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Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber: The Katya Livingston Chronicles
Bitingly written with wit and style reminiscent of Candace Bushnell, Adèle Lang’s novel is a cutting, bitchy, hilarious take on the young-single-British-woman genre.
When weasel-eyed tax inspectors question her claims, Katya is forced to keep a financial diary. As well as documenting the cruel and parsimonious ways of her ad agency boss, Katya waxes lyrical about putting up with loser friends, mortal enemies, and thoroughly bad restaurants. She also throws in a candid account of her love life, in case it is tax deductible. A private account of expenses rapidly becomes, through Katya’s chronic delusions of grandeur, a matter of public first as a tawdry gossip column, then as a salacious book, and finally as a Hollywood B movie.
When weasel-eyed tax inspectors question her claims, Katya is forced to keep a financial diary. As well as documenting the cruel and parsimonious ways of her ad agency boss, Katya waxes lyrical about putting up with loser friends, mortal enemies, and thoroughly bad restaurants. She also throws in a candid account of her love life, in case it is tax deductible. A private account of expenses rapidly becomes, through Katya’s chronic delusions of grandeur, a matter of public first as a tawdry gossip column, then as a salacious book, and finally as a Hollywood B movie.
196 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
May 6, 2015
I cannot understand how this book was a NY Times Bestseller. There isn't any story. There is this bitch and she's very nasty to everyone she meets or works with whilst exploiting them, usually for a meal or alcohol. She starts off that way and ends that way. This is a spoiler, I'm not going to flag it, I wouldn't want you to waste your time or money on this rubbish.
December 30, 2009
How I Came To Read This Book: My mom had it and I snagged it – bright cover + tiara = yes.
The Plot / Good & Bad: I can’t even separate the two in this case, so I’m combining the plot & good/bad about this book in one. To call the main character, Katya, a sociopath, is not an understatement. This is possibly one of the most despicable protagonists I’ve ever read about. In theory the book is supposed to function as anti-chick lit, with Katya as a take no prisoners social climbing psycho who functions like one of those robots with a little checklist of characteristics she immediately processes upon engaging with someone in terms of how far they can help her progress forward. Unfortunately, she doesn’t do this in an amusingly sarcastic way, instead she’s literally deranged and sardonic – taking joy in other people’s misery. The writing is brutal, the humour is DOA, and again, horrible characters all around.
The Bottom Line: You’d have to be a sociopath to read this book.
Anything Memorable?: I get this book and Plum Sykes’ “Bergdorf Blondes” confused – this is the nastier, even more vacant version of the former.
50-Book Challenge?: Nope
The Plot / Good & Bad: I can’t even separate the two in this case, so I’m combining the plot & good/bad about this book in one. To call the main character, Katya, a sociopath, is not an understatement. This is possibly one of the most despicable protagonists I’ve ever read about. In theory the book is supposed to function as anti-chick lit, with Katya as a take no prisoners social climbing psycho who functions like one of those robots with a little checklist of characteristics she immediately processes upon engaging with someone in terms of how far they can help her progress forward. Unfortunately, she doesn’t do this in an amusingly sarcastic way, instead she’s literally deranged and sardonic – taking joy in other people’s misery. The writing is brutal, the humour is DOA, and again, horrible characters all around.
The Bottom Line: You’d have to be a sociopath to read this book.
Anything Memorable?: I get this book and Plum Sykes’ “Bergdorf Blondes” confused – this is the nastier, even more vacant version of the former.
50-Book Challenge?: Nope
January 15, 2013
The reason I decided to read Confessions of a Sociopath Social Climber is because I saw the horrible movie starring Jennifer Love Hewitt last year. I liked the character before she (SPOILER ALERT) gained a heart and became noble. I liked the idea so I wanted to read the book. If I was Adele Lang, I would sue everyone involved with the movie.
The book is absolutely hilarious! It's a year in the life of Katya Livingston. It starts off a journal that Katya has to write in order to keep attract of her outrageous spending. Then because a weekly column for a small newspaper. The best thing is that Katya learns nothing! Not even when she becomes the "victim" of scathing but true biography on herself.
Confessions...is a quick read and an absolute riot!
The book is absolutely hilarious! It's a year in the life of Katya Livingston. It starts off a journal that Katya has to write in order to keep attract of her outrageous spending. Then because a weekly column for a small newspaper. The best thing is that Katya learns nothing! Not even when she becomes the "victim" of scathing but true biography on herself.
Confessions...is a quick read and an absolute riot!
January 17, 2014
There are no words for the humor, brilliance, and absolute faultiness of this book.
Yes, faultiness --not to be confused with the much more subjective faultlessness.
Katya Livingston is the most self-centered, detestable, materialistic and ruthless female protagonist since Scarlett O'Hara . . . and also the most entertaining!
