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Chasing Harry Winston: A Novel
Chasing Harry Winston: A Novel
Chasing Harry Winston: A Novel
Audiobook (abridged)5 hours

Chasing Harry Winston: A Novel

Written by Lauren Weisberger

Narrated by Lily Rabe

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

3/5

()

About this audiobook

The bestselling author of The Devil Wears Prada and When Life Gives You Lululemons is back with a delicious novel about a trio of best friends in Manhattan who agree to change their lives in the most personal and dramatic way possible—and to do it within one calendar year.

Meet Emmy, Leigh, and Adriana. Best friends since college, each has seen her share of career foils and romantic foibles over the past decade. Now, as they approach thirty, they’re looking toward their future...and they’re not quite sure they like what they see.

When they are each alone on Valentine’s Day, the trio makes a pact. Within one year, each woman will change the thing that most challenges her. For Emmy, it will be to find romance—or a fling—in every foreign country she visits. For Leigh, a book editor with a dream boyfriend and dream apartment, no change seems necessary—until she starts to notice a brilliant and brooding man named Jesse. And for commitment-phobic, drop-dead-gorgeous Adriana, her goal is to have an engagement ring and a house in Scarsdale. Each woman starts the year with the best of intentions—which is exactly why the pact goes immediately, and exceptionally, awry.

Filled with delicious insider details, Chasing Harry Winston whisks readers into the heart of an elite world and unforgettable characters. Let the games begin!
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMay 27, 2008
ISBN9780743568302
Author

Lauren Weisberger

Lauren Weisberger is the author of The Devil Wears Prada, which spent more than a year on the New York Times hardcover and paperback bestseller lists, and become a huge success as a film. Her other novels have also been bestsellers. She lives in Connecticut with her family.

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Reviews for Chasing Harry Winston

Rating: 3.0050709371196755 out of 5 stars
3/5

493 ratings27 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I really enjoy this author! I thought this was less good than her other books (Everyone Worth Knowing, Last Night at Chateau Marmont) but it was still very entertaining. Yes, some of the characters were overdone, querida, but I still enjoyed the story. It jumps around a lot and sometimes I found myself wondering how we had gotten from A to B. It also felt like some parts were missing. Still, I enjoyed this book and will read as many of this authors' books as I can.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    If you are interested enough in clothes and things to read this book, you don't need Weisberger's idiotic descriptions such as when she describes a DVF wrap dress. Isn't saying it's DVF wrap dress enough??? Either I can't read this type of book anymore...even if it's just for fun to pass the time on a train...or this book is really bad. Good idea for a book...3 friends go looking for what they really want...but bad, bad execution.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Light reading candy, but just too formulaic to make it fresh. Very stereotypical characters -- too little character development. The end seemed rushed and quickly thrown together. By the end I felt as if the whole book was written for a movie deal.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    It took a little while to get into this book, but by the middle of it, I didn't want to put it down. The premise is nothing new, but the author's characterizations and sensational scenes and crisp dialogue make it fresh. My only regret is I couldn't finish it in a week and I have to return it to the library for the next patron on hold. I'm not sure at this point whether or not I will purchase it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A pleasant chick-lit about three friends whose lives aren't as perfect as others believe. Everything falls apart and they support each other as they rebuild. Leaning more towards drama than light-hearted.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I really enjoy Weisbergers books. This one was a little hard to get into. After the first half it was entertaining and funny like the rest of her books, which was great. The funniest for me was the bird in the novel, he was adorable!
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I gave this book a try a few years back. Something about the book made it difficult for me to get into. To be honest, I gave it a few tries and days but ultimately never finished the book.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    So I don't like Weisberger's books. They lack the charm of Helen Fielding and her characters are much what I imagine the cast of the Hills grows up to be.

