Trading Up - Softcover

Bushnell, Candace

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0786887060 ISBN 13: 9780786887064

Publisher: Hachette Books, 2004

Synopsis

Candace Bushnell is turning heads . . .

The New York Times bestseller, now in paperback.

When Trading Up was published in July, readers from coast to coast devoured the sharp-witted, Jane Austin-esque story of Janey Wilcox's unsteady climb to the top of Manhattan's social scene. It became THE hot book--and the numbers prove it: We've sold more than 250,000 copies to date. To top it off, Candace Bushnell was the apple of the press's eye. Her signature glamour, poise, and humor lit up TV screens, newspapers, and magazines across America.

While Janey Wilcox may want to be on top, it's clear that Candace Bushnell's Trading Up IS on top. With an even wider paperback audience, who knows how much higher she can climb?

About this title

Review:

Janey Wilcox is an MAW (that's Model/Actress/Whatever to the uninitiated). The problem with Janey, the protagonist of Trading Up, the new novel from Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell, 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". 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 hampered 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, Amazon.com

Review:

The pace never flags and the plot twists remain compelling. The pithy elegance of her writing and the faultless ear for barbed chit-chat reminded me of Dorothy Parker (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH)

A dark, pitiless world lit up by Bushnell's razor-sharp wit. (INDEPENDENT)

There is something that sticks in the memory after TRADING UP is closed. Bushnell is so good at conveying the clenched teeth behind the most brilliant smile (GUARDIAN)

Hugely entertaining, and littered with the astute observations that have become the writer's trademark (INDEPENDENT)

About this edition

• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0786887060
• ISBN 13: 9780786887064
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 512