Escapism. That's why we read or listen to or watch stories like this one. It seems as though we all hate our bosses, at least a little bit. And it's a relief to learn that someone has a worse boss than we do. FAR worse. Enter Miranda Priestly: the fashion Boss from Hell, whose every wish, no matter how frivolous or ridiculous, must be attended to by a young, exasperated, sleep- and food-deprived assistant.

Andrea Sachs is a recent college graduate who is looking for a starter job in Manhattan. She has hopes of someday becoming a writer for The New Yorker. She settles for an entry position at Runway, a prestigious fashion magazine. Andrea is now the new junior assistant to Miranda Priestly, the editor-in-chief and head of the whole operation. This woman needs two assistants to serve her work and her whims. Andrea does her best to balance the huge demands and long hours in the office with having some semblance of a personal life, including hanging out with her boyfriend Alex and getting together with her long-time best friend Lily. Can she handle all of it? Or will she eventually have to give up something? And which something would that be?

As soon as this novel came out, in the early 2000s, it was well known to be a thinly disguised memoir of Lauren Weisberger's own experiences of working at Vogue with Anna Wintour. People who know the world of high fashion -- and I surely do not -- can debate how much of the book resembles the truth. The fact that at least some of these scenes came from real life is, again, proof to the rest of us that our own work situations have to be much better than this one.

I chose to listen to this book on CDs during my commute. I realized halfway through that I had accidentally borrowed the ABRIDGED version of the set (on five CDs), narrated by actress Rachel Leigh Cook. I liked the accents and the speaking styles that she gave to each character. Alas, I took one for the team, and I also listened to narrator Bernadette Dunne read the UNABRIDGED version on 11 CDs. I didn't like Dunne's imagined accents quite as much as Cook's. (Two different companies produced the two CD sets.) And how had someone abridged this book to less than half of its original size? By listening to both, I could tell which scenes someone thought were less important than others. It was slightly disconcerting.

And then, of course, a movie version of the book was released in 2006, starring Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly and Anne Hathaway as Andrea Sachs. So now, we've got the original book, in print or in audio format; an abridged audio edition; and a movie. How can we choose which one to enjoy? Well, how much of Priestly's pretentiousness do you want to face? How much suffering do you want to see Andrea endure? These are the questions you should ask yourself. Although Streep does her usual great job at portraying an aloof character, her performance gives moviegoers only a mere glimpse into what Miranda is all about. And Hathaway isn't nearly as flustered and frustrated on the screen as Andrea Sachs is, on the printed page. If you want the full story with all of its drama, then you've got to read or to listen to the unabridged book.

Obviously, I'm late to the party here. This book was released a little more than 20 years ago. It was such a bestseller that it was made into a movie. And now it has two sequels: Revenge from Prada: The Devil Returns and If Life Gives you Lululemons. Elton John and Paul Rudnick are even said to be preparing a musical based on the story. Nonconformist that I am, I resisted reading the book or watching the movie until it was nearly off everybody else's radar. And yet, you know what? The Devil Wears Prada is still a good story to escape to, no matter the length or the format. We can all be relieved that we never have to answer to the likes of Miranda Priestly. Don't worry, Andrea. We've got your back. And we can assure you that you'll get out from under her thumb eventually. You will survive.