Taking It Off the Shelf: The Devil Wears Prada

For this month's Taking It Off...the Shelf review, I decided to go with an iconic chick lit novel: The Devil Wears Prada. I've read author Lauren Weisberger's novels before, and enjoyed them, but I had not yet read her debut novel - even though I had seen, and loved, the movie adaptation starring Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep. I picked this book for the feature because: 1. It's been around for awhile (ten years!) 2. I want to read the sequel. 3. It has been sitting on my shelf for a couple of years (two or three, perhaps.) Last week I finally read it! Warning: this post may be a little more spoilery than usual because I figure anyone reading this post has at least watched the movie. Also, I'm not providing the synopsis (though you can read it here).

I don't often read a book after watching the movie. In fact, I can only think of two instances where this has happened over the past several years. Once with The Nanny Diaries (I thought the movie was cute after randomly finding it on TV one day and decided to read the book since there was a sequel coming out...I enjoyed all three) and now, with The Devil Wears Prada. I'm a book lover (duh) and I like being able to have my own images in my head before seeing what Hollywood thought of the story. I also like having all the information since adaptations (have to) cut out a lot of details.

The Devil Wears Prada was originally published in 2003 and I missed the boat on it as I was still in high school - not quite the target demographic, not yet anyway. Fast forward three years and the movie is released - starring one of my favourite actresses. I watched it, loved it, bought it. The years passed and I still didn't read the novel. My mom even gave me a copy of it. Then news broke of the sequel, Revenge Wears Prada, and I knew I would have to finally read the first book. I was worried because I liked the movie so much and I hadn't really heard amazing things abut the novel. I was only sort of liking the book for about three quarters of the way through but then it picked up and I ended up really enjoying it.

I think my problem has nothing to do with the story itself and almost everything to do with the fact that I already basically knew what would happen because of the movie. There were a few differences between the book and the movie in the beginning but not many. It was slow going as I was reading about Andy getting used to Runway, the Clackers, and her evil boss, Miranda. But once things started moving (just before Andy has to go to Paris, I think), I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. This was really only the last quarter of the book but it was enough to bump up my overall opinion of the novel.

I want to highlight some differences between the book and movie, for those who may have only seen the film. Some are minor, some are not:

• Name changes: Andy's boyfriend is Nate in the movie but Alex in the book. Sexy author Christian (played by Simon Baker in the movie) has the last name Collinsworth in the book but Thompson in the movie.
• Character Nigel, played by Stanley Tucci, is way different in the book (louder and more flamboyant) and also has a much smaller role than in the movie.
• Speaking of Christian, things are much different with him in the movie. I prefer the book version. And, while Simon Baker is attractive, he seems too old to play the character.
• In the book, Andy's friend Lily has a huge story arc that is one of the reasons Andy leaves Paris. I couldn't even remember who played Lily in the movie. The arc is a good one and is, I think, one reason why some may say the book is a bit darker than the movie.
• Replacing Lily's story in the movie is the changes Miranda orchestrates and reveals in Paris (the one that screws over Nigel). This story doesn't exist in the book.
• It seems like they bumped up the ages of Andy and her friends, as well as altered the jobs they had. In the book they're straight out of college, 23, and all in entry level jobs. Alex is a teacher but Nate is a chef. Lily in the book is a masters student, in the movie she's a gallery owner. And they seem to be in their mid-twenties instead of early twenties.

I'm glad I finally gave the book a chance. The Devil Wears Prada was enjoyable and had a good story. I tried really hard not to let the movie alter what I thought but I know it affected my judgement, especially at the beginning. One thing this did teach me is that I'm definitely a read-the-book-before-the-movie kind of girl. I can't wait to read Revenge Wears Prada!

So what's up next for Off the Shelf? I think I'll probably read Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs. I think it's fitting since October is Thanksgiving in Canada and that means lots of comfort food!

Mini Review: Chasing Harry Winston

Raise your hand if you belong to a book club! Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger was my club's pick for November. The group of ladies meets every other month because other people have lives and don't read nearly as much as I do. Hm. Perhaps I need more of a life since I finished this one in a weekend... :) Anywho, this one got picked because we wanted something light. I was happy since I already owned a copy! It ended up being a really fun and enjoyable read and I look forward to seeing what the other ladies thought of it when we meet on Tuesday.

Here's the synopsis:

The bestselling author of "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Everyone Worth Knowing" returns with the story of three best friends who vow to change their entire lives...and change them fast. Emmy is newly single, and not by choice. She was this close to the ring and the baby she's wanted her whole life when her boyfriend left her for his twenty-three-year-old personal trainer -- whose fees are paid by Emmy. With her plans for the perfect white wedding in the trash, Emmy is now ordering takeout for one. Her friends insist an around-the-world sex-fueled adventure will solve all her problems -- could they be right? 

Leigh, a young star in the publishing business, is within striking distance of landing her dream job as senior editor and marrying her dream guy. And to top it all off, she has just purchased her dream apartment. Only when Leigh begins to edit the enfant terrible of the literary world, the brilliant and brooding Jesse Chapman, does she start to notice some cracks in her perfect life... 

Adriana is the drop-dead-gorgeous daughter of a famous supermodel. She possesses the kind of feminine wiles made only in Brazil, and she never hesitates to use them. But she's about to turn thirty and -- as her mother keeps reminding her -- she won't have her pick of the men forever. Everyone knows beauty is ephemeral and there's always someone younger and prettier right around the corner. Suddenly she's wondering...does Mother know best? 

One Saturday night at the Waverly Inn, Adriana and Emmy make a pact: within a single year, each will drastically change her life. Leigh watches from the sidelines, not making any promises, but she'll soon discover she has the most to lose. Their friendship is forever, but everything else is on the table. Three best friends. Two resolutions. One year to pull it off.

OK, that was an insanely long synopsis - and I cut a bit out!

This novel had a very Sex and the City type feel to it, which I loved. The women all had different personalities so every reader should be able to relate to one of the characters. They also felt very real to me, with very real issues. None of the women were perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Emmy gets way too focused on marriage and the future, Leigh couldn't own up that her relationship really wasn't working, and Adriana hadn't realized that maybe she should change her attitude towards life and men and "grow up" just a bit.

Once I got to thinking about this book (and honestly, I've been thinking about it for awhile since I actually read this last month...eep) I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was about this novel that I liked so much. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent reading this book and I will definitely make a point of reading more of her books (haven't actually read The Devil Wears Prada but I have read - and reviewed - Everyone Worth Knowing and I enjoyed that one, too). I definitely cared about the characters. I wanted to see how they grew over the course of the novel. I think there could have been a bit more...well, just a bit more. It could be that I wanted the ending to be expanded a little bit more or that I wanted a more personal connection with the characters. I know that kind of contradicts what I said earlier but I did care about what happened with the women and I wanted everything to work out for them...but...I couldn't personally understand why they were doing some of the things they were doing. I think it was the same sort of thing that keeps me from looooooving the Shopaholic series. Those books are a lot of fun and I always enjoy reading them but Becky is a twit. I've probably just confused you now, haven't I? :)

Overall, I really liked Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger and would recommend it to anyone who likes SATC, chick lit, and Weisberger's other novels. I'll try to update this post after book club next week if anyone else had some interesting thoughts about the book.

Happy reading :)

Update:
I had book club this week and it seemed like a lot of the ladies felt the same way I did about this book. One person actually couldn't even finish it and another read the first 100 pages and then the last twenty. It seemed like the general feeling was that we liked it, we did want to find out what happened to the characters, but we didn't really care about them. And what was with that parrot anyway? :)