So, I'm one of those people who wants American literature to be more concerned with work. It's just such a rich topic to explore. Some people make it their whole life and personality, others clock in and out to go about their lives. But I think most people are somewhere in the middle. The most important things to them, personally, are family and friends (and maybe hobbies). But they spend 40+ hours a week a work! They know a ton about their industry and find things to appreciate about it, even if begrudgingly. I thought SEVERANCE by Ling Ma did a great job exploring this. The protagonist wasn't passionate about book binding and international logistics, but the further she got into it, she did become kind of fascinated. And why wouldn't you? It's kind of interesting!
This is something that TV does better than novels, in my opinion. By necessity, most TV shows need a clear premise that a wide number of people will connect to. So this one's about a paper supplier, this one's government workers, this one's ad executives, this one's a restaurant kitchen, etc. And they're all about the human element, but the best ones get to something unique about that particular work setting. But there's no reason a novel couldn't do that! THE BEAR could be a novel.
As a side note, I've had EXECUTIVE SUITE on my to-read list for a while now.
I should mention that my analysis seems to be different than most. I guess I haven't read a ton of takes, but the ones I've seen tend to be "this book perfectly skewers capitalism and work culture," which I just didn't see! I thought it was a great exploration of why work becomes important to people. That's not to say it's totally pro-modern work, but I just didn't see it as a deeply anti-capitalist story, and in fact I thought that reading of it was not good.
One thing everyone can agree on, though, is that of all pre-COVID pandemic books, it was the most correct. A world-ending pandemic comes, and rather than immediately turn into "The Walking Dead," people mostly keep going to work!
So uplifting, Noami: "It's not that every ambitious person will break in, but it's clear, at least to me, that people who feel shut out will find a way to break down the doors, and some people at least will slip through. Ambition is a kind of living force that pulses through this book, and it's that force which causes pictures to get made."
Now I'm interested in reading this book, a feeling the one or two other reviews I read didn't inspire so thanks. More non-fiction reviews might be nice, though I greatly enjoy your takes on fiction old/new. In regard to "feeling very old" yourself, speaking from experience, it's all relative.
Reviewing nonfiction can definitely be more fun. Often feels like there's more to say, more it's possible to take away. Wheread with fiction it can feel impossible to really convey the experience of reading the book.
Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel’s break out book (after many previous excellent novels), is a historical novel about Thomas Cromwell and the circle of Henry VIII, but I think also an excellent novel about ambition and a nuanced character study of the career of a brilliant, perhaps workaholic, self-made man.
Scraping out a living, career changes, finance, networking, “managing upward” and such are the fabric of the novel.
Thank you for bringing up the topic of the relative absence of work / careers/ ambition from literary fiction… I’ve wondered about this myself… I have a soft spot for workaholic characters!
Since you mention The Privileges — what about the OG of Wall St novels, Bonfire of the Vanities? An iconic description of finance and legal professions in nyc in the 80s, both central to the characters and plot.
Based on this, I highly recommend What Makes Sammy Run by Budd Schulberg. There are a lot of really interminable novels about golden age Hollywood by writers who tried to work in the movies and decided the whole thing was a profit-driven hellscape that destroyed True Art ™ (Day of the Locust, Loves of the Last Tycoon, etc etc). This is not that! Schulberg was a brilliant screenwriter, and the novel is really about a fictionalized version of his father B.P. Schulberg, a big-deal Paramount executive in the 20s. Schulberg knows that world, because he grew up in it! I think it's the best book about ambition and craft and the limits and possibilities for creativity in the film industry.
The book sounds interesting, will pick it up. Now reading "Careless people" based on your recommendation.
I find it strange that there isn't really a "canon" of literary work fiction. Maybe because the nature of work changes very rapidly with time? My dad's recommendations to me when I was a kid where a bunch of books by Arthur Hailey, each covering one industry – Moneychangers (Banking), Overload (Electricity), In High Places (Politics), Strong Medicine (Pharma), etc. I read Moneychangers but I didn't feel like picking up the others. Interested to know if anyone else here has thoughts on how these read and how they've aged.
Upton Sinclair also seems to have written a few novels on different industries. But I don't hear anyone talking about "The Jungle" or "Oil!" in the same vein as The Great Gatsby.
I loved those Hailey books when I was growing up! I read so many of them. I am also quite fond _The Jungle_, which is a work of genuine power. In terms of canonical work-related fiction, there was really a period in the 19th-century when the French, in particular, got very into the details of work: I'm thinking especially of Emile Zola, who wrote a number of novels that are all about different industries, like _The Masterpiece_ (art) or _The Lady's Delight_ (department stores) or _Germinal_ (the mines), etc. These are all fantastic, but yes, have not much to say about what work is like for modern folks.
