Customer Reviews

Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber: The Katya Livingston Chronicles

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

It's hard to get really dry humour right, but Ms. Lang manages to do it quite nicely. Her central character, while sometimes unlikeable, really resonates with verve, something that you don't see everyday. She's witty and wicked and pulls no punches whatsoever. Her quest for fame and fortune is relatable as well. I would have to say this is one of the better books I have read all year, along with "Heartbreaker" and "The Nanny Diaries".
It will stay on my shelf for a long time.

Written in the vein of "Bridget Jones Diary" this diary entry book follows one year in the life of a very unlikable character, Katya. Katya believes she is better than all her acquaintances and will stop at nothing in pursuit of fame and fortune. Whilst smoking and drinking her way through the year, she manages to secure several interesting occupations, none of which satisfy her greediness. This book is a fast read, somewhat amusing and you'll find yourself sympathizing with her "friends," most of which cannot stand her.

Kelly Ripa did a good thing by choosing Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber as one of her book club picks -- now all of America (and beyond) knows about the evil, selfish, irresponsible Katya Livingston -- and I think my life is somehow better for it...

This book is written in diary form and spans an entire year in the life of Katya Livingston, quite possibly the most self-centered, conceited, full-of-bull character I've come across in a long time. But these qualities that, in a real person, would make you despise her, only serve to make you love her once you are assured this book is fiction. Reading Katya's story was so much fun -- trying to see how she could top herself was almost like a game. Poisoning small animals, blatantly making fun of her friends and others who are less fortunate, and knowing without any doubt all men want her are just three things on her long repertoire list. Each page houses every bad quality you can think of -- and frankly, that's all the fun.

Adele Lang has done an excellent job creating a character readers will love to hate. Katya is quite a breath of fresh air -- so refreshingly honest and frank. This gal does not beat around the bush on anything! I will most definitely read the next offering of Adele's. I'm thinking a Katya Livingston Part Two is in order!

"Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber" by Adele Lang was about half a dozen good chuckles above the level of an outright stinker.

The book, which could have been hilarious but missed, can best be described as "The Evil Anti-Bridget Jones' Diary". Katya Livingston, like Bridget Jones, is a single thirtyish Englishwoman -- but unlike Bridget, who is sweet and earnest despite her dysfunctional qualities, Katya is conniving, vindictive, egomaniacal -- and too often, just plain nasty.

For an example of how this sort of character/story is supposed to be done, read Dorothy Parker's short story, "Diary of a New York Lady". Then read it again. Go ahead, I'll wait.

La-de-da, dum-de-dum [taps foot, buffs fingernails].

Oh, good, you're back. Now do you see how a witty, clever, insightful story about a neurotic, pea-brained, self-absorbed social climber *should* read? Note the light, subtle touch, the deft use of language, the compassion that makes the character human rather than a two-dimensional cartoon? Now flip through a few pages of "Confessions".

Even worse than you'd originally thought, isn't it?

"Confessions" suffers -- first, foremost, and always -- from an unsympathetic and unconvincingly portrayed protagonist (I can hardly call Katya the "heroine"). Despite the fact that everybody has an inner brat that's greedy for too much of everything, it was impossible to identify with Katya. I didn't like her. I didn't feel sorry for her, although it was clear that she had a pretty pathetic life despite her bluff and bravado. I didn't enjoy her escapades in a scandalous, guilty-pleasure, "I wish I could get away with that" sort of way. She's evidently supposed to be charmingly naughty a la "Absolutely Fabulous" -- she did everything but wink at the audience and smirk, "Ain't I something?" -- but I found her simultaneously obnoxious and dull.

The other huge, insurmountable problem is that, as everyone who has ever watched "Saturday Night Live" knows, a joke that was basically good to begin with, and then is run into the ground, eventually invokes the law of diminishing returns to the point where you're moaning, "Please, someone, make it stop!". The characters and events that make an entertaining 10-page story cannot, take my word for it, adequately sustain a 200-page book.

The net result is that of the same 10-page story repeated 20 times, with minor differences; and becoming increasingly more shrill, labored, and thuddingly unfunny with each successive repetition. Katya is hideously rude. Katya treats everybody like dirt. Katya abuses alcohol and/or other drugs. Katya spends a ton of money she doesn't have on yet another shopping binge of extravagant designer clothes. Katya goofs off at work. Katya makes a play for somebody completely inappropriate, demonstrating in the process that she ridiculously overestimates her attractiveness to men. Katya exploits her long-suffering doormat friends, whom she seems to actively dislike, but who nonetheless never seem to wise up to her... over and over, and on and on.

