Thursday, September 22, 2011

Literary Thursday: Carrie Bradshaw Begins Life in New York City

As I was ready to write this blog in the afternoon, I came across some technical issues. Since Facebook has been making a lot of changes to their site, it somehow affected the speed and functionality of my Internet. I got frustrated since I was ready to spend some time writing today. Needless to say, I did not get the chance until I got home from working tonight. Since it's not Midnight yet (as I am typing this), I am still able to publish a Literary Thursday blog for you this week. :-)

"Summer in the City" by Candace Bushnell




In the sequel to The Carrie Diaries, we reunite with Carrie Bradshaw just hours after arriving in New York City, in which she was robbed and had one phone number to call for help... Samantha Jones. As Carrie and Samantha begin their longtime friendship, Carrie falls in love with living in the big city. She attends her writing seminar, experiments with fashion, goes to parties with celebrities, and begins a relationship with Bernard- who is a well known playwright and is recently divorced. Carrie also meets a young, red headed woman named Miranda Hobbes, who found her stolen purse in the garbage. It becomes very clear to Carrie that she was meant to be a New York City girl, but can her writing abilities keep her in the city?

When I read The Carrie Diaries last year, I loved reading about Carrie from her high school days. When I noticed there was a sequel, I bought it immediately. I liked this book so much more than the original, mostly because you see more of the Carrie Bradshaw that we all know from the Sex and the City novel/tv show, especially her sense of humor, her unique fashion style, and how she questions relationships of all kinds.

Samantha is already the sexually charged, strong, work oriented woman that we already know. However, it surprised me to see that she was in a long term relationship in the book. Miranda, upon meeting her, was involved in a protest. That does not surprise me that she would be the type to protest over things she believed in at a young age (you know, before diving into a career in law that consumes a lot of her time). She was very much an independent woman from the start, and it was very evident in the book.

I loved how Candace Bushnell incorporated some minor characters from the series/book into this novel. For instance, Capote Duncan. I recall that he was known as a toxic bachelor from Sex and the City. He was one of the bigger characters in this novel, and it brought some interesting insight to Carrie's lifestyle and to how she interpreted relationships.

For anyone that is a fan of Sex and the City, I highly recommend reading both of the prequel books. They are light reads, very entertaining, and you get to see the naive sides to the women that we fell in love with 10 years ago. Rating 4 out of 5 stars

1 comment:

  1. I may have to pick up these books. I was looking for a good read!

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