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Scruples
Scruples is the novel that created publishing history, the first-and widely acknowledged to be the very best-novel ever written about the staggeringly luxurious life of a Beverly Hills boutique and the people who work in it. Scruples was translated into twenty languages and made Rodeo Drive famous around the world.
With Scruples, Judith Krantz earned her reputation as a blazingly talented and original storyteller. She takes her readers behind the scenes of wealthy and fame to show them the real people and the real emotions that exist at the core of even the most high-powered lives. Scruples is the leader of her #1 best-selling novels.
With Scruples, Judith Krantz earned her reputation as a blazingly talented and original storyteller. She takes her readers behind the scenes of wealthy and fame to show them the real people and the real emotions that exist at the core of even the most high-powered lives. Scruples is the leader of her #1 best-selling novels.
474 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1978
680 people are currently reading
4412 people want to read
About the author
Judith Krantz
57 books308 followersJudith Krantz was an American author of blockbuster romance novels including her first novel Scruples followed by Princess Daisy. Krantz's books have been translated into 52 languages and sold more than 85 million copies worldwide. Seven have been adapted as TV miniseries, with her late husband, Steve Krantz.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 336 reviews
October 1, 2008
This was THE pornographic novel in my coming of age story. It was the only thing I had access to that was mildly explicit when I was a throbbing tween, so the spine was broken and the dirty pages dogeared. I'd probably cringe if I read it today, but it has a special place in my heart and in my pants.
December 6, 2009
Did every girl in the world steal this from her mother just read the sex parts and then sneak it back on the shelf? I feel vindicated that most of the Good Reads reviews say the same thing. Totally trashy and awesome. I've been wanting to re-read this for a while, just to see if it's still as shocking to me. Probably not.
March 19, 2024
290619: just heard author of this book judith krantz has died, so suddenly feel my age. also that of girlfriend predeceased who introduced me to this, whom in turn i introduced to The Snow Queen by joan d vinge... that book has continued to work for me, this book... not so much... but i must remember how young we were...
080617 from ??? 80s read 2017 second review: well. i read it, or close enough. and the answer to the motivating question? should i read it again... no. this is what happens when a book is easily downed from the library: requires no effort, no critical thought. but i did read all but skipping through the last fifty pages. by which time i have a good idea that perhaps this need not be read (even) once...
this is very much a book of the materialistic '80s. there is a cumulative effect of exhaustion from so many proudly recounted names, where the cars are Bentley, purses are Hermes, places are London, Cannes, Beverley Hills, where the clothes are Dior, Blass, where the people are beautiful and/or talented... there was a tv show i must have seen a few times as a youth, i think called 'lifestyles of the rich and famous', and this book is kind of that. in written form. with sex. good sex...
everyone is 'rich' here or connected/headed to rich. 'famous' in their particular world of: money, fashion, moviemaking, money. i remember much of it actually, i see more clearly after thirty years of other reading that this is a fantasy. early part, where the protagonist is poor little relation of rich, undergoes transformation as kind of Pygmalion, marries ridiculously wealthy man, who fortunately then dies through strokes... she is sort of sympathetic. meant to be, anyway. but then comes her mature transformation to shallow, image/clothes conscious, sex-obsessed, wealthy widow...less sympathetic...
in this fantasy the sex is graphic, mostly good, somehow revealing character, and i understand this is 'class' trash. yes romance maybe but sex always. i do not know if the blurb contentions are true. i did not read this until late 80s. i think a girlfriend had seen a tv miniseries at a vulnerable age, rec this to me, certainly brought some world i did not know then, retrograde portrait of gays/lesbians, one point at which one says 'shopping is like a good fuck', sincerely agreed to by another character..
so in the end, or rather up to the point i started skipping, i was reading this almost as a satire. an error in thought. this is a sincere fantasy, not meant to be loved as camp, but it was a decision of mine whether i would try one of those 'fifty shades...' or reread this. so i reread this. (now I have tried that book... maybe i have learned, because I cut my losses and stopped only 30 pages in...) i was only rating this by memory the first time and how much was that because it worked for girls i knew? there is a sequel. i will not read it...
question answered, well i did read it again...