I saw the Lifetime movie starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, and it doesn't even compare to the unabashed and uncensored wit of this novel.
Adele Lang (excuse my exclusion of the grave accent mark--but its validity is decidedly questionable in nature) is a bona fide genius, and her enigmatic and carefully crafted persona (excuse, me, character) is a refreshing change from the goody-too-shoes seductresses a la Mainstream Culture.
A+ any way you choose to spin it!
Yes, faultiness --not to be confused with the much more subjective faultlessness.
Katya Livingston is the most self-centered, detestable, materialistic and ruthless female protagonist since Scarlett O'Hara . . . and also the most entertaining!
I saw the Lifetime movie starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, and it doesn't even compare to the unabashed and uncensored wit of this novel.
Adele Lang (excuse my exclusion of the grave accent mark--but its validity is decidedly questionable in nature) is a bona fide genius, and her enigmatic and carefully crafted persona (excuse, me, character) is a refreshing change from the goody-too-shoes seductresses a la Mainstream Culture.
A+ any way you choose to spin it!
July 28, 2009
A hilarious beach read. This book was chosen as the second Kelly Ripa Book Club selection, as she was looking for fun summer books. Not great literature, but a fantastic way to while away an afternoon. Katya is an anti-Bridget Jones. She's a drunk bitch swanning around London, killing her friends' dogs and stealing their jobs. While you do have to wonder why her friends are friends with her, the lovely schadenfreude will help you overlook that. Plus, you've seen it: horrible people do in fact somehow have friends most of the time. Inexplicable perhaps, but there are always pathetic hangers-on. If you want to feel better about your job, your love life, your budget, Katya will do the trick in short order.
January 11, 2019
I loved this book! This is the type of book where you root for the bad guy and don't feel the least bit bad about it.
Katya is truly a sociopath. Narcissistic, unyielding, delusional and completely without a shred of moral fiber, she hacks and slashes her way to becoming a society darling and though she never makes it, you'll never convince her that she didn't.
I imagine Katya as Patsy from the show "Absolutely Fabulous". A social climbing nitwit who cannot see that she isn't fabulous at all.
This is one of my favorite books. No joke. It feels like a fluffy book but it's actually a brilliant spoof of books like Bridget Jones's Diary.
You will love to hate Katya and you'll love the author for writing her the way she did.
Katya is truly a sociopath. Narcissistic, unyielding, delusional and completely without a shred of moral fiber, she hacks and slashes her way to becoming a society darling and though she never makes it, you'll never convince her that she didn't.
I imagine Katya as Patsy from the show "Absolutely Fabulous". A social climbing nitwit who cannot see that she isn't fabulous at all.
This is one of my favorite books. No joke. It feels like a fluffy book but it's actually a brilliant spoof of books like Bridget Jones's Diary.
You will love to hate Katya and you'll love the author for writing her the way she did.
January 19, 2009
Katya Livingston is not meant to be a person you fall in love with. On the contrary, she is person you find yourself quickly falling in hate with. Not even her friends are relatable, as most of them are similar (though less self-confident) versions of Katya herself. Although there were some moments where I found myself chuckling to myself, the book is a bit hard to read as Katya and her co-stars are next to impossible to relate to. Some of her complaints are valid (such as when her friend, Angel, changes her three-month-old daughter's diaper on the table in a Pizza Hut), but many are ridiculous, and watching Katya come up with more and more excuses to explain away her pathetic life just didn't do it for me. I understand that that was the point of the book, but it wasn't my thing.
August 12, 2007
The man character in this book is great. I laughed all the way through. She is completely self absorbed and overly narcasistic (sp?). It's like you laugh at her for how extreme she is. My favorite part is when she regrets throwing the Vodka bottle at her stalker-not bc she was afraid she hurt him but because it still had Vodka in it!! Classic! Anyone looking for a short read and someone else to laugh at should read this. Oxygen channel tried to make this into a movie and did horrible at it. Not worth watching
March 14, 2018
Libro senza infamia e senza lode. Una Bridget Jones più stronza e meno sfigata. In alcuni punti strappa un sorriso, ma per la maggior parte del libro la prenderesti solo a calci sulle gengive.
Ho scoperto che ne è stato tratto un film con Jennifer Love Hewitt...sono combattuta tra la tentazione di vederlo e la volontà di mantenere un'immagine decente dell'attrice, che fino ad ora mi è sempre piaciuta :P
Ho scoperto che ne è stato tratto un film con Jennifer Love Hewitt...sono combattuta tra la tentazione di vederlo e la volontà di mantenere un'immagine decente dell'attrice, che fino ad ora mi è sempre piaciuta :P
October 28, 2009
This book is an incredible waste of paper. I came close to hurling it across the room several times, but slogged my way through it in hope that it might have some redeeming qualities later on, but it has none whatsoever.