    It was good for a lazy, rainy day read or maybe while stuck on an airplane. But I won't be passing it around any time soon.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I know I'm never happy witha Lauren Weisberger book, but I still read them. This one follows three women about to turn 30 all looking for happiness...well, duh! Who isn't looking for happiness?! Didn't love it, didn't hate it. It was just a book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    eh. it was enjoyable but i wouldn't be running out to buy it anytime soon. it's a quick read--three hours or so. the characters all kind of get to you though. some of the guys are completely unrealistic and at least two of the three main characters are ridiculously stereotypical and somewhat nerve-grating. nevertheless, "i liked it."
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I was on a long flight over the Pacific Ocean, out of reading material and my wife pulled this out of her carryon. It would be tough to find a more shallow group of people. The product placement became hilarious after a couple of chapters. The descriptions of food ordered in restaurants tiresome. A waste of time but then my wife dosen't like to read my books either.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I liked "The Devil Wears Prada" but this was just eh. The heroines are fabulous and gorgeous, but I kept getting these 3 BFFs confused with characters in another book I was reading simultaneously.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I really enjoy this author! I thought this was less good than her other books (Everyone Worth Knowing, Last Night at Chateau Marmont) but it was still very entertaining. Yes, some of the characters were overdone, querida, but I still enjoyed the story. It jumps around a lot and sometimes I found myself wondering how we had gotten from A to B. It also felt like some parts were missing. Still, I enjoyed this book and will read as many of this authors' books as I can.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I read this book in Norwegian and got rather surprised when I looked up the English title. I could not remember a character named Harry Winston. I thought I had lost memory of a character since I read the book rather fast, so I had to look through the book again, but found nothing. I wrecked my brain, but still could not find a link between Harry Winston and the plot of the book. So, I Googled Harry Winston…and guess what I found. I think you American readers will shake your head in disbelief, but I can honestly say I have never heard of Harry Winston before. To be honest, I do not think it was a describing title of the book, but at least I know where to look if I am ever in need of diamonds.Back to the book. Lauren Wiesberger used to work in Vogue and is the author of [The Devil Wears Prada]. That is the main reason I picked up this book in the first place. I have not read The Devil Wears Prada, but thought the film entertaining enough to pick up some chick lit to read on the beach in Mallorca. Well, I guess I was wrong, but I will get back to that later.Warning, this section might contain SPOILERS, just because the plot annoys me THAT much!Emmy, Adriana and Leigh are best friends. They live in New York. They met at college. Adriana is a party princess who lives off her filthy rich parents, with no intentions of ever getting a job or settling down. Emmy is a chef who just got single, living in a tiny apartment with a nasty parrot. Leigh is a book editor, she has a good looking and perfect boyfriend, who happens to like sports and in the end is supposed to be a stereotypical jock to the point of being nauseating. Though, not in the way the author wants it to be, I actually feel sympathy with the jock, because why is it if an author needs a flat character, they choose a good looking man who likes sports and is not really smart, and not at all a right match to the lead character? Why is that every single time the protagonist have a picture perfect boyfriend/lover, but the protagonist does not love him etc. and the author just throws in a guy with ruffled hair, sparkle in his eye and is so damn predictable you want to throw up? Why is it that the picture perfect guy is portrayed in a way that his biggest flaw is that he is flawless? The unpredictable route would be to let him win or get the girl in the end. I have had two months to chill down, but this still annoys me.Well, back to the plot. The three girls make a deal to change their lives in the following year. Adriana swears off one-night stands, Emmy swears she will start to have one-night stands, and Leigh just tags along. I guess you wonder why I even finished the book if I disliked it that much, and believe me I wondered the same thing. My excuse is that I was on a holiday and books were few. To put it simple, this is a Sex and the City wannabe/rip off, whatever you choose. The characters are as flat as paper and they do not get any thicker throughout the book, they do not even reach the thickness of carton. The plot is annoyingly bad and predictable. The book is even more filled with product placement than many movies, but this might be a good thing, because of the product placement this book will soon be uncool/old fashioned/out of time and therefore the book will be out of market soon. I do not have to be a psychic to predict that this book will never be a classic, and that is a good thing!