Booktalking "The Devil Wears Prada" by Lauren Weisberger

Miranda Priestly is the harbinger of fashion excellence, at least according to her. Factor in a woman who throws temper tantrums about having to wait two and a half minutes for anything, and you have got a boss from hell. Fourteen-hour days for assistant Andrea so that she and her colleague Emily can be at Miranda's beck-and-call every minute of the day. If your colleague leaves for a few hours—no bathroom break for you. The assistants would not want Miranda to hear an answering machine at the office when the office is open. Andrea learns on the job—no keeping Miranda waiting and she must spend hours trying to figure out her vague instructions before Emily will allow her to ask for clarification. Andrea's friends think she's lucky—no ho-hum boring, run-of-the-mill post bachelor's degree job here. Jump off the bridge fun is more like it. That does not even address the fashion focus of the revered and feared Elias-Clark establishment.

No Gap or Lord & Taylor in the Elias-Clark office. Andrea resisted for awhile, until a colleague kindly brought her some Prada clothing to "borrow" from the office so that she would not get fired. Andrea reluctantly caved to the pressure to dress in the best. Company employees, especially Miranda, looked her up and down, scrutinizing her outfits for weeks. Big brother also monitored what employees ate in the company cafeteria; a cashier warned Andrea that she would gain ten pounds by simply looking at the clam chowder soup that she just bought, only because there was no other soup choice.

There is no end to the fun. One of the best episodes of the book is when Andrea is asked to pick up Miranda's green car. Specific, right? Only after much research and consultations with Miranda's other employees does Andrea discover that it is a green Porche and which car dealership it might be at. Then, Miranda asks Andrea to pick up a precious bulldog pup at the vet in the Porche, which she cannot really drive, since she does not know how to drive a stick shift. With some quick thinking, Andrea calls the vet and asks them to bring the puppy Madeleine outside for her. Somehow, Andrea manages not to scratch Miranda's car. God knows how. It's a day in the life of a personal assistant to the fashion magazine Runway's editor-in-chief.

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger, 2003

I happened to be channel surfing one evening when I came across the movie The Devil Wears Prada with Anne Hathaway as Andrea and Meryl Streep as Miranda. I was swept away by Hathaway's energy and Meryl Streep's demanding, petulant character. Meryl Streep is awesome and the way that she interacts with Hathaway, priceless. I found the movie incredibly hilarious, and I was disappointed that I was only able to view about thirty minutes of it. However, I decided to see if there was a book correlate to the film version, and I was very happy to find one. I am fascinated by fashion and I love the artistry of it, so I was excited about this book. I loved the look into the fashion world that this book gives the reader. I highly recommend the movie, as well.

Books by Lauren Weisberger