2 stars
I watched the movie adaptation a while ago and enjoyed it well enough so I figured the audiobook would be worth a read.
The book started out well enough. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the food. Everything sounds so tantalizingly delicious. However, for me, I think those heavy descriptions got in the way at other times. I personally could not care less about fashion, architecture, and decor so when the narration went off on huge chunks of description on those topics, I got kind of bored. I think it would be more enjoyable for those who actually like clothing and designers, but for me most of it was just dull.
I was also kind of unsure what sort of book this was/who the intended audience was. I know it’s supposed to be satirical, but it wasn’t a very creative satire. It mostly just shows how ridiculous rich people are through lots of generalizations and stereotypes. The movie was bright and feel-good so that was mostly what I was expecting. However, some things were just stressful (all the freaking drama between women) and others disgusting (bachelor party). This was not the feel-good read I was looking for. I usually nitpick movies that cut scenes from the source material, but I definitely support the decision to cut a lot of that unnecessary stuff out for the movie.
Overall, the writing was good, if heavy on the descriptions at times. I do think there were too many characters to follow. I felt like I missed out on a connection with any of the characters because there were so many of them. The book was way too long with overly detailed descriptions and a cast of too many characters to fully flesh-out. By the end I just wanted to get through it to be done with it.
It also really bugged me that the women were constantly referred to as “girls”. It seemed weird that everyone called them girls even though I guess they all pretty much acted like children.
I will say that if you do read this book, it is worth listening to the audiobook narrated by Lynn Chen, because she does a wonderful job switching accents and dialects, which adds to the experience.
By the end, this was an okay read. It started off well, but I soon lost interest. It was way too long for such a lack-luster story.
I hate to admit it, but the movie was better.