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I finished this book Sunday, but I’m still having a hard time deciding how I feel about it.The reality of the book is pulling me in a couple of different directions. I like the fact that there is reality to the story. All of it could happen. I also like that the characters are real people who buy real things and live in real places in the Big Apple. Oh, and that they watch Grey’s is always a plus!But then again, at the end of the book, everyone ends happily ever after. I know that’s the point of a sorry, but it just doesn’t seem real to me. Maybe the reason I’m having a hard time with the ending is because I’m a series junkie and with a happy ending, you can be sure there will be no sequel.And yes, you don’t have to tell me, if I want real, read a biography. Lol.Anyway, the book is about 3 women. They met in college and live in NYC.Leigh is an editor at a publishing company. Emmy travels around the world to check out restaurants. AndAdriana is the beautiful Brazilian who, well, doesn’t do much but spend money, live lavishly and make sure her mani-pedi are always stellar.The 3 BFFs live in the same apartment complex and as they all approach the age of 30 make a bet. The monogomous Emmy must put down her guard and sleep with a man from every country. Adriana, the serial one-night-stander must lay down some roots and try to become serious about 1 and only 1 man. And while Leigh doesn’t speak up about her part of the deal, you better believe she has something in mind that will shock all her friends.I didn’t hate the book, but I definitely didn’t love it. This is another one where I wish I gave out half ratings. I would give it a 2.5. But since I don’t, I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt and give it a 3 because I like Otis (you’ll have to read it to find out who he is).
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Very disappointing, especially following something as funny and fresh as Devil Wears Prada. None of the characters were sympathetic, probably because 1) they are so catty to one another and 2) there really isn't much character development. "Chick lit" is supposed to be funny and whimsical, but this was neither. It seems Weisberger was attempting the Candace Bushnell-upper-crust-women's fiction genre instead of the funny commentary on young NY life that so many of us probably expected when picking up this. I would not recommend this to fans of Devil Wears Prada, it seems like a totally different author and style.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was the first one of her books I have read because it is what my local library had. I enjoyed it, I kind of like mindless books at times though. They are good to escape from reality type of books for me. I thought it was fun, and the characters were so far from my reality that it was interesting to me.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Light reading candy, but just too formulaic to make it fresh. Very stereotypical characters -- too little character development. The end seemed rushed and quickly thrown together. By the end I felt as if the whole book was written for a movie deal.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Another foray into the chick-lit genre. This time three friends decide that they need to change themselves within one year. The promiscuous one decides she will settle down and become engaged. The more conservative one decides she needs to have an affair with a man from every continent. The last one thinks her life is perfect until she accepts some things about herself and her current relationship. Like all good chick-lit the story isn't too deep, it makes you think a little and it end happily ever after. It was enjoyable for that reason alone, not a lot of brain power required of this one. It took me about 50 pages or so to get into it, but once I did it clicked for me and I was able to breeze right through it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Having read so many bad reviews of this book, I was surprised by Chasing Harry Winston. It’s actually much better than I expected it to be.After being dumped by her boyfriend of five years, baby-obsessed Emmy (a restaurateur) decides that she’ll sleep with as many random men as possible. Tired of sleeping with many men in succession, ultra-glamorous, Brazilian Adriana decides to enter into a monogamous relationship and possibly get engaged. Leigh, a book editor, is tired of her life, despite a job she loves and a (seemingly) perfect boyfriend. One evening over dinner, two of the three decide to change their lives dramatically within the space of a year.In Chasing Harry Winston, Weisberger dumps the format she adopted for her first two novels. In some ways, this is good, and gives Weisberger the chance to branch out a bit. This is no outsider-looking-in tale told from a whiney first-person perspective. There’s no hellish boss, no glamorous fashion or PR industry. The characters in this novel are surprisingly more unique than those in Weisberger’s other two books; with the exception of the perfect boyfriend, I definitely found myself relating to Leigh a little bit. However, the author doesn’t seem to be able to create anything new—it seems like this plot has been seen before, most notably in Candace Bushnell’s Sex and the City.The characters, disturbingly, define themselves primarily by their relationships with men; their careers and the other parts of their personal lives repeatedly take backseats to boyfriends and fiancées. Adriana, despite her “tricks” for getting men to chase her, is really the one doing the chasing. It was tough, too, for me to believe the Leigh-Russell relationship. On the other hand, the predicament Leigh finds herself in is very understandable: you find yourself dating the “right” guy, so you feel bad about breaking up with him because you’re scared. It’s a dilemma I think many women can identify with.For having reached the age of thirty, these women are very immature and shallow, and overly concerned with having the stress-and-anxiety-free, “perfect” lives that no New York woman I know has. It was also difficult for me to see why these three are friends—they’re all so different, but Weisberger never explains to her readers why they were drawn to each other in the first place.Somewhere in the plot, out of place, is a trip to the Caribbean, during which the girls find themselves in a dicey Curacao airport drinking suspect alcohol bought from a card table, and popping pills. It’s pretty much the only funny part of the book. I get the feeling that this is something that really happened to Weisberger or someone she knows, and she felt she just had to put it in. But the scene just didn’t belong in this novel.Although not as funny, clever, or well-written as The Devil Wears Prada, there was much more emotional depth in Chasing Harry Winston than in Everyone Worth Knowing. Keep in mind, though, that Weisberger is pretty much a one-note author.