The Devil Wears Prada (Four Stars)

Mainstream fiction
The Devil Wears Prada
Lauren Weisberger
Anchor Books
©2003
ISBN 0-307-27555-8
432 pages
US $7.99 CAN $10.99

I had quite enjoyed the movie made from this book, so when I saw it in Jocelyn’s room, I asked to borrow it. I am always wary reading adult fiction – I don’t always appreciate skin and swearing. This book had some swearing, but at least it was never gratuitous.

Andy Sachs somehow lands ‘the job a million girls would die for’ working at Runway Magazine. She sticks out like a sore thumb in her size 6 (gasp!) and ordinary wardrobe. Before she really realizes what is happening, Runway and Miranda Priestly take over her life.

Talk about the boss from Hades. Miranda Priestly is a character you love to hate and for the entire novel you wonder why Andy puts up with it all. We know that it’s because she wants to become a journalist and one year at Runway will put you in the fast lane of publishing in New York. But, by the end, Andy realizes that she has had enough of Miranda’s impossible demands and returns home to family and friends.

I cringed my way through the entire novel, spellbound by Miranda’s antics. I enjoyed the book very much, the character development was first-rate, and the story unwound in a marvellous manner. I do wonder now why they made so many changes for the movie, but I guess that’s what producers do.