It seems the world is divided by the Sex and the City phenomenon. I have many a friend who have the complete box set plus both feature length films on DVD. And similarly many a friend who won’t touch it with a barge pole. I must mention now that both categories include both male and female friends, highlighting that, much to many a manly-mans belief, it is not to be wholly disregarded for a female audience to devour.
However despite the craze surrounding the TV series and films, how many fans have actually read the original novel by Candace Bushnell? To many I’m sure she’s just the name at the end of the credits that apparently wrote some book Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha’s stories are based on. How could it be that different, surely it’s just the TV series, but in book form?
Well that’s where many would be wrong. Bushnell’s novel consists of a collection of columns she wrote for ‘The New York Observer’ during her early career in the city. Her column shared the name of novel, TV series and film adaptation, and it’s true that it includes many of the same characters such as Carrie, Stanford Blatch, Miranda and Mr. Big, but the similarities stop there. Bushnell’s novel is more like an anthology in that it’s literally a collection of her columns about her and her friend’s dating experiences in New York. As a result there is little ‘plot’ or storyline as such, but there is still something about it that makes you want to read on.
Another interesting thing about the novel is that the reader is never quite sure who is narrating. Is it Candace Bushnell? Is it her alter ego? Is it Carrie Bradshaw? As the novel continues Carrie’s romance with Mr Big does emerge as the central source of conflict, but that is never seen through Carrie’s eyes. She is always spoken about in the third person and although the reader briefly hears about her feelings, the tone in which they do is very external and business like. This again differs from the TV series as the audience sees and hears everything from Carrie’s point of view, and her ideals seem much more romantic than the Carrie presented in Bushnell’s novel.
The birth of ‘Sex and the City’ as a series of newspaper columns makes it a very easy read that one can delve in and out of and not worry about having to get their head round a complicated storyline every time they pick it up. It’s real and it’s harsh at times, but it’s also hilarious. One thing the TV series and films haven’t lost is Bushnell’s skill to make the audience feel like they’re having a laugh with their friends about sex and all it’s trimmings. It does exactly what it says on the tin, but does it well enough to worry about having to keep it’s reader hooked by creating an elaborate storyline. As a result I think the appeal of Bushnell’s book is its simpleness and realness. Those of you who are fans of the TV series or film, read it and enjoy the laughs. Those of you who aren’t fans, read the book. If it doesn’t convert you, you’ll at least have a whole new idea of what being a woman is all about.
Emily Hubert
A good, clear account of this book. It's a little general, maybe; the first two paragraphs are a little too journalistic and chatty, and the fourth para asks a series of questions it doesn't answer. I'd have liked to see you develop some of the (very) interesting points you touch on without elaborating ... the episodic nature of the book, its 'anthology' aesthetic (is that what life is like, or is there more continuity?) and the gender politics of it all. The question of who is narrating, or more specifically what the textual strategy of the book is, more largely conceived, is also interesting, and could have been discussed a little more fully. But good work.
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