rblog

Author: Lauren Weisberger
Amazon info

Yup, I ran out of books after finishing the Gibson novels and I had to pick up whatever was available. Perhaps I am partial to Weisberger because she is a Cornell alum, but this book was generally fun to read.

In general, the story struck me as reasonable - but that may be highly influenced by my previous job at "The Crazy Company" working for the "Crazy Man" - who would also call at all hours of the day or night with incomprehensible requests. And, he had a driver, an administrative assistant and a technical assistant, as well as unlimited expense accounts. But he was not nearly as evil as Andrea's boss Miranda. Nevertheless, it was fun for me to read about an even crazier boss than the one that I had had.

However, there were also some very frustrating elements to the plot. Andrea is overwhelmed and overworked by her excruciatingly exacting boss - so much so that she rarely has time to go out for lunch. Well, rather than starving herself into incoherency, what about a box of power bars in her desk? There were many other simple solutions to her seemingly insolvable problems. In addition, there were a number of times where I felt that Andrea was the cause of her problems - her boss was clear that she wanted coffee now, there is no time for Andrea to stop and take a cigarette break. But she did and she is late and deserves the reprimand. Of course, I am a pretty "work-oriented" person :).

The sub-plots were somewhat slim and basic, but I enjoyed the super-nice boyfriend who finally demands better treatment and breaks things off - nicely unresolved at the end (at least unresolved to me).

Recommended to those with normal jobs who want a glimpse of how unusual a job might be.