She used to detest being labeled a "sex-and-shopping novelist," but now Judith Krantz accepts that it "will unquestionably be the first line in my obituary," so she's preempted the pundits by using it as the title of her breezy, earthy memoir. "On balance," Krantz concludes, "sex and shopping are both excellent things"--and she's had plenty of both. In her opening chapter, on the night train to Paris in 1949, about-to-be-21-year-old Judy Tarcher realizes, "Now that I was old enough to vote, I was old enough to lose my virginity." Thirty-three years later, when her husband wants to reach her in a hurry, he knows her habits well enough to find her in Beverly Hills, "dallying at the Saint Laurent boutique." In between, Krantz offers a frank account of her affluent childhood in New York City; college years at Wellesley; premarital affairs that led to a 1953 abortion (about which she is matter-of-fact and guilt-free); marriage to television executive Steve Krantz; and, of course, the string of bestsellers that began with Scruples, published when she was 50. Although Krantz settles a few scores (mostly with carping critics) in her blunt narrative, by and large it describes with infectious gusto a glamorous life enjoyed to the hilt. --Wendy Smith


From Publishers Weekly
That demure, well-behaved and virginal Judy Tarcher, a Wellesley graduate from a wealthy and proper Jewish family who ultimately became Judith Krantz, author of such steamy, sex-drenched bestsellers as Scruples, Princess Daisy and Mistral's Daughter, seems to surprise even Krantz herself. Nevertheless, here Krantz gleefully charts her transformation from one of the most studious and least popular girls at Manhattan's exclusive Birch Wathen School to one of the publishing industry's most f?ted stars. The story of the intervening years is both entertaining and instructive. Nearly 50 when she embarked on her authorial career, Krantz (now 70) maintains that her early life--particularly a post-college year in Paris, during which she briefly lived in an abandoned brothel, and her connections, via her socially prominent parents and her TV-producer husband, to many real-life equivalents of her glamorous jet-set characters--provided rich material for her fiction, and she proves this point by providing blow-by-blow accounts of how various personal experiences and encounters worked their way into her novels. She also notes that, for her, autobiography is a kind of therapy, allowing her to analyze and come to terms with her often-fraught relationship with her emotionally distant parents and to get to the roots of various personal neuroses and anxieties. Like her novels, then, this is a story of a life of wealth and privilege also laced with heartache. But, narrated in a chatty, down-to-earth voice, it's also a stylish, fun read with an appealing blend of entertaining froth and savvy insight. 24 pages of photos not seen by PW. Author tour. (May) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Having apparently exhausted the glitz-and-glamour fiction format, Krantz has penned her autobiography, hoping readers will be as fascinated with her real-life story as they have been with her novels. Unfortunately, her efforts flounder among pages of name-dropping, tedious quotes from her books, and gossipy comments about beauty, fashion, celebrities, and sex. She fails to convey any sense of depth or insight as she blithely carries on about losing her virginity, love affairs, abortion, therapy, and facelifts. The narration is self-absorbed and shallow. The pages dealing with her childhood, her relationship with her cold and remote father, and the mores of that particular time period in history are by far the most engrossing part of her tale. A little more astuteness and subtlety by the author might have turned it around. Definitely for the National Enquirer set, this title is a marginal purchase for most public libraries.---Margaret Ann Hanes, Sterling Heights P.L., MI Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Beliefnet
The book jacket of Judith Krantz's memoir "Sex and Shopping: The Confessions of a Nice Jewish Girl" promises a read every bit as sensationalistic as her breathless best-sellers. "While I seemed like another 'nice Jewish girl,' underneath that convenient cover I'[ve] traveled my own, inner-directed path and had many a spicy and secret adventure," Krantz confides.

