65 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
The Devil Wears BlackBerry, October 28, 2005
This review is from: Everyone Worth Knowing (Hardcover)
I have a feeling there was a conversation that went something like this:
Editor: We want another 'Devil Wears Prada.'
Lauren Weisberger: I don't want to write the same book again, that's boring.
Editor: We'll pay you.
Lauren Weisberger: I don't know. How much?
Editor: A lot.
Laruen Weisberger: Such as...?
Editor: A million dollars.
Lauren Weisberger: Know what? Funny you should bring this up, but I actually have this idea that's pretty much The Devil Wears Prada, but in the PR industry...
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27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not worth knowing, November 6, 2005
This review is from: Everyone Worth Knowing (Hardcover)
"Going out is part of your job now, just remember that!" squeals one of the characters in Lauren Weisberger's second novel, "Everyone Worth Knowing." As with her much-hyped first novel, this is a boo-hoo-poor-li'l-me slice of chick-lit, bemoaning how very tough it is to be live the exalted life. Oh, stop whining.
Bette Robinson quits her tedious job when her boss (think Lumbergh from "Office Space") annoys her one time too many. At first, she's confused about what to do next, and being a gossip columnist with her gay uncle is not exactly her idea of a great job. But then she falls in with a different kind of "journalism" -- at a PR and party planning firm.
At first, Bette is intoxicated by the wild nightlife of A-listers and clubs, and is rescued by a hot-yet-arrogant British "Nightlife Adonis." Soon SHE is in the gossip columns. Unfortunately, her new job threatens to derail life with those she loves -- her hippie parents, who want something better for her, and the hot bouncer she's falling in love with.
Someone needs to tell Wisberger that a guilty pleasure is no fun if the author gets sanctimonious about it. Sure, cater to people's love of the high life, wild parties and even throw in a moral or two about the shallowness of fame. But if the author has actually lived it, then moaning how very terrible it is to be famous, pretty and well-paid will only be annoying.
Much of the middle of this book exists just to tie the end and beginning together; Weisberger tries to cover up the lack of a real plot with lots of topless costume parties, celebrity name-dropping, drugs and a contrived subplot about a pal marrying her trust-fund loser. It takes some special writing to redeem a plot full of cliches and tabloid fodder, and this is not special writing.
And Bette is not the heroine to redeem it either -- she hardly even has opinions of her own, let alone a personality. Her self-righteous hippie parents at least have a quirky appeal, even if her boyfriends and pals are cardboard cutouts. And someone needs to tell Weisberger that it is not cute, clever or funny to name a gay pal (even an uncle) "Will."
"Everyone Worth Knowing" comes across as an attempt at self-justification by someone who has been there, yet doesn't want to admit that it was fun. Like a drunken one-night stand -- sloppily done and unmemorable. Once it's done, you'll wonder what you were thinking.
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57 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing, October 24, 2005
This review is from: Everyone Worth Knowing (Hardcover)
This book diappointed me. It had the same, predictable plot as The Devil Wears Prada, and the same poor-me-I've-got-a-terrible-boss theme. It gets old very, very quickly.
Bettina (or "Bette") Robinson is a young twenty-something living in New York. She grew up in Pughkeepsie with liberal, hippie parents and attended Emory before moving to New York to pursue a career in investment banking. She walks out on the job; and through her uncle Will, manages to find a job working as a party planner.
Throw in a handsome, debonair man-about-town who everyone thinks Bette is dating; some co-workers who I think were meant to be funny but just end up looking pathetic; and a love interest, and you've basically got the gist of this poorly-written, over-advertised novel. This is definitely one "not worth knowing."
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