Jared Polis recommended the movie to me, but I listened to the audiobook of The Devil Wears Prada instead. I enjoyed it quite a bit — it works well as an audiobook (the voice of Miranda Prisely, the first-class asshole who hires Andrea Sachs as her assistant, continues to ring in my head).
It’s a great chick lit story: Innocent aspiring writer, Andrea, graduates from college. Looks for job. Desperate for anything. Takes job as the personal assistant to the editor-in-chief of one of New York’s most hip fashion magazines. Gets abused and misused by her boss. Bites her tongue because the boss is powerful and might be able to eventually help her find a job at a writing magazine. Meanwhile, personal relationships fall apart. Finally, Andrea sees the light, realizes that “means to ends” never work, and delivers the words we’d been waiting to hear the whole time: “Fuck you, Miranda.” She’s promptly fired and calls it the happiest moment of her life
This is an easy read, weaves together a few dependable themes to keep us entertained, and is a helpful reminder to any young professional: Your first boss out of college can make or break your introduction to the real world. Andrea Sachs is scarred for life. Choose wisely. Or just be an entrepreneur and never worry about it.
Miranda Prisely is actually based on a real character – Anna Wintour, who is the editor of Vogue Magazine, and a notably impossible person to work for. There is a section in Wintour’s Wikipedia article that talks about the similarities.
Don’t see the movie. The book was much much better.