The story tells of Andrea Sachs, fresh out of college and eager to plunge head first into the world of serious journalism at The New Yorker. Instead, she lands a job at Runway, run by the Trunchbull of Fashion, Miranda Priestly. The novel follows Andy as she sinks further into the world of Prada slingbacks and Hermes scarves, losing her personal life and some of her sanity on the way, all for a job recommendation from Miranda which could launch her dream career.
As Andy falls in love with fashion, the lives of the people around her crumble and we see her boyfriend Alex and best friend Lily struggle to maintain their relationships with her, resulting in them eventually turning elsewhere for comfort.
As the book draws to a close, I couldn't help but feel that it showed no sign that the end is nigh. The novel reaches its climax in the latter part of the novel, with Andy's life inevitably falling apart and never really shows Andy recovering from hitting rock bottom.


I read the book AFTER I'd watched the film (only 'cause I didn't know there was a book until after I'd seen the film) and I would urge everyone else to do this too. Whilst I found the lack of long descriptive passages refreshing, I had a hard time bringing the story to life in my mind; it was just too flat.

RED have called the book "perfect reading in the bath with a flute of champagne," and I feel that this captures the tone of the story perfectly. Being a shower and Kopparberg-down-th'-ole-pub kind of girl myself, I guess someone trying to hook me with that quote would be hopeless.


The writer, Lauren Weisberger, is said to have based Miranda Priestly on the head of Vogue, Anna Wintour. Fashion forward critics have scrutinized the character of scrutinized the character of Andrea, stating that her opinion is merely a gossip-saturated narrative following the whinings of an amateur in a professional industry, ignorant to the harsh realities of the working world.
Whilst the novel has been criticized, it also spent 6 months on the New York Times bestseller list and has been the basis for the Devil Wears Prada film.

My Verdict
Whilst the novel is far from being a literary masterpiece, if you're looking for a juicy, light-hearted book to read whilst relaxing on the beach, I'd definitely give this one a read.
6.5/10

Labels: the devil wears prada