Everyone Worth Knowing

Weisberger, Lauren

ISBN 10: 0743573633 ISBN 13: 9780743573634

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio, 2008

Synopsis

An irresistible tale about what happens when a girl on the fringe enters the realm of New York's chic, party-hopping elite.

On paper, Bette Robinson's life is good. At twenty-six, she's got a great deal on an apartment in Manhattan, and she's on target to become an associate at the prestigious investment bank where she works with her best friend. Her eighty-hour workweeks might keep her from socializing or dating outside her office walls -- but she's paying her dues on the well-trod path to wealth and happiness. So when Bette quits her job like the impulsive girl she's never been, she not only shocks her friends and family -- she has no idea what to do next.
For months, Bette gets out and about by walking her four-pound dog around her decidedly unglamorous Murray Hill neighborhood. Then she meets Kelly, head of Manhattan's hottest PR and events planning firm, and suddenly Bette has a brand-new job where the primary requirement is to see and be seen.
The work at Kelly & Company takes Bette inside the VIP rooms of the city's most exclusive nightclubs, to parties crowded with celebrities and socialites. Bette learns not to blink at the famous faces, the black Amex cards, the magnums of Cristal, or the ruthless paparazzi. Soon she's dating an infamous playboy who's great for her career but bad for her sanity -- and scaring off the one decent guy she meets. Still, as her coworkers repeatedly point out, how can you complain about a job that pays you to party? Bette has to agree -- until she begins appearing in a vicious new gossip column. That's when Bette's life on paper takes on a whole new meaning -- and she learns the line between her personal and professional lives is...invisible.

About this title

Review:

The working title of The Doorman Wears Dolce makes this instantly recognisable as the follow-up to surely the most fabulously titled debut of 2003 The Devil Wears Prada. For her second novel Lauren Weisberger sticks with what she knows; New York City, but this time it’s the achingly cool world of Manhattan’s party people rather than the fashion pack. At the beginning of the novel Bette (Bettina) Robinson, 27 year old daughter of vegan hippie parents is working eighty-hour weeks as a corporate drone in the offices of investment bank CWK Hoffman. The highlight of her social calendar is a dinner date with her uncle and his boyfriend every Thursday night. Handily, said uncle is also a famous, highly syndicated columnist who manages to secure Bette a shiny new job as a party planner at top PR agency. Cue our heroine’s descent into Manhattan’s social whirl as she struggles with the outrageous demands of celebrity clients plus unwelcome exposure in a regular gossip column. It’s a perfect escapist read, and fans of The Devil Wears Prada will love it but if you’re missing your SATC fix then I’d recommend Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin and Midnight in Manhattan by Francesca Delbanco as altogether more satisfying slices of the Big Apple.

Review:

PRAISE FOR THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA:

‘This little gem mixes Sex and the City charm with dry New York wit.’ REAL

‘Sassy, insightful and sooo Sex and The City, you'll be rushing to the bookshop for your copy like it's a half price Prada sale.’ COMPANY

‘The most fun we've had in ages.’ HEAT

‘Delicious...a great insight into the world of magazines and fashion.’ RED

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0743573633
• ISBN 13: 9780743573634
• Binding: Audio CD