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A review by kate_elizabeth
Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell
1.0
"When Shane cried, it was awful. It was like he suddenly wasn't the man anymore and I wasn't the woman. And I realized I was going to have to learn how to become a new kind of woman, living without all those cliched ideas about what men and women are supposed to be."
Wendy Healy, one of the book's three protagonists, says this on page 347, and it stuck out in my mind because it's exactly the opposite of what this book is. There's a semblance of plot here - three women trying to excel in their careers while balancing their personal lives - but the majority of the book is Candace Bushnell making heavy-handed points about the differences between men and women, and how a woman's behavior would be interpreted if she were a man or vice versa. There's an example of this on almost every page. (Healy's quote is one of the less annoying examples.)
"Sex and the City" - Bushnell's most famous work - explored these concepts too, but did so subtly and entertainingly. "Lipstick Jungle" is the same schtick, but with unrelatable, one-dimensional characters and a heavy dose of preaching. No thank you. I AWARD YOU NO POINTS, AND MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUL.
Wendy Healy, one of the book's three protagonists, says this on page 347, and it stuck out in my mind because it's exactly the opposite of what this book is. There's a semblance of plot here - three women trying to excel in their careers while balancing their personal lives - but the majority of the book is Candace Bushnell making heavy-handed points about the differences between men and women, and how a woman's behavior would be interpreted if she were a man or vice versa. There's an example of this on almost every page. (Healy's quote is one of the less annoying examples.)
"Sex and the City" - Bushnell's most famous work - explored these concepts too, but did so subtly and entertainingly. "Lipstick Jungle" is the same schtick, but with unrelatable, one-dimensional characters and a heavy dose of preaching. No thank you. I AWARD YOU NO POINTS, AND MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUL.