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Book Review: The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

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Even though the tension of the main character’s situation seems stressful, this is a lighthearted story filled with humor. I listened to this one as an audiobook. The narrator of the audiobook used different voices for the characters, making it more interesting to the audience. The Devil Wears Prada is the first book, published in 2006, in a series of three. Book 2 is Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns, published in 2014 and Book 3 is When Life Gives You Lululemons, published in 2019.

The main character, Andrea Sachs, lands a job at Elias Clark, a major magazine publisher, after graduating from Brown University. Andrea aspires to become a writer for The New Yorker, so takes the job at Elias Clark, working as the assistant to Miranda Priestly, who is a well-known figure in the fashion industry and Editor-in-Chief for Runway Magazine. Andrea is told that if she works for Ms. Priestly for a year that Miranda will help her excel with a promotion. Needing experience in the magazine industry, Andrea takes the job without realizing what she is getting into.

During the first couple of weeks on the job, Andrea is trained by Emily, Ms. Priestly’s former assistant, who instructs Andrea about how Miranda likes things done. Fortunately, Miranda is on vacation when Andrea starts, giving her some time to acclimate to the position before Miranda’s return. When Miranda returns, Andrea finds out the hard way that her boss is a tyrant and controls every aspect of her time. Miranda also takes every opportunity to express Andrea’s incompetence. Miranda consumes all of Andrea’s time at the office and elsewhere, meaning very little time for family, friends and her boyfriend, Alex.

Andrea’s life begins to spiral out of control as her best friend, Lily, exhibits a drinking problem and her boyfriend begins to question their relationship. While on a trip to France for Fashion Week, Andrea receives a call from Alex, learning that Lily has been in a dreadful accident. Miranda learns of Andrea’s friend, but Andrea decides to stay in Paris as a commitment to her job. Miranda appreciates Andrea’s decision and promises to make a call to The New Yorker as a reference when they return to New York.

Later on during the trip, Miranda’s bad behavior causes a very public tantrum, causing Andrea to snap and verbally assault Miranda and quit in front of a room full of people. Andrea returns to America to help Lily recuperate, knowing that she may have ended any chance of working in the magazine industry. Read the book to find out what happens to Andrea’s dreams.

I think a good majority of people have worked for someone like Miranda Priestly in their lifetimes, so the reader can certainly empathize with Andrea’s situation. As soon as Miranda Priestly arrives back from her vacation, and the reader finds out how truly awful she is, the reader begins to hope for Andrea’s redemption somehow, knowing at some point their relationship will not end well. When that time comes, the audience cheers Andrea on. At the same time, the reader wishes that Andrea will demonstrate a little more confidence and ingenuity when trying to tiptoe around the demands of her boss. Sometimes she seems to have no backbone at all.

If you are looking for a light read, this is a good one. I especially recommend the audiobook because the narrator brings the characters to life with different intonations and voices. I think anyone would enjoy this novel.

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