090811 this is a later addition:
okay this is a question: do i want to reread this? after almost 25 years? from a somewhat more educated or at least read perspective, from a thoughtful, independent, mature standpoint? well i am interested in reading my youth so... but then it is a long book. did i read the whole thing? questions questions... oh wait a sec, i have to find a copy? maybe i will read dickens instead...
final question: do/did many men read this book? does not look like it...
.??? 80s read, by memory 2017 first review: this was maybe most interesting in that girlfriends liked it, but the rampant materialism, the glamour, the money, the brands, seem embarrassing now. this was a book of the early eighties (when i read must have been late eighties). i confess, one serious girlfriend loved being a (part time) model so i guess this is what i wanted, too. i was young, i was attracted to surface glitter. i think i read this through trying to discover what women want: money and sex. preferably, moneyed sex. this is before there was this sex and the city tv show, so maybe similar was vicarious pleasure of the times. plus ca change…
080617 from ??? 80s read 2017 second review: well. i read it, or close enough. and the answer to the motivating question? should i read it again... no. this is what happens when a book is easily downed from the library: requires no effort, no critical thought. but i did read all but skipping through the last fifty pages. by which time i have a good idea that perhaps this need not be read (even) once...
this is very much a book of the materialistic '80s. there is a cumulative effect of exhaustion from so many proudly recounted names, where the cars are Bentley, purses are Hermes, places are London, Cannes, Beverley Hills, where the clothes are Dior, Blass, where the people are beautiful and/or talented... there was a tv show i must have seen a few times as a youth, i think called 'lifestyles of the rich and famous', and this book is kind of that. in written form. with sex. good sex...
everyone is 'rich' here or connected/headed to rich. 'famous' in their particular world of: money, fashion, moviemaking, money. i remember much of it actually, i see more clearly after thirty years of other reading that this is a fantasy. early part, where the protagonist is poor little relation of rich, undergoes transformation as kind of Pygmalion, marries ridiculously wealthy man, who fortunately then dies through strokes... she is sort of sympathetic. meant to be, anyway. but then comes her mature transformation to shallow, image/clothes conscious, sex-obsessed, wealthy widow...less sympathetic...
in this fantasy the sex is graphic, mostly good, somehow revealing character, and i understand this is 'class' trash. yes romance maybe but sex always. i do not know if the blurb contentions are true. i did not read this until late 80s. i think a girlfriend had seen a tv miniseries at a vulnerable age, rec this to me, certainly brought some world i did not know then, retrograde portrait of gays/lesbians, one point at which one says 'shopping is like a good fuck', sincerely agreed to by another character..
so in the end, or rather up to the point i started skipping, i was reading this almost as a satire. an error in thought. this is a sincere fantasy, not meant to be loved as camp, but it was a decision of mine whether i would try one of those 'fifty shades...' or reread this. so i reread this. (now I have tried that book... maybe i have learned, because I cut my losses and stopped only 30 pages in...) i was only rating this by memory the first time and how much was that because it worked for girls i knew? there is a sequel. i will not read it...
question answered, well i did read it again...
090811 this is a later addition:
okay this is a question: do i want to reread this? after almost 25 years? from a somewhat more educated or at least read perspective, from a thoughtful, independent, mature standpoint? well i am interested in reading my youth so... but then it is a long book. did i read the whole thing? questions questions... oh wait a sec, i have to find a copy? maybe i will read dickens instead...
final question: do/did many men read this book? does not look like it...
.??? 80s read, by memory 2017 first review: this was maybe most interesting in that girlfriends liked it, but the rampant materialism, the glamour, the money, the brands, seem embarrassing now. this was a book of the early eighties (when i read must have been late eighties). i confess, one serious girlfriend loved being a (part time) model so i guess this is what i wanted, too. i was young, i was attracted to surface glitter. i think i read this through trying to discover what women want: money and sex. preferably, moneyed sex. this is before there was this sex and the city tv show, so maybe similar was vicarious pleasure of the times. plus ca change…
August 14, 2021
#RetoRita5 #RitaBrilli
1 Estrellita. Lo siento muchísimo, pero no me ha gustado ésta novela. Me causa un profundo pesar porque mi ejemplar es de mi madre y me habló hace muchos años de él, (antes de que me diera por leer novela romántica), pensando que podría gustarme, pero no.