October 19, 2014
Wasn't impressed with this book. Tried to be a Bridget Jones Diary, but didn't live up to the fun. While Katya Livingston is definitely a sociopathic social climber, her story was just strange and uninteresting. Good thing it short.
August 17, 2011
I won't spend too much time recapping the plot, because others have done it, and really, it's a thin plot to begin with. It's just basically the story of the life of Katya. She is the ultimate narcissist, who treats everyone around her like crap. I thought the premise was amusing, as it seemed like it would be a good satire on the whole "Bridget Jones" thing. I did find the book engrossing when I started it; there is no doubt that the author has some writing skills. The pace is good, some of the jokes are funny, and the intelligence of the author (and the lead character, really - Katya's intelligence is about her only redeeming quality) do shine through. Some of the subplots - i.e. the foster child, Katya as birth coach, and a few other things, as gags. The book could be a good outlet for the reader's dark side. It just doesn't work in the end.
What's wrong with it? Katya is just someone I couldn't relate to at all. She's completely one dimensional. All the characters, in fact, are paper thin. Lang makes the mistake of thinking that satirical and stereotypical are synonymous. They aren't. In fact, the satire would've been even more pointed had the book been more well rounded. It also doesn't help that the situations in the book are just that - situations. There is really very little in the way of an ongoing story. Even the bits that worked, mentioned above, don't mesh together well enough to form a real story. The diary format also doesn't work here. What Lang is striving for - a good satire of the whole `Bridget' genre - is more effectively accomplished in Slave to Fashion. I'd suggest you just read that instead.
What's wrong with it? Katya is just someone I couldn't relate to at all. She's completely one dimensional. All the characters, in fact, are paper thin. Lang makes the mistake of thinking that satirical and stereotypical are synonymous. They aren't. In fact, the satire would've been even more pointed had the book been more well rounded. It also doesn't help that the situations in the book are just that - situations. There is really very little in the way of an ongoing story. Even the bits that worked, mentioned above, don't mesh together well enough to form a real story. The diary format also doesn't work here. What Lang is striving for - a good satire of the whole `Bridget' genre - is more effectively accomplished in Slave to Fashion. I'd suggest you just read that instead.
September 29, 2013
I am on this kick about learning about deviant and sociopathic behaviors, so much so that I thought this lighter fictional look at it would be a nice change other than all the textbooks I've been reading. It was cute for about the first 20 pages and then, good grief, it got old really fast. Yes, there is no doubt that Katya, the main character, is a sociopath. She is heartless and cruel yet can charm her way into jobs, professions she knows nothing about, and free everything all the time. She takes advantage of everyone and everything and is quite clueless to the mess she leaves behind. The story is told through Katya's journal in which she is supposed to be keeping track of her finances for her taxes. It quickly becomes a rant about all things "wrong" in her life. I think the author does a great job at showing the true behaviors of a sociopath, but like any normal person dealing with someone with these tendencies, 20 pages is probably about all anyone can take. So, maybe the author did too good of a job depicting this character, because I just wanted to be done with this book.
February 11, 2011
Molto carino: una lettura facile, frizzante e veloce adatta nei periodi in cui abbiamo bisogno di relax e divertimento.
Mi è stato prestato da una collega, che voleva ricambiare dopo che io le avevo prestato "Piccadilly Jim", e si è chiesta quale potesse essere il libro adatto a me.
No, non voleva dire che sono una stronza, ovvio: ma sapeva che avrei apprezzato una lettura di questo tipo.
La protagonista Katya è una stronza di prima categoria: non si fa problemi a calpestare amici e colleghi pur di fare carriera, tutto quello che per lei conta è il suo successo personale.
E alla fine, forse è proprio l'atteggiamento giusto per raggiungere gli scopi che si è prefissata....
Mi è stato prestato da una collega, che voleva ricambiare dopo che io le avevo prestato "Piccadilly Jim", e si è chiesta quale potesse essere il libro adatto a me.
No, non voleva dire che sono una stronza, ovvio: ma sapeva che avrei apprezzato una lettura di questo tipo.
La protagonista Katya è una stronza di prima categoria: non si fa problemi a calpestare amici e colleghi pur di fare carriera, tutto quello che per lei conta è il suo successo personale.
E alla fine, forse è proprio l'atteggiamento giusto per raggiungere gli scopi che si è prefissata....
April 13, 2015
Oh my god, this book was terrible. I was listening to it in the car on audiocassette and I couldn't even get through 1 disc. There was no plot, it was just this character being a royal self-absorbed b*tch. It was the same format as Bridget Jones's Diary but I hated the main character and there was no love interest. There was nothing for her to do but whine and complain, it was like reading the inner thoughts of Paris Hilton and I hate Paris Hilton. Yuck....
