The Devil Wears Prada

By: Lauren Weisberger

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

A delightfully dishy novel about the all-time most impossible boss in the history of impossible bosses.

Andrea Sachs, a small-town girl fresh out of college, lands the job “a million girls would die for.” Hired as the assistant to Miranda Priestly, the high-profile, fabulously successful editor of Runway magazine, Andrea finds herself in an office that shouts Prada! Armani! Versace! at every turn, a world populated by impossibly thin, heart-wrenchingly stylish women and beautiful men clad in fine-ribbed turtlenecks and tight leather pants that show off their lifelong dedication to the gym.

With breathtaking ease, Miranda can turn each and every one of these hip sophisticates into a scared, whimpering child. The Devil Wears Prada gives a rich and hilarious new meaning to complaints about “The Boss from Hell.”

Narrated in Andrea’s smart, refreshingly disarming voice, it traces a deep, dark, devilish view of life at the top only hinted at in gossip columns and over Cosmopolitans at the trendiest cocktail parties. From sending the latest, not-yet-in-stores Harry Potter to Miranda’s children in Paris by private jet, to locating an unnamed antique store where Miranda had at some point admired a vintage dresser, to serving lattes to Miranda at precisely the piping hot temperature she prefers, Andrea is sorely tested each and every day - and often late into the night with orders barked over the phone.

She puts up with it all by keeping her eyes on the prize: a recommendation from Miranda that will get Andrea a top job at any magazine of her choosing. As things escalate from the merely unacceptable to the downright outrageous, however, Andrea begins to realize that the job a million girls would die for may just kill her. And even if she survives, she has to decide whether or not the job is worth the price of her soul.

©2003 Lauren Weisberger (P)2003 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Miranda's behavior is so insanely over-the-top that it's a gas to see what she'll do next, and to try to guess which incidents were culled from real life." (Amazon.com)
"Weisberger has penned a comic novel that manages to rise to the upper echelons of the chick-lit genre." (Publishers Weekly)

Made time slip away

I used this book to start off my exercise regime over xmas. As I hate to exercise, I would only allow myself to listen to the book when I did so, which made me get up and go, just to find out what Miranda had done next! I loved it, and it made time fly by. I highly recommend it!

You can't make this stuff up

This book brings back memories of a brief stint I had just after college, temping as a secretary at a famous furrier on 5th Ave and 57th in Manhattan. There I was, wearing my cotton dresses sewn from Simplicity patterns, with a similar tyrant manager. They stuck my Selectric typewriter in the refrigerated room where they hung the fur coats. In fact, they put nestled me under the fur coats, where I shivered and typed, on weekdays and weekends, unless I was called out to take dictation or take a taxi to some swanky restaurant to pick up lunch for the models and customers. My ultimate revenge was to say no when the manager asked me to stay on. I kept wishing that there was some aspect of Miranda's behavior that would prove this was a work of fiction, but alas, the working wounded will recognize the tyrant boss.

Thought provoking

Love the main character but hated the story. It did not feel like I was reading a story but observing someone in their daily life.

Then I realize, the main character changed from a normal person to the brain washed assistant.
Who finally woke up and found her priorites.

Very thought provoking how it could happen to anyone.

enjoyable

This was a very good book. It kept my attention and kept me from doing the things I should have done for a couple of days. The narrator was great. The story was good, although the main character was a little whinney. I liked it and would reccomend it to you!

Disappointing

The premise was good, but it just didn't go anywhere for me. The ending fell flat.
I was disappointed

Great book!

So well read. He such a good buck you felt like you were actually living with Andrea experiencing her life. I loved her internal monologue. I definitely plan on listening to it many many more times

Beach book

Very funny and entertaining until about half way through. That's when the material became a bit stale and the "moral to the story" began to take shape which made me want to turn it off. But I listened all the way through thanks to the excellent narration. Despite the fact that it ran out of gas I can still recommend it as a good choice for a light summer read. My feet still hurt from imagining a never ending work day in five inch heels!

Awesome booki

I was really sorry to have this book and really enjoyed it well read well written truly love the book

perfect listening.

the Miranda voice was well done -
all the accents really. I enjoyed it immensely. never seen the movie or read the book. great for reality check

Fantastic read!

Amazing narrator and story - better than the movie with so much detail and laughs - I couldn’t stop listening