A review by rachelanne
Rich and Pretty, by Rumaan Alam

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.