May 23, 2008
i just saw this movie (love jennifer love hewitt) and it was cute. i saw someone reading it on one of my flights and figured i might as well add it to my list.
unfortunately, the book was really bad. i even tried to pawn it off on my sister but she wouldnt take it. it shouldve taken me an hour to read but it took me forever because it was so bad. really boring, stupid, not funny at all like the movie. ugh.
unfortunately, the book was really bad. i even tried to pawn it off on my sister but she wouldnt take it. it shouldve taken me an hour to read but it took me forever because it was so bad. really boring, stupid, not funny at all like the movie. ugh.
September 25, 2010
This is by far the worst book I have read in several years. There is nothing likeable about the main character and I can honestly say that I am glad I don't know anyone like her in the least. I didn't like the writing style despite liking other type of diary style books. This just fell short all around. I skimmed the end and I'll donate it all the while being thankful that I didn't pay a penny for this book.
May 16, 2007
This book has a very long title but a rather short story, I read pretty quick. It also reminded me very much of the Shopaholic series in that they were both about girls with spending problems and they were written diary form. I enjoyed this one a little more becuase the main charater was just crazy enough to be funny. It entertained me.
June 13, 2007
Argh! I was so frustrated with this book. I wanted to strangle the main character. I kept hoping she'd get what was coming to her (which was probably a strangling from the other characters), but being the sociopath that she is, I knew she wouldn't realize that she had it coming and she would just make excuses about why the other characters all have to be deranged.
February 18, 2008
the protagonist is a horrible person but hilarious to read about. think bridget jones on crack.
**update** i reduced the rating because the character's antics got repetitive. it's moderately amusing, this train wreck of a book, where you can't stop reading (or looking away). if you never read this, you aren't missing much.
**update** i reduced the rating because the character's antics got repetitive. it's moderately amusing, this train wreck of a book, where you can't stop reading (or looking away). if you never read this, you aren't missing much.
August 13, 2008
I was not really impressed with this book. It was given to me in a goodwill gesture by a friend. However, I found it very difficult to get through, disliked the main character a great deal, and it ended without any real redeeming qualities. I am not quite sure why I gave it 2 stars instead of just one......
August 8, 2014
If Bridgette Jones were an insufferable bitch.... This quick read is for everyone who found dear Bridgette to be a whinebag. Katya is a delusional wretch with impenetrable self-esteem of the highest order. I LOVED this book! It's total literary junk food and a fast-moving weekend treat. I recommend it for "cleansing the palette" between books with a heavier tone.
February 1, 2016
What an absolutely horrible person Katya is in this book! She is definitely a sociopath! So many times I wanted to take her and shake her but I know she would not get a clue. I feel sorry for all the people who have to deal with her. Along with being a sociopath, she is also a narcissist, and an alcoholic. UGH!
May 7, 2016
This book just wasn't for me. Couldn't find a purpose in it or a reason to continue reading. Didn't even make it all the way through. Wasn't what I expected. The book using people, carelessness, lack of work ethic, complaining, etc. Frankly I was bored!
No offense to anyone who liked it or the author.
No offense to anyone who liked it or the author.
gave-up-on
September 22, 2016I am not sure why this book was compared to the Shopaholic series because at least in Kinsella's series, Becky was kind of funny and charming and perhaps a bit endearing in the first two books. The same cannot be said for the vapid, selfish MC of this book. She's so unlikeable I gave up after five pages.
December 13, 2017
There wasn't much - anything- enjoyable about this book. I only forced my way through it because I'm three books away from completing my reading challenge for this year. The book is about an abhorrently awful "socialite" documenting how awful she is to everyone around her. I get that it's supposed to be funny but I didn't see the humor in it.
September 4, 2008
I wouldn't recommend this book to ANYONE! I finished it...mostly because I thought it would get better at some point, but the main character was just too irritating (for my taste) with no redeeming qualities. I hate that I actually paid full price (hardcover) for it.
July 18, 2009
what a terrible book filled with nothingness! some funny aspects about it, but there is no plot and the main character, katya livingston, is ridiculous! don't do it!!!
p.s. now i see why this was sitting on my bookshelf for 6 years without being touched. to the trash it goes.
p.s. now i see why this was sitting on my bookshelf for 6 years without being touched. to the trash it goes.
January 23, 2010
Bridget Jones and Becky Bloomwood turns upside down into one of the most unlovable characters I've had the (dis)pleasure of reading. The book had its moments but overall felt poorly written with a haphazard plot line.
May 17, 2011
Oh My God! How did this book was a NY Times Bestseller. There isn't any story. Katya Livingston is not meant to be a person you fall in love with. On the contrary, she is person you find yourself quickly falling in hate with. One word she's a bitch.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews