- Hardcover: 480 pages
- Publisher: Little, Brown; Reprint edition (23 Sep 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1408701111
- ISBN-13: 978-1408701119
- Product Dimensions: 20 x 13.8 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 331,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
Praise for SEX AND THE CITY: **'Intriguing and highly entertaining' Helen Fielding (author of BRIDGET JONES' DIARY) **'Imagine Jane Austen with a martini, or perhaps Jonathan Swift on rollerblades' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH ** 'Imagine THE SUN edited by Jane Austen ... hilarious ... a compulsively readable book, served on bite-sized chunks of irrepressible irreverence' MARIE CLAIRE
Book Description
* In her wonderfully witty fifth novel, bestselling author Candace Bushnell tells the stories of five women living in Manhattan's swankiest apartment building
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
One Fifth Avenue is the swankiest apartment building in Manhattan. All the best people live there, and as for everyone else, well, they want to live there. Money isn't everything, however, you must have status to get in there too - the residents wouldn't let just anyone live there. So when Louise Houghton dies and leaves an enormous apartment empty, the fun really begins. There's talk of breaking the property up into smaller properties, joining it to other apartment and so on. That is, until Paul and Annalisa Rice move in. They've got the money, the status and the looks. They're a young, filthy rich couple who quickly become 'somebodies' on the social scene. But not everyone is impressed. Paul's arrogant and thinks nothing but money talks, so he quickly gets people's backs up, leaving the lovely Annalisa to smooth things over.
The arrival of the Rices isn't the only change in One Fifth - long-lost residents make a reappearance, new residents tag themselves onto current ones, and so on. The once-peaceful and law-abiding building is becoming somewhat of a shambles. The neighbours are fighting, sabotaging, cheating on partners... you name it, it starts to happen.
The long-standing residents are not happy and quickly try to rectify matters. But things get much, much worse before they get better...
Overall, One Fifth Avenue is middle of the road. It doesn't have the smart, sassy and hilarious characters of Sex and the City, but it does have characters from lots of different backgrounds, with very different lives. Their apartment block is the only thing that unites them. Other than that, they're pretty unremarkable. There's lots (and lots) of talk about how wonderful New York is, and many references to the way of life in the city, to the extent it got a little dull. It just felt like the book was just another way to brag about how ace New York is, and it sacrificed what could have been a clever novel. I felt it had too many characters to really get to know and care about them all, too many interwoven plots and too many pages. It would have benefited from being much shorter. It wasn't a book I felt compelled to keep picking up - it just dragged on too long and didn't really absorb me. And for those reasons I'd say it was OK. Not terrible, not great, just - as they say - very, 'meh.'
The arrival of the Rices isn't the only change in One Fifth - long-lost residents make a reappearance, new residents tag themselves onto current ones, and so on. The once-peaceful and law-abiding building is becoming somewhat of a shambles. The neighbours are fighting, sabotaging, cheating on partners... you name it, it starts to happen.
The long-standing residents are not happy and quickly try to rectify matters. But things get much, much worse before they get better...
Overall, One Fifth Avenue is middle of the road. It doesn't have the smart, sassy and hilarious characters of Sex and the City, but it does have characters from lots of different backgrounds, with very different lives. Their apartment block is the only thing that unites them. Other than that, they're pretty unremarkable. There's lots (and lots) of talk about how wonderful New York is, and many references to the way of life in the city, to the extent it got a little dull. It just felt like the book was just another way to brag about how ace New York is, and it sacrificed what could have been a clever novel. I felt it had too many characters to really get to know and care about them all, too many interwoven plots and too many pages. It would have benefited from being much shorter. It wasn't a book I felt compelled to keep picking up - it just dragged on too long and didn't really absorb me. And for those reasons I'd say it was OK. Not terrible, not great, just - as they say - very, 'meh.'
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
What I like about Candace Bushnell's writing is the way she goes into her character's heads and describes all the nasty little thoughts they have all the time. Often, many protagonists are quite pathetic, like in "Trading Up", and here with Lola. One Fifth drags you into the glamourous NY, but through the back door. Bushnell gives you the impression that you get to know a part of the NY society, but without the make up. The only thing that makes me keep away 1 star is that the story is a bit slow in the middle.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I bought this book for some light reading and it for that it served its purpose just fine.I must admit I haven't read anything else by Candace Bushnell so I cannot be sure if this is the style she adopts in all of her books; however, I found the writing to be impersonal, cold and it didn't move me at all. I also disliked all the characters, Lola especially got on my nerves with her sole ambition being to 'climb' New York high society and make a name for herself. Furthermore, many scenes describing a more intimate nature were written in such a forced clinical manner, that I found myself cringing at various points. I suggest you buy this if you just want an inconsequential read, somthing to read for the sake of reading, but don't expect too much. I recommend any book by Marian Keyes a million times more, they are funnier and superbly written!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not so good..
I really didn't like this book. The pace was very slow, the characters flat.. I had a hard time finishing this book.
Published 10 months ago by Kim Zwolle
New York Glamour
One of Candace Bushnell better books. It made me want to be in New York and be a part of the glamour. Not much happens in it though.
Published 15 months ago by BookObsessive
another spot of genius from bushnell
this is my fave read from candace bushnell, a fun insight of the rich and the wannabees in nyc! i could not put this book down.
Published 17 months ago by Cherub 37
Probably my favourite book ever....
Absolutely fantastic. I love the storyline, the group of characters and as a MASSIVE fan of NYC, it was just perfect. I'm a huge fan of SATC and Lipstick Jungle (bring it back!!! Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2010 by K. Rogers
Utterly divine!
Utterly divine! Wonderfully fabulous...
One Fifth Avenue is a novel as good as the Avenue itself. No one beats Candace Bushnell when it comes to describing New York. Read more
One Fifth Avenue is a novel as good as the Avenue itself. No one beats Candace Bushnell when it comes to describing New York. Read more
Published on 11 Sep 2009 by C. N. SILVA
It took a little while to get in to
This is the first book of this author that I have read. It took a while to get in to it but when I did (about half way through) it seemed to flow quie nicely. Read more
Published on 30 Aug 2009 by TeePee
I wasn't sure - but I really enjoyed this!
I didnt like SATC the book (love the series), so was a bit unsure when my pal lent me this to read - thoroughly enjoyed it, and am going to read others. Read more
Published on 9 July 2009 by Walshylass
Very Good
While "Lipstick Jungle" was not the kick to me, "One Fifth Avenue" I liked much more.
I got the impression that Candace Bushnell put more work on the characters and the... Read more
I got the impression that Candace Bushnell put more work on the characters and the... Read more
Published on 30 May 2009 by H. Schober
Bushnell is top class writer
First things first, I couldn't put this book down which led to me reading it in a day. Everyone loves an escape from reality, and "One Fifth Avenue" offers this and more. Read more
Published on 28 May 2009 by Becki
Ok for a holiday but its not a page turner
I love Sex and the City, but its nothing like it. Its got none of the sassy Carrie Bradshaw-isms. In fact I disliked all of the characters and wished for more down to earth, normal... Read more
Published on 14 April 2009 by The Mews
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