The book was a major bestseller, and also received strong reviews.[13] The New York Times praised the book, saying it was "a big, bitter, funny, craftily plotted book that grabs you by the lapels and won't let go", but criticized its sometimes superficial characters, saying when "the book is over, there is an odd aftertaste, not entirely pleasant."[14] However, National Review claimed "No one has portrayed New York Society this accurately & devastatingly since Edith Wharton."[15]
Novelist Louis Auchincloss praised it as "a marvelous book".[16]
