Lipstick Jungle

Lipstick Jungle
by Candace Bushnell

May 21- 22, 2007

This weekend, when I arrived at Andrew's place, he had a book for me. It was Candace Bushnell's Four Blonds. He had gotten it off one of those ever-present and super addictive bargain tables somewhere for me, mostly because he is wonderful. (At some point he and I had talked about me letting myself read more silly girly books, since I do find them rather relaxing. He always remembers these things and does something about them. It's really rather amazing to me.)

Anyway, I finished the entire thing this weekend, either in the car on our way to and from the Tennessee Renaissance Fair (more fun than you would imagine) or just hanging out around the apartment (more cozy than you would imagine). I liked it, but I couldn't really tell you why. I may or may not get to writing a whole entry about it, we'll see.

Anyway, when I was in the airport trying to kill some time before going through security so that I could finish my juice, I saw this book. It was one of those cheap, small paperbacks, and somehow, I justified the purchase. (Something along the lines of, "It's only eight dollars, and it's pretty late, so I'll be happy to have something mindless to read on the plane. Besides, I am sure that I can paperbackswap it away and get something good once I'm done.")

I swear, I am going to read 10 more books before I buy another one. TEN!

Anyway, from the moment I opened it waiting to board the plane, I couldn't put the damn thing down. It's over 500 pages long and I only started reading it last night at like 7:30... clearly today was not as productive as one might have hoped.

This book is the story of three women in their 40s in New York: a fashion designer, a movie producer, and a publishing exec. They all have tons of money and despite their already fabulous jobs, are headed for even bigger and better things. Sure, there's drama: corporate backstabbing, a failed business deal, a divorce even. But they live in a world where things turn out fabulous. That is what makes this relaxing girly fiction.

Yet I cared about them, in a way that I did not expect to. Perhaps that is why Bushnell has been so successful. I thought that perhaps they were going to piss me off (all four of the blonds certainly did that) but for some reason, I found myself rooting for these girls (women?), in sort of the same way that I liked the women on Sex in the City (and no, I haven't read that yet, but I think that I'll take a break from Bushnell.) Throughout the whole book, I was on their side. I wanted them to kick butt, to show all those silly men that were trying to get in their way who's boss.

This was, for sure, one of those female empowerment books where women show the men who's in charge. These characters have stay-at-home husbands or no husband at all. They take jobs away from men. They repeatedly say that nobody could understand their careers or talk about money like their girlfriends. It's almost overwhelming, all the empowerment. If they weren't somehow still likable characters, I think I would have put the book down. A girl only needs to be reminded so many times that she can do anything at all, (and without the help of men!). After reading something like this, I feel sure that I am supposed to believe that all a lady needs is some close female friends, some money, and a whole lot of power. We can do it gals!

I suppose that's a good thing... but it gets old.

It did make me think about something again though. The characters in this book start out pretty close to the top, end up pretty much actually at the top, and most of the book is about that striving: climbing the corporate ladder, making it in the fashion or movie industry. All making millions to start, and all ending up with more at the end.

And what does that mean? Is $250,000 a year not successful enough anymore? What about a million? As I plunge into the application process all over again, I have to wonder a little bit what it means that I was concerned that these women would "fail" and end up dead ended as the editor-and-chief or something of the sort. That wouldn't have been enough. I mean sure, that's not bad, but who can settle for not bad when they want to be the best, the top.

And we want that too. "We" being myself and many of my friends. As Charlene said while she was doing all her apps, "I wonder what would it be like to just want to be normal?"

But I don't know the answer to that question, because I, like the women in this book, want very much to be exceptional. There is something in me that has been trained, by a combination of personality, culture and education, to believe that nothing less than extraordinary will do. I want to pull this same sort of thing, to be at the top of my field, to work very hard and see very great rewards. And like these characters, despite all my doubts and fears, I believe that I will be able to do that. (And maybe even be able to have a family too.) Sure, I don't know how, but how much does that really matter at this point? As we learn in books like this one, the hows work themselves out.

And that's interesting to me, because reading this book, at first I felt like these women were extreme, with almost crazy hopes and goals, that people don't need that much money, that much power. And maybe I don't want to be the president of a movie studio or CEO of a magazine division. But really, when I think about it. I want to be successful like that, I want to be outstanding. And usually, I believe that I can be outstanding.

I guess all that empowerment worked after all.