If you're looking for tales of sex and glamour, stick with "The Mistral's Daughter" Krantz's life is actually rather dull. But in "Sex and Shopping," readers will find something that ultimately more satisfying--a surprisingly insightful description of how non-observant Jews find their identity inextricably intertwined with their religion. (Beliefnet, May 2000)


From Booklist
Krantz, the Queen of Glitz and Glamour, attracts two types of readers: those who love the sex, shopping, and name-dropping, and those who revel in her wonderful storytelling skills. The first group, along with readers of memoirs of the rich and famous, should find a great deal to enjoy in Krantz's tale of a self-confessed "nice Jewish girl" who grew up affluent in New York during the Depression and World War II and isn't afraid to detail all her early sexual exploits. Readers who love her for her well-crafted plots will discover, however, that real life, even an adventurous one, just does not a plot make. Even so, the early installments of her life story are fascinating. She recounts her teenage years when she grappled with her major-league sex appeal and discovered the distance one can go and still remain a virgin. Her tale is a page-turner into the early 1950s, when she meets, falls in love with, and marries Steve Krantz, a television pioneer who went on to become one of the most successful producers in Hollywood. This is the era in which Krantz gets serious about shopping and partying with political and show-business glitterati, and she describes the clothing, jewels, wines, and delicacies consumed with pleasure, although her narrative flags here and there, losing its focus and impetus. What saves the day, appropriately enough, is Krantz's writing about her writing as she shares the real-life experiences behind her fictional characters and their best-selling stories. Diana Tixier Herald


Review
"She did it her way, just like the plucky heroines of her novels Scruples, Princess Daisy and Mistral's Daughter" --People

"Her joie de vivre, self-deprecating wit, and conspiratorial tone make this memoir a deliciously entertaining read." --US Weekly

"A joy ride....lively...titillating, true confessions." --People

"I absolutely adored this sensation of a book!"--Joan Rivers

"Torrid...You'll want to wolf this story down like chocolate chip cookies." --Helen Gurley Brown

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Advance Praise for Sex and Shopping

"I absolutely adored this sensation of a book! Judith Krantz takes us way beyond the delights of sex and shopping into the heart and mind of a fascinating, witty, and gutsy woman. She's lived fully, with courage, sensuality, and originality, and, I might add, had one hell of a good time doing it!"—Joan Rivers

"Judith Krantz, who has created some of the most memorable women in fiction, has until now declined to reveal the most fascinating character of them all, herself—shamelessly unveiled in her autobiography. Bravo!"—David Brown, producer of Jaws, The Sting, and Angela's Ashes

"To experience Judith Krantz's full and abundant life is to walk though your own life a fuller and happier woman. The love in this book is deeply touching."—Debbie Reynolds

"Judith Krantz is incapable of writing a dull word. Of course, she is full of baloney. Her book is subtitled The Confessions of a Nice Jewish Girl, which she is not. She is a bad Jewish girl, as attested to by her torrid confessions. You'll want to wolf this story down like chocolate chip cookies."—Helen Gurley Brown

"If you've loved spending time with the heroines in Judith Krantz's novels all these years, you are really going to enjoy the Real One, Judith Krantz herself." —Ali MacGraw"

A stunningly frank and honest autobiography, revealing Judith Krantz's light and dark sides. Both sides are hilarious, sometimes sad, and always compelling. Count on it, they're all romantic. And now I know how she writes those lusty sex scenes. Just don't tell me she makes them up!"—Polly Bergen

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

That demure, well-behaved and virginal Judy Tarcher, a Wellesley graduate from a wealthy and proper Jewish family who ultimately became Judith Krantz, author of such steamy, sex-drenched bestsellers as Scruples, Princess Daisy and Mistral's Daughter, seems to surprise even Krantz herself. Nevertheless, here Krantz gleefully charts her transformation from one of the most studious and least popular girls at Manhattan's exclusive Birch Wathen School to one of the publishing industry's most f ted stars. The story of the intervening years is both entertaining and instructive. Nearly 50 when she embarked on her authorial career, Krantz (now 70) maintains that her early life--particularly a post-college year in Paris, during which she briefly lived in an abandoned brothel, and her connections, via her socially prominent parents and her TV-producer husband, to many real-life equivalents of her glamorous jet-set characters--provided rich material for her fiction, and she proves this point by providing blow-by-blow accounts of how various personal experiences and encounters worked their way into her novels. She also notes that, for her, autobiography is a kind of therapy, allowing her to analyze and come to terms with her often-fraught relationship with her emotionally distant parents and to get to the roots of various personal neuroses and anxieties. Like her novels, then, this is a story of a life of wealth and privilege also laced with heartache. But, narrated in a chatty, down-to-earth voice, it's also a stylish, fun read with an appealing blend of entertaining froth and savvy insight. 24 pages of photos not seen by PW. Author tour. (May) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Library Journal