Four Blondes
£0.01
Shallow, unoriginal and dull - Being a major fan of Sex and the City I was quite looking forward to reading this book. What a mistake on my part... The book, which contains four short novellas, has none of the wit of the television series, only spiteful comments made by self-obsessed characters. Out of four stories there was no trace of an original plot line and the fourth story was downright offensive to British people. Save yourself some money and don t buy this book.
Good, but not amazing - I normally love Candace Bushnell books, but i have to admit that even though this one was quite interesting, it didn t quite... take off. It consists of what might be seen as 4 novellas written in 4 different styles about the lives of 4 women in New York. It s a good book, and an interesting insight into those lives as archetypes of NY women (or rather _some_ NY women). And even nicer is that she picks up her characters pretty much where she left them, like in Trading up where we follow Janey Wilcox after her rise to fame. Good book, but not absolutely amazing. At least not for me.
Satire and the City - I was extremely pleased with Four Blondes. I had very much enjoyed reading Sex and the City for its dark humour and wit, and had assumed that Four Blondes would be unlikely to live up to the same caliber. However I was proved wrong. Like S&TC, Four Blondes is a collection of short stories, this time focusing on the four women in the title. Divided into four stories, that of the ageing party girl/model, the anorexic princess, the high powered businesswoman and a writer looking for love, Bushnell paints each story with a satiric brush. Despite having money, looks and power, the first three women are seemingly insecure and unhappy. Four Blondes shows how each woman tries to regain a sense of control over their seemingly overwhelming, highly pressured lives, and how different personalities are more effective at this than others. Some women prosper whilst others fall short. If I can find a fault with the book it is with the final woman s story, obviously based on Bushnell herself. I found her story rushed and pointless, as though it was added only to bulk up the book. It seemded more of a footnote than a story itself. It wasn t unenjoyable, but it was not as superb as the previous three tales. The relative shortness of each woman s tale (compared to an entire book) was refreshing as it meant that the reader does not becomes bored with each story and is always left wanting more. A great read for anyone who lacks the concentration to read lengthy novels with a running narrative. Somehow managing to be more glamorous than its older, expectionally successful sister, Four Blondes is a very dark, sometimes depressing look at New York woman who have it all. All that glitters is most definately not always gold. An absolute must read.
Be Careful What You Wish For . . . You May Get It! - 4 Blondes is three novellas and a short story about the beautiful and aspiring women in New York City. The cast of characters also include those who admire, lust for, marry, and earn a living from these blonde goddesses. Each of the four women has defined herself in terms of social position, physical goods, appearance, and how others relate to her. They each lack a core of who they are, as defined by their own inherent natures. In these stories, the women get what they think they want . . . and are disappointed in many ways. Life really begins when they move beyond their initial illusions to create a more appropriate direction for themselves. Many will find a peek into the minds and boudoirs of these women appealing, but few will find them sympathetic. It is that lack of sympathy that makes the book far less appealing than its potential to please the reader.The book s subject is graphically portrayed by the large image of Ms. Bushnell on the back of the dust cover. Seeing her and her credentials, you immediately know that she is writing about the real people she meets in her social activities and writing work.A number of my friends have inhabited this world at various times. Although the satire may seem broad, it isn t as broad as it would first appear. I remember being told about a well-known woman reporter who would not go out on a date until she had seen a balance sheet for the man in question that proved that his net worth was at least five million dollars.New York has long been the capital of attention for those who aspire to be rich, famous, thin, and admired. This book needs to be compared to Tom Wolfe s Bonfire of the Vanities, because it is the female version of that same subject.Of the stories in the book, I enjoyed Nice N Easy by far the most. Janey Wilcox comes closest to being a whole person among the four heroines in the book. She is trying to find what she wants, and is a little confused about the best way to get things. But she persists, and emerges to a new plateau of maturity and effectiveness. If the whole book had captured that level of character progression, I would have rated it at four stars.Single Process is a short story that had great potential, but left it unrealized. Ms. Bushnell has focused primarily on making jokes about English men, and creating a fairy tale. As far as she goes, the story works. To have worked better, she should have steered a little closer to reality and defined London as something more than anti-New York.Platinum is simply a joke about being a real princess. This novella would have worked much better with a lot of editing down of the story.In all four stories, Ms. Bushnell gives you lots of details about various psychological disorders, drug addiction, unpleasant sexual practices, and various forms of humiliation. She would have done better to focus on fewer dysfunctions and portrayed them better. The way these are written, the reader is assumed to have had first-hand experience with most of these practices. Such a reader would be unusual in my experience outside of the social circles being described here.For those who don t like to read about extreme forms of depravity, skip this book.On the other hand, her prose is well crafted and moves the stories along smoothly. She knows her subject. So if you think of this book as a longer version of tabloid writing, you will like it very much. I suspect that those who will like 4 Blondes best are readers who will take the fictional characters and ascribe them to a real celebrity, and feel excited about knowing the inside scoop on these people.After you finish reading these stories, I suggest that you step back a bit and look at yourself in the mirror. Who do you see? Does it matter who you see? How does it make you feel to see yourself? Then change your perspective, and think about what the mirror would show if it reflected your inner self. Draw a picture of that new image. Keep it in mind!Pursue worthy goals in worthy ways!
TERRIBLE! - This book is easily one of the worst I have ever read. Ever! Can this atrocity really have been brought to us by the creator of Sex & The City? Surely not!As a Brit I was horribly offended by the author s description of British men and women... has she even been to England!? According to her British women make absolutely no effort with their appearance... British men however are ALL repressed and bumbling idiots... we have no taste, no style and are rubbish in bed. This woman doesn t know what she is talking about! Obviously the success of Sex and the City was down to the talents of Sarah Jessica Parker and not Candace.The three other short stories also left me completely cold. The characters were completely two dimentional and quite frankly boring. It s just the same formula time and time again... Just awful! Buy something else.... ANYTHING ELSE!