Sex and the City
by Candace Bushnell
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Book Reviews of Sex and the City
Book Review: Sex and the uninteresting...
Summary: 1 Stars
I got this book yesterday. I sat down and read it in one go, as I'm a huge fan of the show and was sure I'd enjoy it.
Well, I didn't. The chapters jump all over the place. Yes, I know they are pieced together from columns, but even if you try to just read one little piece, it's not a complete anything. It's like she starts in the middle of an in-joke, hops from thing to thing, and ends abruptly, and starts over with something else. I couldn't keep up with what was going at all.
The characters are unlikeable. Watching the show, even though I didn't approve of Sam's bed hopping or Richard's smarminess, I appreciated them as interesting characters and wanted to see what happened to them. These characters are flimsy, throwaway. They want to seem like they are living THE life, but in fact their lives seem worthless and boring even. Drugs are very rampant in this book, and the sex is of the "Paris Hilton" type, where people do it just to cause a stir, and they only care about themselves, which is ironic because they don't even really enjoy it. On the show, yeah sometimes the girls had one night stands, but it was just somehow more meaningful and interesting.
The book does start to get better at the end, as Carrie and Mr. Big's relationship unravels, but it's too little, too late.
I didn't expect it to be exactly like the show. I started reading it with an open mind. But the simple fact is that it's rubbish. I am really amazed that someone read this and said "This is wonderful! Let's make a TV show about it!" I'm glad they did, and that better writers were put on the job, because the end product was one of my favorite shows. But, yeah, it's garbage.
Book Review: This is one case where the show was better than the book
Summary: 1 Stars
I have the complete S&TC series on tape/CD plus the 2008 Movie and am anticipating the 2010 Movie and I just LOVE LOVE LOVE all the girls, guys, and locations in S&TC! So it was natural that I complete my collection by purchasing the book that started it all. I read the book from cover to cover in one evening (that's how easy it is to read) but I must say - this is definitely one case where the show is much better than the book. I can hardly believe someone would think this would have been good to make into a TV show - but I guess that's the genius of Darren Starr because Candace Bushnell's book certainly has no genius qualities about it. True, the show follows the book and the characters somewhat - at least for the first season anyway albeit not in the same context - but these people in the book --- they're so completely complicated and dark and kinda dumb and definitely NOT fabulous - but I guess that's Manhattan for you, not much of anything really 'funny' about it - just neurosis, shallow sex and lots of talk about models, bars and restaurants in New York and The Hamptons. I just wasn't that into it - the best part was comparing it to the show and knowing how much better it is in film than in print.
Sarah Jessica, Kim, Cynthia and Kristin made the story what it is -- FAB-U-LOUS!!! Certainly not this cheap rag of a book. I'm not disrespecting Candace Bushnell, I applaud her - I admire her for getting what she got out of this - who here could say as much? I just thought the show was executed a lot better than the book and I'm glad I only paid a penney for it.
Book Review: Intensely Disconnected from the Show
Summary: 1 Stars
I have to agree with everyone that said the screenwriters HBO hired to makeover this book were absolute geniuses. They'd have to be, with source material like this!
I've seen every episode at least once (some from season four several times) and the movie twice, so I was eager to jump into the novel. Except it's not even a novel, but rather a discordant bunch of anecdotes that aren't entertaining or amusing in the least. Sure, I was expecting differences...different occupations, different looks, maybe even different names...but I still expected the core of the book to be a story about our four favorite girls, however changed they might be from the show. What a terrible disappointment! I finished the first three chapters and gave up a few pages into the fourth--I've read textbooks that were more interesting!
My heart goes out to all of the readers who bought this book--I received a copy through my library's interloan program, so I only feel vaguely guilty for not being able to finish.
I also agree with those who say they'd rate this book zero stars if they could; it's just not worth the paper it is printed on. Honestly, I can't believe that Sarah Jessica Parker agreed to have her picture on the cover of the edition I read--the crap inside shouldn't be connected to her good name.
Book Review: An entertaining read
Summary: 3 Stars
Because I am a fan of the show, I sought out the book. I heard that the two were extremely different and often tv viewers were disappointed with Ms. Bushnell's articles. Knowing this, I gave her book a chance to be something other than the seeds by which Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha grew.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the articles. Funny, witty, and intensely perceptive with her sardonic tongue, Ms. Bushnell manages to make fun of the painful and bizarre situations that arrive in the elite New Yorker's love life. These articles make you the fly on the Ralph Lauren painted walls of the Hamptons and the Upper East Side. And I like being a fly there. Voyeuristic pursuits are met here in her words.
True though, you will not recognize Carrie who seems to be psychotic, nor will you even find Charlotte. You can, however, see the skeletal beginnings of Season 1's episodes. But these stories were all extremely entertaining on their own.
All that aside, I say find the articles on the internet or at the library. This is not life altering literature. For a frivolous read, it does its job, but I do not need to read it again.
Book Review: Truly amazing that this manage to inspire such a great series
Summary: 4 Stars
First off, I am a huge fan of the show. I watched it for years before I read the book. I decided to give it a go over the summer. I was a strangely compelling book, enough so that I felt the need to read it walking, yet, it's very different from the series. It lacks the heart of the series. It also lacks the friendships. It's mainly about the emptiness of Carrie's life and how superficial and over the top life is among the rich of Manhattan. As interesting as it is, I don't envy the author's life. It's honestly a fairly depressing book, though a well written look into a particular slice of life.
If you are a fan of the show though, you may not want to read it honestly. The show is so much more uplifting and fun. You are likely to be disappointed if looking for something similar. It's so different in many ways, that it's really fairly amazing that the one managed to spawn the other. It's somewhat similar to reading the original Little Mermaid after watching the Disney film: interesting, but a bit depressing if you loved the other one.