Empezando porque no considero "Scruples" como una novela romántica. Es lo primero que leo de Judith Krantz y mucho me temo que será lo último. Se publicó en 1978 y ha llovido mucho desde lo que se consideraba novela romántica hace cuarenta años y lo que es ahora.
"Scruples" es la historia glamurosa de varios personajes, empezando por Billy Whintrop, o Wilhelmina, una chica gordita y tímida de Boston, que cambió su vida y experiencia a través de una dura estancia de estudiante en París. Junto con Peter Elliot (Spider) y Valentine O'Neill, ambos fotógrafo de moda y modista, regentan una prestigiosa tienda de modas en medio de Beverly Hills llamada Scruples. Una tienda a la que acude gente rica de Los Ángeles y actores de Hollywood.
Aunque la novela empieza en tiempo presente, y ello desubica un poco al encontrar la historia ya hecha, en seguida la autora retrocede al pasado para contarnos casi desde el principio la vida, dichas y desdichas de Billy, Spider y Valentine.
A mí personalmente, la historia no me ha gustado. No me ha enganchado y no he empatizado con sus personajes. Se me ha hecho lenta, pesada y excesivamente larga. Pudiera coincidir con que he tenido unos días muy ocupados y apenas he podido leer, pero el ajetreo, el poco tiempo, y que la novela me llamaba tan poco, han hecho que éste libro me haya durado tantísimo.
Quizás el problema ha sido mío, pero según iba leyendo su lectura me causaba cierto rechazo, la vida de los protagonistas me ha parecido tan superflua y a veces tan sórdida en cuanto a los encuentros sexuales de unos y otros, que hasta me parecía repulsiva.
Lo único que puedo destacar y ha podido gustarme, es el último tercio de la novela, aquello que he leído con más ansias o ganas por terminar el libro. "Scruples" te adentra en el duro y cruel mundo de la moda, si esto te gusta, puede que sea tu novela, pero a mí no me atrae nada. En cambio, el último tercio ha estado interesante porque lo realmente importante es el cine. El segundo marido de Billy es productor cinematográfico y la novela te adentra en su rodaje, estreno y hasta los propios Oscars.
Pero aún así y aunque el libro acabara bien, no han terminado de convencerme. Me da mucha pena, pero el libro elegido para el Reto Rita de agosto ha sido un chasco tremendo.
1 Estrellita. Lo siento muchísimo, pero no me ha gustado ésta novela. Me causa un profundo pesar porque mi ejemplar es de mi madre y me habló hace muchos años de él, (antes de que me diera por leer novela romántica), pensando que podría gustarme, pero no.
Empezando porque no considero "Scruples" como una novela romántica. Es lo primero que leo de Judith Krantz y mucho me temo que será lo último. Se publicó en 1978 y ha llovido mucho desde lo que se consideraba novela romántica hace cuarenta años y lo que es ahora.
"Scruples" es la historia glamurosa de varios personajes, empezando por Billy Whintrop, o Wilhelmina, una chica gordita y tímida de Boston, que cambió su vida y experiencia a través de una dura estancia de estudiante en París. Junto con Peter Elliot (Spider) y Valentine O'Neill, ambos fotógrafo de moda y modista, regentan una prestigiosa tienda de modas en medio de Beverly Hills llamada Scruples. Una tienda a la que acude gente rica de Los Ángeles y actores de Hollywood.
Aunque la novela empieza en tiempo presente, y ello desubica un poco al encontrar la historia ya hecha, en seguida la autora retrocede al pasado para contarnos casi desde el principio la vida, dichas y desdichas de Billy, Spider y Valentine.
A mí personalmente, la historia no me ha gustado. No me ha enganchado y no he empatizado con sus personajes. Se me ha hecho lenta, pesada y excesivamente larga. Pudiera coincidir con que he tenido unos días muy ocupados y apenas he podido leer, pero el ajetreo, el poco tiempo, y que la novela me llamaba tan poco, han hecho que éste libro me haya durado tantísimo.
