Career Girls
Wow, this book. I finished it a few weeks ago already, and I still think about it every day.
Again, I took the suggestion from the podcast Sentimental Garbage. To all the book lovers in the world, I highly recommend this podcast. It's a blast. The host is brilliant, funny, and very passionate, and so are her guests. I agree with just about everything they say, including their comments on Career Girls. So much so that I don't know if I can add much to what they have already said.
Summary
Rowena and Topaz are two incredibly bright, incredibly attractive women. Rowena, from the Scottish elite, has long blonde hair, blue eyes, a slim body, exudes class, and loves rock music. Topaz, half American, half Italian, has long curly red hair, a curvy body, and a passion for journalism.
The two women meet at Oxford University, where they recognize each other's beauty and talent, and become inseparable. Until Rowena betrays her friend by sleeping with her boyfriend. Their friendship turns into a fierce and voracious hatred. They will rise to the top of their respective industries and, from the height of their fame and wealth, will do anything to destroy the other.
Impressions
This book is not perfect. There are several very questionable aspects: the feminism, in particular, is very dubious. The girls, although powerful, use their bodies to advance their careers and are, not only but very importantly, objects of desire. They sleep all the time with older men, in positions of authority, and sometimes married. The sex scenes (very numerous) are often very unrealistic and a bit unhealthy. Their richness is a bit sickening. And so on. There are a lot of people who will hate this book for this reason, and I understand.
But what a read! First, you have to admit that the story is rock solid. It's rare that a book summary hooks me, but this one managed to get me excited. And it's well written: the chapters follow each other frantically, and you could very well get through the book in a single day (it would be a long day, but very satisfying).
It's fun to see what machines those women are in their work. They have great ideas, they are ambitious and talented, and they destroy every poor sucker in their path. Their work environment is very well described and seems quite realistic. To witness their success is in itself a joy.
And then there's the glam. Topaz and Rowena weren't doing too bad already, but they are getting incredibly rich. They are bathed in luxury, and this luxury is described in all its details. Clothes, in particular, are always described in great detail. We will never see a simple "she wore a beautiful blue dress that highlighted the color of her eyes", no: we will have not only the precise cut of the dress, but its brand (always real brands, I actually had quite a lot of fun going to see what they looked like), the exact shade of blue, the length of the dress, which parts of the body it highlights, the jewelry, the shoes, the makeup, etc. You can not give a damn about those details, but I really liked it.
Sexuality is a very important aspect of the book, I must say. All the main characters are exceptionally beautiful, but especially Topaz and Rowena. They exude sex appeal like you wouldn't believe. Their curves always spill out of their clothes, their hair is always flaming, and they are always two minutes away from an orgasm, it's fascinating. There is at least one sex scene per chapter, always very graphic and very pornographic. We're not into realism, and I didn't find them particularly arousing, but they definitely strike the imagination.
The host of Sentimental Garbage said that Career Girls was one of the most captivating books she ever read, and I agree with her. It's pretty compelling. It is exciting and really takes us out of our daily lives. I forced myself to read it slowly so as not to exhaust my pleasure too quickly. If you can get past its obvious flaws, I think you'll have a great time.