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    The bestselling author of The Devil Wears Prada and Everyone Worth Knowing returns with the story of three best friends who vow to change their entire lives...and change them fast.Emmy is newly single, and not by choice. She was this close to the ring and the baby she's wanted her whole life when her boyfriend left her for his twenty-three-year-old personal trainer -- whose fees are paid by Emmy. With her plans for the perfect white wedding in the trash, Emmy is now ordering takeout for one. Her friends insist an around-the-world sex-fueled adventure will solve all her problems -- could they be right?Leigh, a young star in the publishing business, is within striking distance of landing her dream job as senior editor and marrying her dream guy. And to top it all off, she has just purchased her dream apartment. Only when Leigh begins to edit the enfant terrible of the literary world, the brilliant and brooding Jesse Chapman, does she start to notice some cracks in her perfect life...Adriana is the drop-dead-gorgeous daughter of a famous supermodel. She possesses the kind of feminine wiles made only in Brazil, and she never hesitates to use them. But she's about to turn thirty and -- as her mother keeps reminding her -- she won't have her pick of the men forever. Everyone knows beauty is ephemeral and there's always someone younger and prettier right around the corner. Suddenly she's wondering...does Mother know best?These three very different girls have been best friends for a decade in the greatest city on earth. As they near thirty, they're looking toward their future...but despite all they've earned -- first-class travel, career promotions, invites to all the right parties, and luxuries small and large -- they're not quite sure they like what they see...One Saturday night at the Waverly Inn, Adriana and Emmy make a pact: within a single year, each will drastically change her life. Leigh watches from the sidelines, not making any promises, but she'll soon discover she has the most to lose. Their friendship is forever, but everything else is on the table. Three best friends. Two resolutions. One year to pull it off.-From the Publisher
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Very disappointed with the ending and not overly impressed with the book in general. Wouldn't have missed anything if i'd not read the book, the ending made me feel like i'd wasted my time in reading the book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Chasing Harry Winston is about three New York ladies approaching the ripe old age of thirty and deciding that their lives aren't exactly what they want. It is about Emmy, faithful girlfriend, Leigh, book editor with the dream boyfriend, and Adriana, spoiled richgirl. They make a bet to change their lives in one year and do they ever! I enjoyed this book, a fun, light summer novel.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    If you are interested enough in clothes and things to read this book, you don't need Weisberger's idiotic descriptions such as when she describes a DVF wrap dress. Isn't saying it's DVF wrap dress enough??? Either I can't read this type of book anymore...even if it's just for fun to pass the time on a train...or this book is really bad. Good idea for a book...3 friends go looking for what they really want...but bad, bad execution.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I didn't realise I was enjoying this book until I got to the end of it! Most of the way through I kept thinking, "What's the point of this, where is this book going". There didn't seem to be much of a story. The book is about three women who are making changes in their life - some because they want to, some because they have to. All the changes involve relationships. The characters didn't really appeal to me. I couldn't identify with any of them. I imagined Adriana to be the woman with the heavy tan in "Something About Mary" - ie Mary's flatmate who's about 50 but thinks she's about 20? Anyway, that's not the point, I just couldn't picture the characters.It wasn't until I got to the end of the book that I realised I did actually like the characters and I had made connections with them. I have read "The Devil Wears Prada" and this was nowhere near as good as that. I hadn't read her other book, and perhaps that would have given me more of a clue they style of the writing in this book. I had really enjoyed The Devil Wears Prada, so this was somewhat of a disappointment.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This story didn’t pull me in like The Devil Wears Prada or Everyone Worth Knowing. It was a quick, chicklit read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This one got a lot of bad reviews, but I enjoyed it. It was a light, accessible summer read about 3 fun female characters - Leigh, an anxiety-plagued book editor who's with the wrong man; Emmy, an insecure man-hunter who's just been dumped; and Adriana, a somewhat stereotypical Brazilian bombshell who is always telling the others how to snag a man. Nothing deep here, but I didn't care.