Review: Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell

SUMMARY FROM GOODREADS.COM:

Enter a world where the sometimes shocking and often hilarious mating habits of the privileged are exposed by a true insider. In essays drawn from her witty and sometimes brutally candid column in the New York Observer, Candace Bushnell introduces us to the young and beautiful who travel in packs from parties to bars to clubs. Meet "Carrie," the quintessential young writer looking for love in all the wrong places..."Mr. Big," the business tycoon who drifts from one relationship to another..."Samantha Jones," the fortyish, successful, "testosterone woman" who uses sex like a man...not to mention "Psycho Moms," "Bicycle Boys," "International Crazy Girls," and the rest of the New Yorkers who have inspired one of the most watched TV series of our time. You've seen them on HBO, now read the book that started it all...

MY TAKE:
During the height of the show's fame, I wasn't able to get hooked on the show because I was young and Sex and the City was shown late at night. I do remember watching some episodes and the movies later on, which I enjoyed.

In Sex and the City, you get a glimpse of the lives of a number of male and female New Yorkers through a series of essays that mention them and their exploits. Majority of the focus, though, is on Carrie and Mr. Big.

While I knew that this was a collection of essays, I was expecting that the essays would be more focused and I would be able to see and compare the characters from the books to the characters on the show. Sadly, only Carrie, Mr. Big and Samantha Jones had relatively significant roles in the book. For the most part, especially, in the beginning, the book really did feel like a hodgepodge of sort-of related articles. It was only later on that we are able to better follow the characters' progress.

I also didn't like Carrie that much in this book. I haven't seen all the episodes of the show so maybe she's like this during some episodes, but the Carrie in the book became so neurotic, immature and selfish that she just annoyed me so much.

There are some nice lines in the book, of course, but when I thought about it, I found it a little bit surprising that HBO producers read this book and decided that they could make the book into an amazing show. It's tough enough coming up with a quality show from a good book, but to make a top-rated show from a collection of essays is really phenomenal.

THE GOOD:

1. You get to see what life is like for New York women.
2. There are some funny bits.
3. You get to see the origin of the beloved Sex and the City characters.

THE BAD:

1. It doesn't feel cohesive.

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

"One of the biggest mistakes women make is that they don't discuss marriage from the beginning," said Lisa.

READ IT IF:

1. You are a fan of the series.
2. You like reading lifestyle columns.
3. You wonder what's it like to be a woman in New York.

RATING:


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