Reviews with content warning for Classism - The Devil Wears Prada

Came into this one wanting to see how much it differs from the movie and what aspects came from the writers of the film's script. Definitely feel like this one is one of those rare adaptations that ends up better than the source. Rather than listing all the casual details that were changed (e.g. Andrea's hair color or Emily being American), which don't matter, I think it's more important to reflect on the ways the film adjusted the structure of the story and treated its characters. Miranda is more sympathetic in the movie, and we see her in vulnerable and human positions: when she finds out her husband wants to divorce her and at the end of the film when she helps Andrea get a new job.

The book also doesn't really have an act three; the conclusion speeds through Andrea learning her friend is in a coma to her cussing out Miranda and flying home. Andrea herself is pretty different as well. Rather than buying into the culture of Runway, as we see her do in the film, she remains pretty much the same throughout the book--complaining throughout the entire thing and not really changing her stance on any of it. Interestingly, the main three scenes in the movie that are most memorable to me (Miranda's divorce news, Nigel losing his chance at his promotion, and of course Miranda's monologue about cerulean) all are unique to the film rather than having any real basis in the novel. Miranda in the novel is cold and we never see her in any real vulnerable position; the closest we get is Andrea watching Miranda navigate her husband's family and their friends for his brother's wedding, but there's no real insight there. Nigel hardly exists in the book other than as a flamboyant fashion master. Miranda never ever speaks to Andy about the ins and outs of fashion and, though she says at the end that Andy acts as though she's above everything Runway, we aren't left with the feeling that there's any reason Andy shouldn't be.

Weisberger definitely intended to show how Andy lost sight of what was important in her life as she fell more and more into her job and had to work long hours, but that didn't really land. Andy in the book feels somehow more isolated from her family and friends, but that's not due to Runway. Though the book insists that she loves her family, her boyfriend, and her best friend, we don't really get the feeling that she has any strong relationship with any of them. When she misses Alex's calls or doesn't help Lily with her drinking problem, it doesn't really affect anything. Lily gets in a car crash and ends up in a coma, but by the time Andrea is back in the US, everything is pretty much status quo again.

Personally, I feel like the book lacked some of the heart the movie had. All of the characters in the novel seem to be annoyed with each other at all times, rather than having relationships that are in flux and change because of Andy's descent into Runway and fashion. Ultimately, the novel didn't come to a satisfying conclusion, as Andy gets a job with a magazine as a writer under a boss who was Miranda's assistant years earlier. The story ties things up in a few short pages and we're left feeling that there is something missing from the story. Weisberger apparently didn't like that the movie softened Miranda Priestly but, without that softening, the novel feels more like a rant than a coherent story. The book is ultimately fine and an easy read, but it isn't engaging in the way the movie is for me.

Additionally, the book is riddled with outdated terms and language; Miranda's husband is referred to as BDAD for "blind, deaf, and dumb" and Weisberger always mentions when a character is not white (using general terms, such as "Asian" and so on). Though the book is an easy read, it isn't one I would recommend at the end of the day. If you want to enjoy a version of The Devil Wears Prada and not slog through chapters of repetition, I'd recommend skipping the book and going straight for the film.

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