Quizás el problema ha sido mío, pero según iba leyendo su lectura me causaba cierto rechazo, la vida de los protagonistas me ha parecido tan superflua y a veces tan sórdida en cuanto a los encuentros sexuales de unos y otros, que hasta me parecía repulsiva.
Lo único que puedo destacar y ha podido gustarme, es el último tercio de la novela, aquello que he leído con más ansias o ganas por terminar el libro. "Scruples" te adentra en el duro y cruel mundo de la moda, si esto te gusta, puede que sea tu novela, pero a mí no me atrae nada. En cambio, el último tercio ha estado interesante porque lo realmente importante es el cine. El segundo marido de Billy es productor cinematográfico y la novela te adentra en su rodaje, estreno y hasta los propios Oscars.
Pero aún así y aunque el libro acabara bien, no han terminado de convencerme. Me da mucha pena, pero el libro elegido para el Reto Rita de agosto ha sido un chasco tremendo.
November 16, 2021
absolutely breathtaking. this novel is like fabric unfolding down stairs or ice melting in a glass as it takes the guise of a porno soap opera and subtly makes lucidity out of every feminine desire known to man. shady lesbianism, older suitors, dior, paris, shoulder pads, oscar gowns, babies, oral sex. the literal material of this world just smells so good i fantasize about myself inhabiting it constantly. billy's development towards actualization is best and most shocking during her weight loss in france montage (seventy pages that have changed the way i see human bodies) but throughout is nothing short of awe inspiring. the movie stuff at the end -- whatever. scruples is true literature all the way in every way and the death of grocery store erotica is a tragic sin. every book should be scruples
May 1, 2008
total trash, but so worth it!
decadent 80's excess, fashion, sex, love, business...it has it all.
A guilty pleasure, trashy beach book you cant put down!
decadent 80's excess, fashion, sex, love, business...it has it all.
A guilty pleasure, trashy beach book you cant put down!
March 6, 2017
2009: Boy, Scruples has it's fair share of explicit sex in all thinkable variety. Usually an overdose ruins a romance for me. But when I bought a grubby, well-thumbed copy in a small second-hand-store ten years ago, I got addicted for a few months and had to read all the other Krantz books as well - ploughing facinatedly through the high society glamour and relationship drama and steaminess. Though, each time I see shelves tagged with "guilty pleasure" I immediately think of Scruples and the rest of those sticky sweets.
2015: "I am re-reading Scruples - for the third time in fifteen years. Luckily the cover is quite inconspicuous. I would be a bit ashamed otherwise since the book is the epitome of the term "guilty pleasure" and revolves around lots of beautiful and/or filthily rich people who survive on pure greed and horniness."
2015: "I am re-reading Scruples - for the third time in fifteen years. Luckily the cover is quite inconspicuous. I would be a bit ashamed otherwise since the book is the epitome of the term "guilty pleasure" and revolves around lots of beautiful and/or filthily rich people who survive on pure greed and horniness."
Want to read
March 22, 2024My aunt said her mom used to lounge by the pool reading this book and ignoring her children, so obviously I want to read it.
February 7, 2017
Right off the bat I can say this was not as dirty or trashy as it was hyped to be nor was it memorable. I think the main waste of potential was Billy as a protagonist. She was by far the most captivating character and the easiest to sympathize with for her humble, insecure beginnings but her page time was in competition with like five other mediocre characters. The entire time I was reading I kept asking myself "why?" Why make a book about this modern Cinderella type woman and her boutique and then devote hundreds of pages to supportive filler bullshit like Spider's obsession with a depressed model? Why put so much heart and genuinely good dialogue only sporadically into composition and then write a scene where a pregnant woman drips amniotic fluid behind her at the Oscars while looking for an earring? Why make a nearly 600 page book about self-obsessed, driven, rich people who can't make up their minds? The only answer I can put together is that this was an eager attempt at a late Valley of the Dolls knockoff. It's not completely horrible. Billy is a decent character and some parts are more entertaining than others, but you will forget the whole thing as soon as you turn the last page.
