Photo courtesy of Salvatore Vuono
I am sad to admit that I have never read a Candace Bushnell novel. Since I write women's fiction, I went to the library yesterday and made it my mission to pick up a few of the best writers from this genre, and when I browsed the highest-ranking titles on Goodreads in "chick lit" (they don't have a women's fiction category--boo!), I saw Candace Bushnell and Meg Cabot, and thought, "well, yeah! Duh!" How have I NOT read these essential women's fiction writers yet?Anyway, Lipstick Jungle did not disappoint. The glamorous New York City lives of three women mixed with their personal dramas and devastation make a strong story that I can't help but compare to Sex and the City's cast and stories, but who cares if there are similarities? Careers, love, and friendship are the fabrics of any woman's life, and Bushnell weaves the three characters' lives together expertly. These characters have different professions, personalities, and circumstances, but they are still dealing with the same issues that plague all of us.
I'll be honest; at times, this novel was tough to relate to because these women are all just so darn successful. Perhaps because I am still sort of a newbie in my career, and I can envision the what it would be like to be at the top of my career (writing 2-4 novels per year and having a steady column in a national magazine would be perfection in my opinion), and I just so badly want to get to that point when I can write more and pitch less.
But these three characters that Bushnell created all have different challenges in their personal lives which makes their uber-success more digestible. Makes me sound green with envy, but if everything was perfect for all of them, it would be a fairytale instead of women's fiction.
An entertaining read that challenges you to evaluate what your priorities are and to live a life that is in line with your values. This will definitely not be my last Bushnell title; in fact, I will be reading Trading Up in the coming weeks.