Monday, March 14, 2005

The Vampire Read - Citizen Girl

Citizen Girl
By Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

This is the second book by McLaughlin and Kraus. I read The Nanny Diaries, and generally liked it. Yes, the characters were more caricatures, but it was the breezy read: Fast paced, witty, with some touching moments.

Unfortunately, Citizen Girl is just a stylistic rehash of ND without the appeal. ND was the misadventures of a young nanny for a rich-to-do family. There was a gossipy flare to it. We, lesser classes, could snicker and feel vaguely superior to the richer set. In CG, the authors try to scale the corporate world and show the struggle of feminism in the face of today’s apathetic, male-dominated environment. The only problem is that while ND was inspired by the real experiences of the authors, the authors have no real idea what the corporate world is like. The company they create is unbelievable, the bosses are outrageous, and there’s a general lack of solidity to the story. It goes beyond outrageous to mind boggling incomprehensible. Stuff became so random that I started checking page numbers to make sure my copy wasn't missing any.

The novel frankly becomes tedious and a real downer. Girl lets everyone walk all over her, and everyone does. The abuses become more and more outrageous and frankly sickening. If she is such a staunch feminist, why doesn't she put her foot down when her bosses insist on her getting a makeover and a bikini wax? I mean if she were such a dedicated feminist, wouldn’t she change her name from Girl to say something like Woman?

Bah! I’m tired of writing about this lack luster, disappointing read. I will be very leery of picking up another book by these two. I’m just glad I didn’t buy this piece of crap.

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