For the first fifty pages, I was -- I admit it -- often chuckling, and occasionally guffawing out loud. By page 100, I was muttering, "Okay, already -- I get the idea". By page 150, "Confessions" had become more a source of frustration than anything else. I'd pretty much given up hope that the rest of the book would be anything but still more variations on the same theme, and probably not even particularly interesting variations. Although there were still a few widely scattered snickers, I had an unpleasant suspicion that any hope of anything resembling a good wholehearted belly laugh, let alone character development or a plot, was pure wishful thinking. PS, I was right.

There are at least a dozen authors who do wicked humor better. Cynthia Heimel, S.J. Perelman, and Bill Bryson spring immediately to mind. In addition to the many humor books that succeed where this book tries and fails, there are at least another dozen "girl power" and "bad girl" books on the shelves of any bookstore in any town that succeed where this book tries and fails. "Confessions" does have a few good laughs, but unless you can pick up a thrift-store copy for a quarter (which ought to be sometime next week), it's not worth bothering with.

After being endorsed by Cosmo, I told my book club that we HAD to read this book. To make a long story short, they swear they will NEVER let me pick another one!

Katya Livingston is the most conceited, dull, and flat character I have ever had the displeasure of reading. I truly struggled to get through the first few chapters of the book hoping it would get better, yet it simply did not. For me, a good book is centered around a strong main character, and there is nothing about Katya that is even remotely likable.

To be honest, I put this book back on my shelf unfinished.

If I could give it zero stars I would. Hated it!

Normally I thoroughly enjoy British humor and I buy loads of books when I'm over there - but this pathetic rag.... I only read it because it was Kelly's book club, now I'll think twice before I read one of hers again. I'm now setting my sights on something more enjoyable...the Today show's pick 'The Emperor of Ocean Park.'

Folks - trust me, save your money and your time on this one unless of course, you enjoy reading about an unlikeable person whom you couldn't care less how they fare through life.

You know I really do hate some of the classless reviews of this book! It makes me angry that some people take such pleasure in trashing some of these wonderful writers! Most of the negetive reviews of this book (and others) are no doubt from other authors whose book ratings are not as good as the book they happen to be jealous of at the moment and so they post these annoying bogus reviews simply out of jealousy! How sad and pathetic some of these other authors have become! And they do so with bogus name and states they are supposed to be from (who do you guys think you're kidding?) Shame on all of you! Maybe you have too much time on your hands...why don't you guys do something more constructive like write another book or stop world hunger...save the whales...please get a life...leave these hard working writers alone! If you would perhaps put more into promoting your own books and spend less time trashing the books of others your books would also become a "BEST-SELLER" (something to think about!)

Confessions of; by Adele Lang has got to be one of the most fun books I have read so far this year! In spite of the BOGUS BAD REVIEWS buy the book and read for yourself this books is totally groovey!

If you like British Humor than "Confessions of a Sociopothic Social Climber" by humorous writer Adele Lang is definately the book for you.

Nonstop action and laughs will have the reader swiftly turning the pages of this entertaining tale of a woman on the rise in the social world wanting her fifteen minutes of fame so-to-speak! (hehehe)

Definately a book worth the read!

I liked this book. I enjoyed hating the narrator and I loved the ways in which she got her come-uppance over and over again, and never seemed to learn from it. Adele Lang managed something interesting by keeping Katya in character throughout the entire book. It was refreshing to read a book that did not have a predictable ending, and where the bad guys were not redeemed.

On the other hand, this book is a one-trick pony. There is exactly one thing going on in it, and if it had been even one page longer, I expect I would have gotten tired of it. Moreover, I found I had no desire ever to read it again. Since I was in Manila when I read it, I declined to offer it space in my suitcase on the way home.

If you like this kind of thing, then you will like this book. It's done extremely well here. However, it's all taste and no substance. Which may be the point, I suppose. Still, I was ultimately disappointed.

This is quite possibly one of the worst books I have ever read. There is no character development and each diary entry is more shallow than the one before it. It was almost painful to read.