The Knockoff
A Novel
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4.3 • 329 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
An outrageously stylish, wickedly funny novel of fashion in the digital age, The Knockoff is the story of Imogen Tate, editor in chief of Glossy magazine, who finds her twentysomething former assistant Eve Morton plotting to knock Imogen off her pedestal, take over her job, and reduce the magazine, famous for its lavish 768-page September issue, into an app.
When Imogen returns to work at Glossy after six months away, she can barely recognize her own magazine. Eve, fresh out of Harvard Business School, has fired “the gray hairs,” put the managing editor in a supply closet, stopped using the landlines, and hired a bevy of manicured and questionably attired underlings who text and tweet their way through meetings. Imogen, darling of the fashion world, may have Alexander Wang and Diane von Furstenberg on speed dial, but she can’t tell Facebook from Foursquare and once got her iPhone stuck in Japanese for two days. Under Eve’s reign, Glossy is rapidly becoming a digital sweatshop—hackathons rage all night, girls who sleep get fired, and “fun” means mandatory, company-wide coordinated dances to Beyoncé. Wildly out of her depth, Imogen faces a choice—pack up her Smythson notebooks and quit, or channel her inner geek and take on Eve to save both the magazine and her career. A glittering, uproarious, sharply drawn story filled with thinly veiled fashion personalities, The Knockoff is an insider’s look at the ever-changing world of fashion and a fabulous romp for our Internet-addicted age.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The Knockoff delighted us with its glamorous look at the cutthroat New York fashion world. When Glossy magazine editor-in-chief Imogen Tate returns from leave, she discovers her former assistant, Eve, has unseated her. A monster in Manolos, Eve plans to turn Glossy into an app and send Imogen packing. We found ourselves 100% on Team Imogen as she navigates the tech industry, fumbles with social media, attempts to find a work/family balance—and looks to prove that newer isn't always better.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fashion maven Sykes and journalist Piazza combine forces to create a winning romp of a tale that skewers a millennial, techie know-it-all who tries to undermine an "old guard" print editor when a top fashion magazine is transformed into an interactive app. Imogen Tate, editor-in-chief for Glossy magazine, returns to work after six months in treatment for breast cancer. She finds her former assistant, Eve Morton, back from a stint at Harvard business school, brimming with superiority and ideas to turn her print magazine into a 24/7 trendy online marketplace app. In this modernized All About Eve plotline, the maniacally driven Eve goes up against her too-kind boss in ways both large (stealing Imogen's ideas) and small (insulting her lack of tech knowledge), leaving Imogen feeling out of step. Throughout, readers are constantly reminded of the ubiquity of technology and its potential pitfalls. This breezy, behind-the-scenes tale offers a fresh, modern take on a classic tale of rivalry.
Customer Reviews
A fun update on the classic All About Eve
Thoroughly enjoyed this Fashion meets Tech world romp.The protagonist, Imogen, is likeable, stylish and smart, not at all like the Bette Davis character of yore. Her nemesis, Eve, a former assistant, is deliciously evil, although her ghastly and dastardly actions are definitely a suspension of disbelief. A definite "curl up on the couch and read all afternoon" novel.
Two thumbs up
Amazing read!! So relatable to all those 40-something’s out there!
The Knockoff
Loved the characters....even mean Eve - who was horrible!