed each of Miranda's actions were repetitive and eventually became exhausting. 
Andy became Miranda's assistant for one reason; she was told that one year working for Miranda Priestly of Runway magazine would launch her career in any direction she chose. From the moment she arrives at Runway, however, she fails to hide her contempt for the fashion world, which makes it hard to sympathize with her. Every time Miranda does something horribly insensitive to Andy, Andy seems to do or think something equally insensitive. For example, when ordering Miranda's lunch from her daily take out restaurant, Andy deemed one of the waitresses, Kim, to be "too dumb" to trust with Miranda's order (144).

Who else is there?

The other problem I had with this story is that we seldom heard from other characters. I understand that Miranda commandeered every spare moment Andy had, so her family, best friend and boyfriend were pushed aside, but because of this, the novel is merely 360 pages of Andy complaining. 

Andy's best friend Lily, who is pursuing a graduate degree while displaying obvious signs of alcoholism, is swiftly pushed to the side unless Andy needs her. 

Andy's boyfriend Alex, the "do-gooder" as she refers to him, shows up unannounced trying to accommodate her terrible schedule, but he is often ignored. 

Even Andy's love interest, the handsome author Christian Collinsworth, with whom she shares an immediate attraction, only makes 3-4 appearances throughout the book. 

There was no relief. Every chapter, and every page, was about Miranda Priestly, and how she destroyed her assistant's life. Perhaps my expectations affected my interpretation of the novel, because even though I have no fashion sense whatsoever (a daily complaint of my mother's), I was dying to read this book. I remember loving the movie, and wanting more of an insight into this world that I do not know anything about, but I found little of that in this novel, and give it 2/5 stars.

On the bright side, I kind of want to watch the movie again! 

That's all for now. If you have any suggestions or recommendations, please comment below, email theopintionatedbookworm@gmail.com, or find me on Instagram (@theopinionatedbookworm1).

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