Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell


Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell
435 pages
Finished 12/11/07













So, a funny thing happened this morning as I was watching my DVR'd from last night Biggest Loser (which, side note, can I just say how annoyed I am about an all-Black Team finale? Grr, Bill or Hollie better win, because I will be so annoyed if either of the blondes win it). Anyway, as I was fast-wording through the commercials (and half the show, really), I saw Brooke Shields on my screen, so I rewound a bit because I like her. Turns out it was a promo spot for the new TV show she is in...called Lipstick Jungle! I had no idea this book was being made into a TV show. Apparently it starts in February. Yeah, I'll probably watch it (I'll probably be starved for new TV, what with the writers strike and all).

Ok, on to the book. My first feeling when reading this was extreme annoyance. One thing that it always seems about chick-lit books - the main characters always have ridiculous names. The three main characters are Victory, Nico, and Wendy. Ok, Wendy's not bad, but the other two? Come on! (Although, there was a two week or so period in 6th grade where my 3 bestest friends were Danette, Minta, and Windy, so...)

There were a few things that made me crazy - mainly, the lack of details. The timeline drove me a little nuts - it seemed like it went from around the Oscars (February) to Cannes (May) within a few pages, when it had taken 200+ pages just to get to the Oscars. The author tried to run all of these parallel storylines, but it just seemed like she had so much going on (and the book was getting so long) that she decided to say fuck it and started chopping out parts. The ending was crazy - it was all wrapped up neatly with a bow within 10 or so pages, and it didn't make sense. Without going into detail, one of the main character's storyline went from pretty good to over in a matter of sentences. Grr.

Three stars - but that's on a curve, taking into a count that it's a chick lit book, and not literary genius. Off topic a bit - this author is the same author that penned Sex and the City. I've never watched the TV show, and I didn't know it was based off of a book. Curious.

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