Read
March 19, 2017I loved Judith Krantz's books when I was in my twenties and still find anything contra to my own culture and old traditional values exciting. In fact, we raved about her books. I'm not rating it since I've read it so long ago and might have a totally different experience if I reread it.
I just wanted to add them to my book experiences.
I just wanted to add them to my book experiences.
September 20, 2016
I’ve been comparing many novels to SCRUPLES and yet still no post...
http://sleaze-factor.blogspot.ca/2016...
http://sleaze-factor.blogspot.ca/2016...
January 14, 2019
I first read this when I was 23 in 1978. Now, days away from turning 64, I re-read it. I still enjoyed the hell out of it. A total trash, soap opera to be sure. It was a very nostalgic trip for me as I worked for 30 years in those "twin glass monsters in Century City" in a large law firm where it was no big deal to see Robert Redford, et al. walking the hallways. I, quite literally, could look out the window down into Beverly Hills High School and see all their outside lockers, track field, etc. Oh, the stories I could tell! At any rate, it was fun reading about all the places I knew, real-life personalities I encountered that could have easily passed for many of the characters in this book and the excitement of watching it all. The only thing that was missing was the rampant and profuse drug use which even the attorneys (and their wives) were doing. Other than that, this was a total kick to read now. It all seems like several life times ago. ;)
July 3, 2017
Well ... I thought this was going to be more fun than it ended up being.
Hyped up as a sexy, lavish romance in Hollywood, where everyone is so rich they could never go broke and everyone is having sex with everyone else. And really, that's exactly what you get, and it was kind of depressing, to be totally honest. If this is anything like what fame and excessive wealth are actually like, I'm incredibly glad I have neither.
Hyped up as a sexy, lavish romance in Hollywood, where everyone is so rich they could never go broke and everyone is having sex with everyone else. And really, that's exactly what you get, and it was kind of depressing, to be totally honest. If this is anything like what fame and excessive wealth are actually like, I'm incredibly glad I have neither.
March 21, 2007
This is one of those books that teenage girls pass back and forth so they can all read the "sex parts." It's crazy! Crazy good.
December 13, 2008
Trashy. Trashy. Trashy. Love it. Put on the shelf of books to read when your brain is tired and needs some good old smut. An even better option for such a mindset: Valley of the Dolls!
December 23, 2019
The cardinal sin committed by this book is that it’s just too boring. If you’re going to be a trash read, then be a trash read. This is basically 400 pages explaining how a rich woman bought a shop and then hired some fashion and sales experts to make it a success, followed by 200 pages detailing how a film producer produced a film. Which is all fair enough, but hardly riveting.
Also, the sexual politics are horrifying, the casual racism is pervasive, the sex scenes are downright unpleasant and there’s a lot of aggressive homophobia. There’s also a surfeit of chauvinistic, domineering men who claim to love women but actually fetishise and belittle them. Also it takes an inordinate amount of time to reach a very traditional conclusion, with the status quo being maintained and everyone making exactly the choices they would be expected to make.
However there is some not-bad writing buried in here somewhere, so I’m giving it 2 stars.
Also, the sexual politics are horrifying, the casual racism is pervasive, the sex scenes are downright unpleasant and there’s a lot of aggressive homophobia. There’s also a surfeit of chauvinistic, domineering men who claim to love women but actually fetishise and belittle them. Also it takes an inordinate amount of time to reach a very traditional conclusion, with the status quo being maintained and everyone making exactly the choices they would be expected to make.
However there is some not-bad writing buried in here somewhere, so I’m giving it 2 stars.
September 18, 2013
Read this years and years ago. I remember that I loved it and red it more than once. I think I was 15/16 at that time so reading all those books (Harold Robbins comes to mind) where you read about sex I devoured it.
So yes my taste has changed over the years, but for the above reasons I am giving this 5 stars.
So yes my taste has changed over the years, but for the above reasons I am giving this 5 stars.
May 16, 2018
Book 7 of the reading challenge. A bestseller from the year I graduated high school. (40 years ago). Really??!!
It was a good story but unnecessarily crude. If the author wasn’t a woman she wouldn’t have been able to get away with some of the language she used
It was a good story but unnecessarily crude. If the author wasn’t a woman she wouldn’t have been able to get away with some of the language she used
August 21, 2007
Oh my god, this is trash at it's very best. This book taught me what "glory holes" are. Life changing!
