Reviews

Rich and Pretty, by Rumaan Alam

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ericadamore's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

ajones623's review against another edition

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I tried with this book. But, when I couldn't get to 100 pages after reading for 10 days, I had to call it quits. The premise was interesting and I thought would be something I could relate to. Unfortunately, I just could not get into it.

lola425's review against another edition

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3.0

Honestly surprised by all the crappy reviews. I think Alam does a great job of writing women characters, and the reviewers who are dinging him for it obviously haven't read enough of the truly awful variety of female characters that men generally write, not to mention the chick lit drivel that is churned out by women. I like books that have vague plots, kind of like life, so this was a solid summer-type read for me. Did I like it as much as That Kind of Mother? No, but I liked this just fine. If you like your chick lit with a little thought, this could be for you.

vielzitrone's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

readers_block's review against another edition

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3.0

This is a book about friendship. That's the whole plot, two girls who turn into women together. Best friends growing up in New York and dealing with the complexities of a lifelong friendship. Don't expect much to happen, because this book isn't about the plot. It's more about the intricacies of the relationship between these two women. That being said, it doesn't take away from the book, which is enjoyable and well written.

It's impressive that this was written by a man. It captures the depth of female friendship in a way that's hard to do. I find myself often times disappointed by the lack of tension and complexity in the friendships of women in most novels. This one dispels that notion of ease, proves that you can struggle to deal with the issues of a relationship even with your best friend.

rachelanne's review against another edition

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2.0

This book's focus is on the characters and their present, but not much else. There's no plot, it's just a series of chronological, mostly mundane events. No big challenges arise, at the end there is a sadness though, brought about by a loss. There is little, if any character development (besides physically), every time the girls see each other they always say they're doing the same. There are little quarrels between the two best friends that are resolved, internally, within the same page. I originally picked up this book after reading the description on the sleeve because it reminded me of my best friend and I's relationship. I am not disappointed, per se, but just left wanting a bit more depth. Another interesting thing is that I fully expected this book to be written by a woman, but it was not. The comfortable way Alam describes women and their thoughts is completely accurate and I did not realize the author was male until about half way through when i unintentionally saw the back sleeve. I was amazed by his accuracy when describing emotions and their friendship. There were also words used that seemed very out of place. It honestly seemed like Alam wrote the book and then decided that he had used the same words too many times or he needed a higher difficulty, pulled out a thesaurus and then threw in some bigger, less well-known and understood words. I can tell you that his favorite word is proprietary or proprietor, really any form of that word, he loves it.

Overall, this book is good if you're looking for a quick read that doesn't require critical thinking. It doesn't have a thought-provoking plot, but somehow manages not to be boring. It's like a mediocre reality TV show, two best friends, catching up and reminiscing every now and again, with different priorities. At different stages of their lives: one in a long-term relationship, soon married and having babies, the other focused on her career and casually dating. Each not truly understanding the individual parts of the other, but being able to comprehend the whole. Not something I'd recommend to a friend or reread, but I'm not upset I read it.