The Devil Wears Prada: A Novel (The Devil Wears Prada, #1)

by Lauren Weisberger

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • SOON TO BE A MUSICAL STARRING VANESSA WILLIAMS • The iconic novel that inspired the hit movie starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway—a gloriously wicked story about the ultimate Boss from Hell and the deals we make with the devil to get to the top

“The degree to which The Devil Wears Prada has penetrated pop culture needs no explanation.”—Vanity Fair
 
Andrea Sachs, a small-town girl fresh out of college, lands the job “a million girls would die for.” Hired as the assistant to Miranda Priestly, the high-profile, fabulously successful editor of Runway magazine, Andrea finds herself in an office that shouts Prada! Armani! Versace! at every turn, a world populated by impossibly thin, heart-wrenchingly stylish women and beautiful men clad in fine-ribbed turtlenecks and tight leather pants that show off their lifelong dedication to the gym. With breathtaking ease, Miranda can turn each and every one of these hip sophisticates into a scared, whimpering child.

Andrea is sorely tested each and every day—and often late into the night—with orders barked over the phone. She puts up with it all by keeping her eyes on the prize: a recommendation from Miranda that will get her a top job at any magazine of her choosing. As things escalate from the merely unacceptable to the downright outrageous, Andrea begins to realize that the job a million girls would die for may just kill her. And even if she survives, she has to decide whether or not it’s worth the price of her soul.

• ISBN10: 0767914767
• ISBN13: 9780767914765
• Publish Date: 13 April 2004 (first published 1 January 2003)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Random House Trade
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780767914765

Reviews

[Ben Pick]

The book started off well. It was a masterclass on showing and not telling. The characters banded together to survive a boss from hell in ways which felt natural and made me feel for their struggles.
However, the story felt like it fell apart for me in the second half, especially compared to the movie version. With each chapter, I liked Andrea and her friends less. By the end, I felt that several characters were irredeemable, despite them receiving rewards for surviving the novel's ordeals.

[mitabird]

3.5 stars

[thepunktheory]

Full Review on: my Blog ThePunkTheory

The most famous thing about this book is probably the movie it was turned into. Thus, the novel got hyped quite a bit a few years ago. As I had heard generally positive things about Weisberger's book and enjoyed the film, I decided to give it a go.
Big mistake. Despite being less than 400 pages long, the book seems to be going on forever. You read the blurb and think "Hey, this surely is an interesting story". But believe me, it is not.
First of all, I was quite annoyed by the main character Andrea. She goes to work at one of the most famous fashion magazines in the world but doesn't give a damn. She knows nothing about fashion and doesn't have the slightest motivation to learn anything. That's highly unprofessional and as Weisberger mentions about 2 billion times throughout the book, it's a job a million girls would kill for. So, if you really don't give the tiniest fuck, let someone have the job who enjoys it.
While Andrea is clearly meant to be the hero in this novel, I can't help but dislike her. She's super ungrateful, has no ambition and has no depth at all. I get that her tasks are tough and her boss demands a lot, BUT she has to survive only one year and can then get any other job she wishes for. Did she really expect getting that with a regular 9 to 5 job? Of course it will be hard work and it won't be easy.
Andrea's constant complaints get boring quite fast. Almost as boring as the descriptions of her errands. I get that she had to get Miranda's coffee every day but writing about that 20 times really was not necessary. Got the point, thank you very much. It might have been better if Weisberger had varied her vocabulary a bit but also the language she uses was highly repetitive and made me want to put the book down numerous times.
As I mentioned, Andrea feels quite one-dimensional but so do all the other characters in this book. Especially Miranda gets to depth at all, and we never get beyond the whole "she is super awful" thing.