Yes, there are sex scenes*. But there's a lot more to it than sex. I'm going to paraphrase myself from something I wrote a few years ago…
The writing style is crisp, to the point, no wasted words, descriptive and evocative. It’s several cuts above the Sex and Shopping subgenre. Yes, a lot of crazy things happen in it, but there’s logic to everything. I don’t think any characters acted in a melodramatic manner; I don’t think any event was presented in an overly dramatic way. The action plays out with enough detail and logic and at a steady enough pace to make everything plausible. There’s a reason given for everything. Why people fall into bed, why and how they fall in love, why and how they become friends or enemies, how a business gets started and succeeds or fails.
It’s well-plotted, with distinct, well-drawn characters. The four girls are *not* the usual stereotypes of Princess, Rebel, Dreamer and Uptight One. They’re all distinct characters. And so is Lili. Step by step, we’re shown how her personality was formed. And there are some compelling scenes. Pierre skiing, for instance. That’s when I started to get hooked, on my first reading: I felt like I was going through each gate with him. The raid on the apartment to retrieve the stolen clothing. The helicopter crash, Lili’s escape, Kate in the Middle East. And I love Lili’s arc, going from “Don’t think we’re rich,” to “In case you wished to change or rest.”
There’s a lot of practical talk, too. “One cannot be chic now and again. One either is or isn’t.” “A good husband is more important than a business. Now, I am not saying that a business is not important. I am only saying that a good husband is much, much *more* important.” (I started seeing Maxine through different eyes after I’d been married 10+ years.) I liked Judy telling Kate how to make a good impression on tour, instead of it being presented as “Kate went on tour and she wore this and this and this.” Usually, in S’nS novels, perfectly coordinated designer clothing magically appears in closets and suitcases as needed. And there’s a recurring theme of “Watch your money.” Usually, in S’n’S novels, money also magically appears when the characters need it. Here, it’s shown what it takes to acquire wealth, and how easy it is to lose it.
Put it this way. I *learned* from this, the same way I learned from Waiting to Exhale. I haven't read anything else by Conran, so this may be her one book of substance. But I honestly believe it **is** of substance. And these may not be the strongest women characters ever, but they're no snowflakes. Another thing that bothers me about the miniseries is how Abdullah is introduced. On TV, the three girls are in a horse-drawn carriage; the horses get out of control, and Mysterious Stranger rides to their rescue. In the novel, Pagan is taking a photo of the other three in the carriage when Judy fools around with the reins and scares the horses into running, on icy cobblestones, no less! Pagan runs after them, and with only *some* help from Mysterious Stranger, subdues the horses, then gives Judy what-for about what *not* to do in the driver's seat. Abdi is so impressed by her horsewomanship, her spunk and her masses of auburn hair, that he just has to get to know her better. See, there's just too much, even for a three-night series. It needs a whole season, at least.
*Yes, the goldfish. But there's more to the sex than the goldfish.
by Charlotte_Braun
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For the benefit of anyone who has seen the TV version but not read the book, also because I feel like it, I’m going to do some deconstructing. Or compare/contrast: whatever.
What comes to mind is the TV Guide ad for the miniseries when it was first on, which IMO was a misrepresentation *of* a misrepresentation. “Three schoolgirls made a secret pact that sent a child to hell…” The picture of the three girls made them look almost spiteful, like they hated the kid. And little Lili was shown behind barbed wire, as if she spent her entire childhood in an internment camp. Turn the page and it’s “Now she’s coming back to show them what she learned there.” And I’m sorry, Phoebe Cates was lusciously beautiful, but there was nothing hair/makeup or wardrobe could do to make her look anything but sweet and virginal. Plus, she looked Caucasian. She looked *American*, and Lili was supposed to be exotic. Lovely to look at, but about as similar to Book Lili as Tom Hanks was to Book Forrest Gump. (In that case, fortunately.)
But let’s examine this “sent a child to hell” claim. When little Elizabeth was born, bio-mom, with help from the other three, got her into a foster home. Bio-mom sent money and foster mom sent progress reports; bio-mom intended to reclaim Lili as soon as she was financially able. This was a kind, loving, wholesome family: not hell.
Unfortunately, when Lili was seven, the family was stuck in Hungary when the revolution broke out. She escaped; all the others were killed. Well, that’s pretty hellish, but not anything that the four girls could have predicted. Bio-mom was frantic; she and one other went to the refugee camps looking for Lili, but their timing was off, and eventually bio-mom got a letter stating that the entire foster family had been killed. “I should never have left her.” “You could do nothing else.” Not the words of people who would cold-bloodedly “send a child to hell”.
And Lili only spent a few weeks in a refugee camp before she was adopted by a Parisian couple. They were strict and stern and really wanted a servant, not a daughter, but it wasn’t **hell**. No real abuse, just not much fun. Then when she was thirteen, an older guy gave her positive attention for the first time in six years. She got pregnant, he threw some money at her and told her where to get it taken care of. But what he gave her was only about half the amount, so she had to make up the difference by posing for a sleazy photographer, who saw a gold mine. Still not pure hell — she was better cared for by the photographer/sugar daddy than by the fosters — and again, not something that anyone could have predicted.
By the time of the confrontation, Lili has met, and had bad experiences with, three of the four. (She’s hoping Pagan is bio-mom because they’ve never had a dispute!) But those are specific grudges, like thinking Kate slagged her in a newspaper article (she didn’t; the bylines were switched). She doesn’t blame them for *her whole life*, as she seems to on TV. The main reason she ambushes them with that question is because she wants an honest reaction, no denials or lying.