Binding: Paperback
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Abacus
Manufacturer: Abacus
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 512
Publication Date: June 02, 2004
Publisher: Abacus
Sales Rank: 303801
Studio: Abacus
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
With a brilliant comic voice as well as Jane Austen's penchant for social satire, Candace Bushnell, who with Sex and the City changed forever how we view New York City, female friendships, and the love of a good pair of Manolos, now brings us a sharply observant, keenly funny, wildly entertaining latter day comedy of manners. Modern-day heroine Janey Wilcox is a lingerie model whose reach often exceeds her grasp, and whose new-found success has gone to her head. As we follow Janey's adventures, Bushnell draws us into a seemingly glamorous world of $100,000 cars, hunky polo players and media moguls, Fifth Avenue apartments, and relationships whose hidden agendas are detectable only by the socially astute. But just as Janey enters this world of too much money and too few morals, unseen forces conspire to bring her down, forcing her to reexamine her values about love and friendship-and how far she's really willing to go to realize her dreams.
Amazon.com Review:
Janey Wilcox is an M.A.W. (that's Model/Actress/Whatever to the uninitiated). The problem with Janey, the protagonist of Candace Bushnell's first novel, Trading Up, is not the M or the A part. It's the W. Here is a rare alphabetical anomaly: In Janey's case, W stands for 'prostitute.' Oh, Janey never crosses the line into actual hookerdom, but she does sleep with extremely wealthy men in the hopes they'll improve her status, her financial situation, or her lifestyle. When we first met Janey in Bushnell's novella collection 4 Blondes, she was up to her usual tricks (so to speak)--scamming a guy for a Hamptons vacation rental. At the opening of Trading Up, her fortunes have improved. She's now the star of a Victoria's Secret ad campaign, and as such she's found access to undreamed-of echelons of New York society. She makes friends with Mimi Kilroy, a senator's daughter 'at the very top of the social heap in New York.' She gets invited to all the best parties. And she finally finds a wealthy man who will actually marry her: Seldon Rose, a powerful entertainment industry executive. Of course, Janey's social ambitions are not stoppered by her marriage to Seldon, and the clash between her expectations (more parties!) and his (normal life) send Janey into a tailspin that leads to heartbreak. Bushnell is clearly trying to channel Edith Wharton (The Custom of the Country is even invoked by Janey as a screenplay idea), but ends up sounding a lot more like a cross between Tama Janowitz and Judith Krantz. This is a novel about shopping and sex, and while it's fizzy enough, it's not Cristal. --Claire Dederer
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - What in the world was the author thinking?!
I picked this book up b/c I was desperate for a good summer read. I didnt read any reviews until I finished it. Everyone who gave it 1 star had every right to do so. The character was not someone a reader would root for...maybe that was the author's intentions to create a character that would do anything to save her own neck and leave everyone else in a daze after her whirlwind of chaos...but Janey is was down right despicable..with no qualities any human would want to possess...
What I found to be really strange is that you would think that as a reader, you would see the point of view of the other characters, like Janey's sister, Patty. You get one chapter in the life of Patty and you would think the author would later visit Patty but she becomes minutia. You hear about her and her issues through gossip in the book.
Every once in awhile, I'll read junk, and sometimes is fulfilling. But I truly am disappointed with this book considering that the author brought us sex and the city. This was nowhere near that caliber.
Bushnell messed up on the word "Puta" it means whore in Spanish not Italian! Thats such a minor detail that I caught that she wasnt accurate with, which makes me question, what else did she fabricate to us think shes knows what shes talking about when it comes to new york city and its socialites.
Please dont waste your time picking this book up...its 504 pages of pure nonsense...
Rating: - Worst book I've ever read
I can't believe how much I hated this book. Usually when I read a book with a character like Janie Wilcox, she is the one that I am hoping will finally get hers in the end and then she does. Well not in this book. She is the main character and she does nothing in this book to make me like her. I was seriously hoping someone would do a drive by or push or out a 30 story window by the end of this book. I have never read anything else by Candace Bushnell and because of this book, I never will.
Rating:  - Don't expect a fun page-turner
I am a huge Sex and the City fan and was hoping for a fun, interesting summer read. However, I found myself struggling a bit to finish this book (I actually stopped about halfway through and then finished it later). For the hundreds of pages, there's surprisingly no real plot. It's more of an often-boring look at the characters' lives, not to mention, I really didn't even grow to like any of the characters. I'd agree with others that Janey in particular is shallow, self-absorbed and really somewhat annoying.
If you want to read a Candace Bushnell book, I would HIGHLY recommend reading Lipstick Jungle. I've been disappointed with a few of her books but Lipstick Jungle was actually a great one that I couldn't put down. Definitely don't waste your time on Trading Up.
Rating: - Empty Book
Petty and downright boring. Name dropping, sideways glances, lies, snooty women, disgusting men... I made it through the first three chapters and decided my self-worth was much to great than to waste my time on reading even one more page of this book. Unless you like reading about the empty lives of shallow, insecure, unhappy upperclass, purge this book from your reading list!
Rating:  - Fun "fantasy" reading!
I loved it. I went in with no expectations and had a great time. I love to live the lives of other people through books, and what a life Janie has!! This is a fast paced roller coaster ride, and I love the allusions to all of the fashion brands. I also love all of the scandal! This is a perfect poolside novel.
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