Every salary-earner falling prey to a merciless boss awakens painful memories in Lauren Weisberger’s quasi-fictional book, The Devil Wears Prada (2006, Anchor Books, New York, 432 pages, US$7.99). Published in 27 countries, the book climbed bestseller lists and morphed into a movie starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway.
Fresh from university, Andrea, the narrator and protagonist, lands a “prestigious” job in New York as a junior assistant to Miranda Priestly, the glamorous editor-in-chief at Runway magazine. Naturally, workplace nightmares ensue.
Readers tag along on trivial tasks made demeaning by an unappreciative boss who terrorizes nearly everyone. A few magazine-type tyrants in Hong Kong have much in common with Ms Priestly.
Although amusing, The Devil Wears Prada doesn’t quite deserve its bestseller status. Sometimes Weisberger struggles to entertain her readers amid the day-in, day-out drudgery.
But nearly everyone recalls a hellish boss, so the exploited Andrea wins instant sympathy. Gleefully, she peels away layers of hypocrisy and pretensiousness from the flimsy fashion industry.
With this splashy beginning, Weisberger sets the stage for a promising literary career. Readers eagerly await her next book.
Approval rating: 58 per cent.
For more information: www.anchorbooks.com
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