If there is an award for the most ridiculous and unrealistic book ever, I would award it to Lipstick Jungle, written by Candace Bushnell. The one and the same author who wrote the widely-known "Sex and the City".I have always been suspicious of her writing talent though. No offense, I do love Sex and the City series, like many other single and fabulous women in the world *coughs* but that's only the TV series, not the real book. When I finally had the chance to pick up the book and read it, my disappointment was so big I was practically devastated."This is not the Sex and the City that I know. This is just bunch of crappy short stories which have no meaning and hard to relate to", so I said to myself after I finished reading it. And let me tell you a secret *whispers* It's not only me who thinks that way. A lot of my friends were in the same emotional wreck as I was after reading the book. All of them who idolise the four tough women in the series.But after awhile, the disappointment healed and I decided to give Ms. Bushnell another chance by picking up another novel of hers. A similar one, I must say where it portrays four women (all above 40s - way more mature than the characters in Sex and the City) who were equally successful and with men in their lives.I guessed that Ms. Bushnell was so obssessed in the characters of Sex and the City and somehow regretted at making their lives rather unsuccessful as described by their inability to find the right men and their struggle to make their ends meet after the last shopping spree at Manolo Blahnik or Chanel boutique. She tried to fix the characters in Lipstick Jungle where the women - who are mostly CEOs or at least directors of companies - never have problem in buying a diamond set let alone a pair of Jimmy Choos.Victory Ford, a famous designer, Nico O'Neilly, a famous magazine editor (eventually CEO), Wendy Healy (director of a film production company) and an unimportant blonde babe actress whose name I have already forgotten.As much as Ms. Bushnell was trying to stress the importance of girl power these days, she couldn't just drop the subject that women couldn't live without men, no matter how powerful they are - which actually contradicts the whole theme. Now I begin to wonder why dildo was created in the first place, eh?Wendy, whose family is rather dysfunctional with a spoiled staying home-dad/husband with equally two spoiled kids, feels her world is crumbling apart when her no-good of a husband Shane decides to divorce her just to punish her as she was always busy with her work and hardly home and never take care of the kids.I can't help to wonder that the same theme, only reversed, has existed for centuries but regarded as the most natural thing on earth as portrayed by the dumbest TV series I have ever seen called "Desperate Housewives". Whatever happened to equality? How come a staying home dad now suddenly makes a big deal out of the fact that his wife works so hard that hasn't have time to take care of the kids? Aren't their roles reversed in the very first place? Similar to a normal family in the mid 1950s only that now the husband is the wife and the wife is the husband?.....and what's up with Nico anyway? She has a perfectly good family with uptight husband who does care about her and a good daughter only that she finds it's rather frustrating that the husband is so reliable and boring. Where does she run to when she's bored? An underwear male model, of course - what else that is more effective in getting rid of boredom than having a steamy hot sex with an underwear male model? How come this is all so predictable?The only character that is somewhat normal in this book is probably Victory Ford, the single designer who is trying to make a fortune with her clothing and her brand name. She's probably the only character in the book that is worth reading about although every single of her personality aspects scream the word "cliche". So what's left? What's so original about the book that is worth reading? Nothing.I read it and I got disappointed. Another zero for Ms. Bushnell, unfortunately.
It is pure unadulterated fluff. Very obviously by Candace Bushnell. Much like Sex in the City had girl power and sex right up together described (or shown) in equal detail so with Lipstick Jungle. The ladies work in high power (or climbing high) jobs, one in magazine publishing, one in movie production, and up and coming fashion designer. They help each other as they can because they are friends and they are friends because they can’t threaten each other. Wendy the producer married a man who couldn’t live up to her potential and jumped off the career path to take care of their kids, and in typical houseparent status feels left out and “not appreciated” Eventually leaving the spouse for the money without the faked love. He honestly screwed himself as he had lost his youth and his wife was very giving in the bedroom to make up for her MIA status as parent. He also can’t find his soulmate unless she is a money bank as his tastes are very expensive. The publishing tyrant, Nico is cheating on her sensible shoes husband to give her the spring in her step so she can step into her chauvinist bosses shoes. She has the most power but her sexless marriage has left her wondering about what she really wants. After a year of sex she realizes that stability is better than an orgasm, as those are just moments of pleasure and not necessary for happiness. She finds she loves the stable and not needy husband she has. Victory the fashionista is the less well established character. This is her fall and rise story. It begins with fashion week where her spring line goes outside the normal game and puts her on the outs with the department stores. She goes soul searching and with back against the wall comes up with pants. Pants are the answer and she is back with such gusto she almost takes a brass ring of selling out her name for loads of money. When she breaks up with her billionaire boyfriend and busts up the deal in one month the climax occurs and she starts to understand her problems. Suddenly the movie is jumped ahead a few months and she is flying high with a new partner for the business and back in Business with her boyfriend. They all end happily every after no bad things occur Wendy makes a smash movie. Victory makes a mint on a hat and Nico pays off the boy-toy. Silly summer fluff, with a generous helping of sex.
What do You think about Lipstick Jungle (2006)?
Since the television series was about to come out, I thought I would read this book. I just saved myself and my tivo a lot of hours if the series is anything like the book.*spoiler alert*Generally speaking, the three main characters have no depth, no true conflict, and no real resolving storyline. Nico, the magazine Editor-in-Chief, fights her way to the top, has an affair with a younger man, and ends it but never tells her husband.Wendy, a movie company president, married a weak man & had t
—Lora
The book took too long to develop the characters and an interesting story line. Actually, I should say that there never was an interesting story line. The story revolves around the life of three New York upper-class women who want it all. Bushnell jumps around in the book trying to intertwine her characters and their stories, but I wasn't able to fully grasp an character's true identity. They were underdeveloped and once you started to appreciate one of their qualities you were whisked to another trivial tale that pertained to someone else. I appreciate the effort that Bushnell made to try to add a touch of feminism to her novels saying that women can be successful too, but I just don't think there was enough substance for the book to make the cut. Honestly the "best" part of the book was the last 50 pages, but I was disappointed with a terrible ending.
—Martha
I have read 5 other Candace Bushnell books but I did not enjoy this one. I had a hard time staying with the story. I felt like I missed something all the time but then realized that I didn't, it was just how it was written. We jumped between the three characters but when we got back to one of them and I expected to find out how something worked out, and didn't. Time had jumped beyond that moment and then we had to reflect back to the earlier happening that I was expecting to find out about. Then
—Jadine