July 28, 2018
Honestly probably closer to 3 starts, but for some reason this felt like it took FOREVER to get through. Fun & light but ... wouldn't have minded it cut down a bit.
November 4, 2019
A very guilty pleasure! 3.5 stars of raunchy fun.
April 13, 2022
Supposedly the game-changing novel that launched the Bonkbuster.
Take a browse at Wiki's Bonkbuster page and you'll find that Krantz, extending on Robbins' and Susann's famed work, was awarded the title of pioneer of the Bonkbuster genre, with this early entry ('78) to the field. Known by the sex and shopping subgenre. This book is written imperiously, although the language is surprisingly salty. The novel has an untold level of name-dropping of brands, designers and products during the '60s and '70s that virtually forms an extensive history of American style and attitudes.
Starting with the opening line about the elderly and infirm being amongst the only people not to own a car (like losing a limb, she adroitly notes of the go-go Beverly Hill folk) we find out that, Scruples, in the heart of Rodeo Drive is owned by Billie, a slim woman (always important) with money (essential) and a hypersexuality (bingo), who is awaiting the results of this year's Oscars. Her workers are the secondary characters who shape the novel. These are the wannabe up and coming NYC designers and trendsetters who by hook or by crook will become the outfitters and gurus who dress the crème-de-la-crème of Hollywood while we cheer them on.
The book staggers on with plenty of 'sexy results' as Krantz gives her take on frigid women (weirdos), homosexual men (perverts, sadomasoquists), lesbians (obsessed with power; all around America; sneaky - will pounce like tigers with the appropriate bait - hold on to your skirt, ladies), repressed women (the c word was used frequently to describe Billie once she had coined on to the idea of taking advantage of her staff in a predatory way and was getting pleasure in spades), straight men, straight women etc. Views were very dated but Krantz clearly went hell-for-leather and wasted not a drop of potential for this debut novel. The standout has to be Sergio, who has no moral standing, no class, pride or dignity in filth designed to fascinate housewives the length and breadth of the U.S. and beyond.
5 years later Collins added Hollywood to her titles and the rest was history. Even though Collins was writing raunchy lifestyles of the rich and famous literature since her debut a decade before the publication of this, Krantz probably did help roll out the genre for beachgoers worldwide. As it stands in 2022, it remains a sweet-smelling, designer-outfitted near-600 page stroll around the mall.
Take a browse at Wiki's Bonkbuster page and you'll find that Krantz, extending on Robbins' and Susann's famed work, was awarded the title of pioneer of the Bonkbuster genre, with this early entry ('78) to the field. Known by the sex and shopping subgenre. This book is written imperiously, although the language is surprisingly salty. The novel has an untold level of name-dropping of brands, designers and products during the '60s and '70s that virtually forms an extensive history of American style and attitudes.
Starting with the opening line about the elderly and infirm being amongst the only people not to own a car (like losing a limb, she adroitly notes of the go-go Beverly Hill folk) we find out that, Scruples, in the heart of Rodeo Drive is owned by Billie, a slim woman (always important) with money (essential) and a hypersexuality (bingo), who is awaiting the results of this year's Oscars. Her workers are the secondary characters who shape the novel. These are the wannabe up and coming NYC designers and trendsetters who by hook or by crook will become the outfitters and gurus who dress the crème-de-la-crème of Hollywood while we cheer them on.
The book staggers on with plenty of 'sexy results' as Krantz gives her take on frigid women (weirdos), homosexual men (perverts, sadomasoquists), lesbians (obsessed with power; all around America; sneaky - will pounce like tigers with the appropriate bait - hold on to your skirt, ladies), repressed women (the c word was used frequently to describe Billie once she had coined on to the idea of taking advantage of her staff in a predatory way and was getting pleasure in spades), straight men, straight women etc. Views were very dated but Krantz clearly went hell-for-leather and wasted not a drop of potential for this debut novel. The standout has to be Sergio, who has no moral standing, no class, pride or dignity in filth designed to fascinate housewives the length and breadth of the U.S. and beyond.
