Lassan kezdek rájönni, hogy mi a bajom az amerikai chick lit-ekkel, illetve azok egyik fajtájával, a glamour lit-tel, amelyben nagyon menő csajokról van szó, akik többnyire New York felső 10000-hez tartoznak, vagy legalábbis oda akarnak bejutni. Üresek. Üres az egész világuk és valahogy mindig úgy érzem, hogy még ha irónikus is próbálna lenni a szerző valahol a szíve mélyén inkább tényleg irigyli az életüket és ő maga is szeretne közéjük tartozni. Ezért utáltam annyira a Szex és New Yorkot, a könyvet előbb, aztán a sorozatból is csak vagy 3 részt tudtam megnézni, annyira felszínesnek, üresnek és hihetetlenül unszinpatikusnak találtam a szereplőket. Márpedig nekem kell legalább egy szereplő akit meg tudok kedveln. A New York hercegnői is szatíra akar lenni, de azt hiszem az elbeszélővel van a gond. Bár ő a főszereplő, aki kicsit kívülálló ebben a hihetetlenül előkelő, divatbolond és szörnyen zárt társaságban, bár mindenáron oda akar tartozni, igazi amerikai lány akar lenni, szemben anyjával, aki meg az angolokhoz menekül. Először azt hittem, majd lesznek jópofa meglátásai és vicces helyzetekbe keveredik, s mindezt majd intelligens humorral kommentálja de ez elmaradt. Szörnyen szánalmasnak tűnt. Viszont a legjobb barátnője, aki igazi Bergdorf, szőke, gazdag örökösnő a kiváltságosok életének minden előnyével (elvégre az eredeti cím is a The Bergdorf Blondes volt) meglepően jó fejnek tűnt. Holott ő az elkényeztetett ezüstkanállal szájában született elkényeztetett nő, aki akár Paris Hilton is lehetne, mégis szimpatikus volt. Tisztában a saját határaival és megvolt a magához való esze, amit kiválóan használt. Szóval ahhoz képest, hogy eleinte valami antihősnőt vártam, sokkal jobb pontokat kapott tőlem. Ja persze történet az nincs sok: csajok, élik az életüket, felszínes barátságok, rongyrázások, a pasik mind szemetek, kivéve az aki barátként mindig segít és titokban ő az, aki … De ez elég átlátszó trükk, nem is tartogat sok meglepetést a regény kimenetele.Azért azt kell mondanom, hogy a könyvklubos résztől kifeküdtem. Úgyhogy azért kap vagy 2 csillaggal többet a könyv, mint amúgy adnék rá, mert határozottan hangosan felröhögtem amikor azt a részt olvastam, amikor ezek az übercsajok megpróbálkoznak elolvasni és megbeszélni egy díjnyertes regényt.Szóval a New York hercegnői valahol ott helyezkedik el, ahol a Főnőknőm egy boszorkány (The Devil wears Prada – Az Ördög Pradat visel mint a mozikból ismerhetjük). Tucat főhősnő, semmi különleges stílus, viszontvan egy nagyon jó karakter, aki miatt nem érzem annyira idő pocsékolásnak az olvasást, mert szórakoztatott. Eredetileg: http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/20...
this is like a cotton candy book.. totally something easy to read and engaging, and really funny in a social-commentary-on-the-rich kind of way. i flew through most of the book when i was keeping a bedridden noah company yesterday night, and then finished it off this morning when i took a coffee break at a starbucks near my office. i was totally in the mood for something fun and light, and this was the perfect meringue of a book for the occasion... i often find it so much easier to sink into a book when i like the characters that i meet within it. like, i really liked "moi" (as the first-person protagonist referred to herself), a self described "champagne bubble of a girl about town" who was sweet and funny, smart and observant, and in general, a very likeable guide into a glamorous world so unlike my own... not that this was a completely fluffy book though! it was actually kind of DARK in some respects, and made me think a lot about how well we really know the PHs (prospective husbands, according to the lingo of the park avenue princesses) in our lives. it's super easy to be so smitten with someone that you imagine them to be everything you've ever dreamed of, to read deep significance into their every comment/action, and to essentially *deceive* yourself like the protagonist of this novel did time and again. now at the end of the book, i really DID want to believe that charlie was different from the other guys, but while he definitely demonstrated some positive characteristics, i had to feel like we simply didn't know enough about him yet to really make a good decision! i also sensed an unstated premise (which i fundamentally disagree with) that the girls could not be happy or liberated from their socially confining state without finding true love. because i believe there is merit to being a complete and content person in and of yourself, without seeking validation or worth in the (potentially fickle) affections and attentions of another. although, that being said, even i cannot deny the truly magical nature of being in love! how could i NOT just meeeeelt when charlie says at the end of the book, "sometimes i think you were made especially for me"? :)[review originally written June 2004]
What do You think about Bergdorf Blondes (2005)?
Ok guys this one is a throw back for me since I originally read Bergdorf Blondes way back in the summer college days, but I just found it and re-read it again this week and now I have a blog, so ya know: review yay! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. Seriously, on the surface it's a light contemporary funny read. Chick lit if you will. But for those looking there's a biting commentary below the surface. It's tres Austen-esque. How can you not love that? Also did I mention there's hot men? cause that. Also Fashion. Also NY. Also Britain. Need I continue? There's so many quotes in this book that got me through college and my early 20s it's bananas. It was practically my "how to be a 20-something in NY" bible when I graduated. I still consider myself a champagne bubble of a girl and that bit about crying into your martini glass, classic. Frankly if you like contemporaries or romances you should need to read this book. Fin.xoxomoiOverall: A
—Kate (VerbVixen)
I'm not sure why I even read this in the first place. I think it may have been because my sister lent it to me when I asked her if I could borrow a book on my trip to Milwaukee last summer. She specifically warned me in advance that it was really stupid, but secretly a fun read in a guilty pleasure sort of way. Most people would probably say at this point, "What were you expecting, Camus?" I don't know, I don't care, I HATED this book. It was basically like Sex and the City but 10,000 times more vapid and pointless. I know it was meant to be breezy and whimsical and fun but all it succeeded in doing was making me want to puke all over Plum Sykes and her $5000 handbags and all her spoiled NYC trust fund brat friends, and then throw the book across the room in disgust. Instead I finished it. What is wrong with me? I think I still have this book laying around somewhere in my house, sorry Addie, I honestly have no problem returning it to you the next time I see you again.
—Michelle
This book is the literary equivalent of empty calories. Plum Sykes puts the life of the New York socialite on a platter and serves it with a bottle of Veuve snuggled in its very own ice jacket. I don't really want to discuss this book's merits (or lack thereof). What I want to discuss is the Alpha-Beta peel. All the characters in the book are obssessed with it and, having a bit of an obsession with skincare myself, I was intrigued. After some minor investigation, I discovered that the Alpha-Beta peel does exist. Unfortunately, the services of Manhattan dermatologist Dr. Gross are not in my budget. I thought, maybe one day, and moved on. Several months later, I was shopping in Sephora and I happened upon an at-home version of the Alpha-Beta peel! I just had to give it a try. Fyi, after three months of using the product, my skin looked exactly the same as before. I would recommend this book ONLY to those of you who like this sort of thing. You know who you are.
—Diana
