My review of Fabulous Nobodies, by Lee Tulloch

Fabulous Nobodies

by Lee Tulloch

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This hysterical read had me giggling like a schoolgirl, quite some years ago. Laugh? I nearly bought a round. Fabulous Nobodies is described as 'a lighthearted yet devastatingly accurate social satire about the hip young fashion slaves of New York City's East Village in 1983'. 

The screen adaptation was recently optioned, to be directed by R.J. Cutler, acclaimed director of the fashion documentary The September Issue, featuring Anna Wintour

I happened across the paperback as I sifted through pre-loved fashion in my local op shop one melancholy morning and was instinctively drawn to the cover. Snatched it up for a song, took it under my wing and whisked it off home in the rain. It was ravenously devoured with a bottle of wine and a funny cigarette.

In retrospect I clearly turned to it for remedial purposes when events in my life were so intensely gloomy that my more serious reading material (particularly my edge worn Jean Rhys collection) was a definite no-no.

For years I worked and partied with real people like Really, nightclub 'door bitches' who thought they ruled the world and had a duty to keep naffly attired trash out.

Might have been imagining things, maybe it was my 'medication', but seem to recall Really's fabulous little frocks having some rather camp, ongoing daily dialogue with each other in their closet (?)

Silly, silly, silly, but there's nothing wrong with that occasionally. Laughter is good for the soul - but, as Really would no doubt caution us, watch out for those laugh lines!

Once you 'get' the intent of the silliness you begin to see through it into witty, intelligent, well written satire ahead of is time.

People have called it pre-chick lit chick lit but I beg to differ - far from some of the churned out formulaic pulp that ended up in the chick lit pile, this is original, clever and unique.

I flicked through it again just recently when rummaging through my cupboard and mused to myself that it had not dated. Lee Tulloch is a smart, entertaining writer who seemingly saw no need to linger in this genre once she had worked this little gem out of her system.

I'll be at the movie with bells on. Bravo! Encore!