5 years later Collins added Hollywood to her titles and the rest was history. Even though Collins was writing raunchy lifestyles of the rich and famous literature since her debut a decade before the publication of this, Krantz probably did help roll out the genre for beachgoers worldwide. As it stands in 2022, it remains a sweet-smelling, designer-outfitted near-600 page stroll around the mall.
October 15, 2021
This was very interesting and I will definitely read Scruples 2.
March 20, 2012
Oooh, boy, I have been in the mood for some trashy books lately. So I thought it was time to read some Scruples. Especially since there might be a movie or show soon? Gotta beat the rush. And what did I think? Yes, it's trash. But most of it is pretty good trash! We have: an awkward, overweight girl from an upper crust Boston family who goes to Paris and becomes a swan, as one only can in Paris; a California boy, who believes in beautiful women (taking beautiful pictures of them, and sleeping with them, which is just so cliche); and a French/Irish girl with mermaid eyes (whatever that means) who comes to New York to make it as a designer.
Billy, our swan, goes to secretarial school and becomes the happy wife of an older man, the founder of the company she works at, of course. We have some further scandal from her when her husband suffers from strokes and becomes an invalid at their Bel Air home. But! Then she gets involved with a Hollywood producer and snore...The whole book turns into Billy, her hubby, and various people making a movie. This seems like it's straight from the author's actual life, so I can see how that would creep in there, but it took the book in a different direction that I didn't like as much.
Spider, our California boy is equally boring. He's flat, he's typical, his story gives us nothing. Unsurprisingly, Chad Michael Murray is in talks to play him in the movie(? show?). He seems eye-rolling-worthy enough.
Valentine, of the mermaid eyes, has a shocking relationship toward the beginning of the book, then spends most of the book in a boring affair. Who she ends up with in the end isn't a surprise, nor is it particularly pleasant. It's actually pretty cheese-filled.
There's also a whole lot in the middle and end of the book about a journalist whose name I can't remember (Maggie?), and it doesn't say much about her that I don't think she's even mentioned in this Wikipedia write-up. She was about as pathetic as Spider, if that tells you anything.
The book was still a fast read, and I did like the first third to half of it. I think I'm mainly giving it three stars because of the potential it had--money!, sex!!, scandal!!!--and not so much what it actually is--some boring characters, also some completely irrelevant characters, a so-so ending.
Billy, our swan, goes to secretarial school and becomes the happy wife of an older man, the founder of the company she works at, of course. We have some further scandal from her when her husband suffers from strokes and becomes an invalid at their Bel Air home. But! Then she gets involved with a Hollywood producer and snore...The whole book turns into Billy, her hubby, and various people making a movie. This seems like it's straight from the author's actual life, so I can see how that would creep in there, but it took the book in a different direction that I didn't like as much.
Spider, our California boy is equally boring. He's flat, he's typical, his story gives us nothing. Unsurprisingly, Chad Michael Murray is in talks to play him in the movie(? show?). He seems eye-rolling-worthy enough.
Valentine, of the mermaid eyes, has a shocking relationship toward the beginning of the book, then spends most of the book in a boring affair. Who she ends up with in the end isn't a surprise, nor is it particularly pleasant. It's actually pretty cheese-filled.
There's also a whole lot in the middle and end of the book about a journalist whose name I can't remember (Maggie?), and it doesn't say much about her that I don't think she's even mentioned in this Wikipedia write-up. She was about as pathetic as Spider, if that tells you anything.
The book was still a fast read, and I did like the first third to half of it. I think I'm mainly giving it three stars because of the potential it had--money!, sex!!, scandal!!!--and not so much what it actually is--some boring characters, also some completely irrelevant characters, a so-so ending.
January 14, 2020
My god, how do you even rate a book like this? It's trash, but it's meant to be trash, so it succeeds in its mission, I suppose. It really does start out kind of fun, in a reality TV way, where you're just watching people with too much money using their money. But that only lasts so long. I quickly realized that there wasn't going to be any real conflict happening, every time something bad happened to a character, they were rewarded with something even better. I think that's something many people do like when reading books, the sense that no matter what, everything will be okay. It's definitely not what I like, however.
