Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam- Book Review

I didn't know what to expect going into Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam. Was it a critique of our modern fascination with the Kardashians? Was it a look at the 1%? What was this book?

The book is about two friends who have been together since they were 10 years old. Sarah is the daughter of a right wing talk show host and his wife, who throw parties for the upper 1%. Sarah has taken after their lifestyle and works for a charity. She is about to marry Dan, who is a husband who barely utters a word within the book, but who is also wealthy and successful.

The other woman is Lauren. While her parents are not as famous or wealthy, she met Sarah in private school. Lauren is an editor for a successful cook book publisher. She has a wild and vivid imagination and will often dive into her fantasies. She will date men for a bit, but something will break them apart.

Lauren and Sarah love and dislike each other at the same time. The book is about their relationship as Sarah prepares to get married to Dan. Sarah is secretly pregnant and has confided in Lauren who is her maid of honor. Lauren will often kowtow to Sarah, even though it often bothers her.

One of the main criticisms is that nothing happens in this book. Sadly, I don't think that is the case. The wedding, which the books seems to be building toward is sped through because it doesn't really matter in both of these women's lives. The birth of children also don't really matter, so they are sped through as well. These are just other things in their lives and I don't know if some readers get that idea.

Most of the story is told by the women reminiscing about their past, but even that is a fantasy. For Sarah, Lauren's ex boyfriend was perfect for Lauren- he had the right look, was on the right level, and worked for Sarah. For Lauren though, her ex became tiresome and so she dumped him, but even that may not be reality. There is a superficialness to their actions and their wonderful past may not even be that wonderful because secretly during those times they resented one another.

I also got the sense at the end, the two women had grown so far apart, even though they now live only 20 minutes away from one another. Sarah is married and has kids, while Lauren is now more successful and is still dating. There is now a deep chasm between them and all they have is their idealized past of one another. Maybe they really had nothing in common in the first place?

I really enjoyed this book because of their relationship. It is a strained relationship at best even though they are "best friends." At the same time, they need each other because it seems as without each other, they don't really have another- Dan is distant, Lauren cannot hold a relationship, and even friends are simply colleagues or hired hands. I found the book pretty humorous and biting at the same time.

I gave this one 4 stars.

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Here is your Amazon link- Rich and Pretty- Rumaan Alam