- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Touchstone; Original edition (July 31 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0743205049
- ISBN-13: 978-0743205047
- Product Dimensions: 20.4 x 13.3 x 1.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 259 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #809,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
This frothy romance revolves around Cat McAllister, a fashionista on a mission to save herself from "B-list obscurity." With her sizable trust fund dwindling and her recent fianc‚ on the arm of a Victoria's Secret supermodel, Cat is desperate to sharpen her edge among New York's rich and elite. With help from her best friend, India, "New York's reigning postoperative transsexual," Cat tries everything from throwing herself the perfect birthday party (her fourth 25th annual), to scheming after a titled, wealthy bachelor, to adopting an orphan in adherence to the gala charity calendar's cause of the moment. The superficial characters and silly predicaments make for a light, if occasionally stilted, read. Canned laughter kills some bad-to-begin-with jokes (e.g., when Cat confuses her illegal alien au pair's visa problems for credit card troubles), and Cat's shallowness is fitfully highlighted in heavy-handed triplicate ("`Galliano,' I confessed modestly. It was my usual response to a compliment. `Nice hair' was usually followed by `Fekkai.' `Fabulous makeup' by `Kevyn.' `Exquisite forehead' by `Botox.' I like to give credit since I am an authentic person.'"). Senior fashion editor for Hint magazine, a well-respected online journal, Cruz is dead-on with detail, from Cat's prized Bliss discount card and designer clothes to playful descriptions of front-row fashion personalities and events. While this debut, sprung from a column Cruz wrote for Hint, might not create a literary sensation, society page addicts will no doubt enjoy its irreverent spin on the glamorous life.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Review
Michael Musto The Village Voice A gift bag full of satire, spectacle, and name-dropping. It's all too fabulous for words.
Tim Blanks host of E!'s Fashion File Lurid! Harrowing! Picaresque!
Todd Oldham Melissa de la Cruz captures all the nuances of the New York fashion sillies with wit and accuracy.
Simon Doonan author of Confessions of a Window Dresser and creative director, Barneys Melissa de la Cruz is the Jackie Collins of the "Moomba" generation -- she's on a collision course with pulp stardom.
Tim Blanks host of E!'s Fashion File Lurid! Harrowing! Picaresque!
Todd Oldham Melissa de la Cruz captures all the nuances of the New York fashion sillies with wit and accuracy.
Simon Doonan author of Confessions of a Window Dresser and creative director, Barneys Melissa de la Cruz is the Jackie Collins of the "Moomba" generation -- she's on a collision course with pulp stardom.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
My name is Cat McAllister. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
My name is Cat McAllister. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Manhattan fashion world stew,
By A Customer
This review is from: Cat's Meow: A Novel (Paperback)
Okay, we've got self-proclaimed "fashionista" Cat; we've got her two-timing fiancé; we've got a transsexual; we've got society page junkies. Can we come up with a more shallow cast of characters? But put them all together and they spell Manhattan, and it's a silly, frothy, pointless, but fun romance. Save Cat's Meow for an afternoon when you don't have to concentrate very hard, and chances are you'll enjoy it.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fluff entertainment,
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Cat's Meow: A Novel (Paperback)
Shallow spenders are some of the current trend faves in poolside fiction, and Cat McAllister is one of that not-so-exalted club. "Cat's Meow" is an amusing fluff novel with a few pointed barbs at the superficiality of the rich and famous, but not much more. Cat McAllister was a minor child star, a teen model in Japan, and is now celebrating her twenty-fifth birthday (for the fourth time -- my, what a funny thing time is). Now she's a trust-fund fashionista, with little to do but shop and spend with fellow celebrities and socialites. What's more, she hopes to catch the eye of an obscure European prince, Stephan -- assuming that someone else doesn't snare him. To impress him with her charity and selflessness, she arranges to adopt a Chinese orphan baby, aided by her feisty transsexual pal India, and loyal maid Bannerjee. Until she receives the devastating news: her fund is now empty. What will she do? Marry a rich guy, if she can, and in the meantime must gird her loins and take on a new challenge: getting a job, despite having no skills. Much to the delight of the poisonous top socialite Teeny Van der Hominie, Cat has to vacate her apartment, and takes a position on a blossoming webzine focusing on fashion and the New York nightlife. "Cat's Meow" name-drops almost to a fault (including a cameo by Prince William), and lampoons the rich and shallow who are not required to make anything of their lives. Yet it's hard to tell if the lampooning is wholehearted; near the end the tone toward the lampooned start to look mildly alluring. Sort of, "yeah, I know it's all stupid, but it's still kind of fun." The writing is pretty fluffy and undetailed, sprinkled with New York fashionista insights about clothes, Botox, ex-boyfriends and special temperature-controlled wardrobes. (I am not making that up) It's amusing at times, assuming that you are not annoyed too much by Cat's bumbling. Cat is essentially a spoiled rich-kid, who is offered a prime position at a major magazine and turns it down because it's too menial; fortunately, De la Cruz keeps her amusing with things like the "Muslim chic" costume or her baby, unfortunately named Boing. She's certainly more likable at the end than at the beginning. Stephan is a Ken doll; Bannerjee is amusing, with her crush on Prince William. But it's India who steals the show as the take-no-guff transsexual best friend. If you're looking for an amusing fluff novel about love, money, celebrity and weirdly-named babies, this might be a nice diversion. These still waters sure don't run deep, but they may make you laugh.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fab little book about a New York Fashionista!,
By
This review is from: Cat's Meow: A Novel (Paperback)
This novel is superbly written. It's a fun book centered around Cat McAllister. Cat was a tv star of sorts in her youth, but is finding in her late-20's that she can't live off of her fame or her daddy's trust fund anymore. Will she find the man of her dreams with a virtual never ending wallet? Can she control her maniacal shopping habit?? You'll have to read to find out :)
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