Purple People Readers

I saw the movie before I read the book, so of course I compared the two throughout my whole time listening to The Devil Wears Prada.

The book is quite different from the movie, which I loved. I know that book-lovers hate it when their favorite book gets a make-over when turned to film, but my experience was backwards. Reading a book after watching a faithful movie representation bothers me a little. I feel like it’s a waste of time, because I already know the characters and what happens. In this novel, the premise and most of the plot are the same, but the characters are distinctly different. The story isn’t as light-hearted as the movie, which I found to be the most striking difference. Miranda isn’t humanized at all, Emily is less mean (and therefore less funny), but she’s definitely a more interesting, complex character than what the movie shows, and there’s a lot more going on with Andrea’s friends and family in the novel.

Obviously, there are events the movie cut out due to time constraint and flow. These were fun to hear about and gave a much clearer picture on what Andrea was dealing with not only in regards to her job, but with her family and friends as well.

I’m really glad I listened to this on audiobook. The narrator, Bernadette Dunne, makes the characters come alive. I got a good feel for their personalities and I could picture them a lot better than I would have been able to if I had just simply read this novel.

Overall, The Devil Wears Prada is entertaining and funny. I also like that it has a good message, but I wasn’t beaten over the head with it. I would definitely recommend this, even to those who have seen the movie. Just be prepared for it to be different.