Krantz packs so much fat-shaming into this book, including calorie counts, stating the weight of women, and celebrating an eating disorder that I would warn anyone who has struggled with disordered eating away from this book. There's some pretty terrible and idiotic stereotypes of gay people, along with uncomfortable racism. And the sexism. Oh, the sexism. Men understand women more than women understand ourselves, somehow. Also, what women really need is a man to take charge and be dominant. I expected most of this going in, and still read it because I figured it would be a wild ride. And it was, until it got way too long. If you stick it out till the end, you get to read about a visibly pregnant woman openly drunk and still being served at a bar. Also, she's drinking pousse-cafes, which I never heard of before and can't wait to force my local bar to make for me.
We read this for Episode 64 of The Bookstore Podcast.
Krantz packs so much fat-shaming into this book, including calorie counts, stating the weight of women, and celebrating an eating disorder that I would warn anyone who has struggled with disordered eating away from this book. There's some pretty terrible and idiotic stereotypes of gay people, along with uncomfortable racism. And the sexism. Oh, the sexism. Men understand women more than women understand ourselves, somehow. Also, what women really need is a man to take charge and be dominant. I expected most of this going in, and still read it because I figured it would be a wild ride. And it was, until it got way too long. If you stick it out till the end, you get to read about a visibly pregnant woman openly drunk and still being served at a bar. Also, she's drinking pousse-cafes, which I never heard of before and can't wait to force my local bar to make for me.
We read this for Episode 64 of The Bookstore Podcast.
July 31, 2021
So bad. So good.
August 16, 2021
If Goodreads had existed when Scruples was first published I likely would have given it 5 stars. I loved Judith Krantz books so much- I've reread most of them multiple times, although not for a decade or two.
There are so many problematic areas, rereading it in 2021. Billy's sexual exploitation of her employees, the lack of self-awareness in most of the main characters, the overwhelming materialism and name-dropping. It's hard to know even who are supposed to be likable characters, and who aren't.
But Scruples is still one of the first books that I remember reading that had fully-fleshed out, sexually active women, who take charge of their own destiny. Their romances matter, but what really matters is the women themselves. They're mostly confident, highly accomplished women, who are focused on their careers (even if that "career" is being a socialite), who don't depend on a man for their own self-worth. Their romantic and sexual partners are additions to their characters, not a reason for being.
There is a lot that's annoying, but there's also a lot that is very good.
There are so many problematic areas, rereading it in 2021. Billy's sexual exploitation of her employees, the lack of self-awareness in most of the main characters, the overwhelming materialism and name-dropping. It's hard to know even who are supposed to be likable characters, and who aren't.
But Scruples is still one of the first books that I remember reading that had fully-fleshed out, sexually active women, who take charge of their own destiny. Their romances matter, but what really matters is the women themselves. They're mostly confident, highly accomplished women, who are focused on their careers (even if that "career" is being a socialite), who don't depend on a man for their own self-worth. Their romantic and sexual partners are additions to their characters, not a reason for being.
There is a lot that's annoying, but there's also a lot that is very good.
June 16, 2008
I know, chee-zy, Schmaltzy (with a capital 'S').....but, this book was one great read when I read it! Really entertaining and it spoke to my fascination with all things glamorous when I read it as a teenager. I want to re-read this book asap. I still have one thing I related to and consequently learned in this book in play today: Wear black with cleavage and you're properly accessorized. Simple. It's kind of naughty, too. It's on my top 10 list. Cheap and tawdry, and so alluring.
July 24, 2020
This was one of those "forbidden" books that I snuck into the house and read under the covers so my Mom would not catch me reading it [to be fair to her, she never really censored me per say, but would have been unhappy that her 13/14 year old daughter was reading such an "adult" novel]. I do not remember a lot about this book, I will admit. I believe I liked it at the time and I know I checked it out more than once.
December 21, 2009
This is one of the books we can blame for my lifelong passion for commercial fiction. I fell in love with this book when I was in high school, and I still think Billy Ikehorn is one of the great characters in the genre. In my next life, I plan to study abroad in France and marry a rich guy (or several) and own lots of department stores.
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