For America, the canonical book about working is Studs' Terkel's _Working_, his collection of oral histories of ppl talking about their work.
Didn't know about Zola and Terkel in this context, though I've heard of them. These sound intriguing, will check them out. The Jungle is on my list, looking forward to it!
Thank you for this review. I have a long and rambling response. Sorry for that.
As someone who reads (and attempts to write) mostly sci-fi and some fantasy, this review made me think back to the time when I started reading as a school boy.
It was some random 'for kids' stuff at the time, like Enid Blyton and Hardy Boys. Then one fine day I discovered these things called classics. It was Dracula, then Anna Karenina, then Scarlet Pimpernel and Tale of Two cities and Oliver Twist and then Pride and Prejudice.
I know, that sentence can give a genre whiplash to those who know those books but I had no idea of 'genres'. I realized that loved sci-fi when I found Isaac Asimov but I digress.
I stumbled upon The Great Gatsby, David Copperfield, War and Peace and its ilk. It didn't know that it was middle class fiction so I termed it 'normal fiction'. Over time I moved away from this normal stuff and got into fantasy and sci-fi but I always had this question.
Is it even possible to write something interesting about us? The regular Joe's, our struggles and small triumphs. I am already saddled with my life, would I find any entertainment if I read about someone else's life?
Then I read White Tiger by Arvind Adiga. Now it might be that I am very familiar with that particular class of person but I realized that it can be done. Just not by someone like me. I am far too compelled by fantasia to avoid it in what I attempt to write.
I now occasionally read memoirs and non-fiction about ambitious people either succeeding or becoming disillusioned (oftentimes both). I also wonder if someone can successful execute, or probably has executed a shoot the shaggy dog trope (pun unintended). I mean a story where a middle class person with ambition rises a little and then falls back into that solemn sea. I know, that the classics have quite a few examples of something similar but I mean a much more contemporary take.
Where are all these divorce and affair novels? I seem to have missed them (other than Annie Ernaux I can’t think of one I’ve read this year or last) but speaking of workplace novels reminds me of Joshua Ferris’ novel from over a decade ago…forgetting the name as always.. And then we were one? Something like that? I’m too lazy to google.
So, I'm one of those people who wants American literature to be more concerned with work. It's just such a rich topic to explore. Some people make it their whole life and personality, others clock in and out to go about their lives. But I think most people are somewhere in the middle. The most important things to them, personally, are family and friends (and maybe hobbies). But they spend 40+ hours a week a work! They know a ton about their industry and find things to appreciate about it, even if begrudgingly. I thought SEVERANCE by Ling Ma did a great job exploring this. The protagonist wasn't passionate about book binding and international logistics, but the further she got into it, she did become kind of fascinated. And why wouldn't you? It's kind of interesting!
This is something that TV does better than novels, in my opinion. By necessity, most TV shows need a clear premise that a wide number of people will connect to. So this one's about a paper supplier, this one's government workers, this one's ad executives, this one's a restaurant kitchen, etc. And they're all about the human element, but the best ones get to something unique about that particular work setting. But there's no reason a novel couldn't do that! THE BEAR could be a novel.
As a side note, I've had EXECUTIVE SUITE on my to-read list for a while now.
I'll have to read Severance someday! This makes it sound interesting.
I should mention that my analysis seems to be different than most. I guess I haven't read a ton of takes, but the ones I've seen tend to be "this book perfectly skewers capitalism and work culture," which I just didn't see! I thought it was a great exploration of why work becomes important to people. That's not to say it's totally pro-modern work, but I just didn't see it as a deeply anti-capitalist story, and in fact I thought that reading of it was not good.
One thing everyone can agree on, though, is that of all pre-COVID pandemic books, it was the most correct. A world-ending pandemic comes, and rather than immediately turn into "The Walking Dead," people mostly keep going to work!
This makes it sound even better!
So uplifting, Noami: "It's not that every ambitious person will break in, but it's clear, at least to me, that people who feel shut out will find a way to break down the doors, and some people at least will slip through. Ambition is a kind of living force that pulses through this book, and it's that force which causes pictures to get made."
Thank you!
Now I'm interested in reading this book, a feeling the one or two other reviews I read didn't inspire so thanks. More non-fiction reviews might be nice, though I greatly enjoy your takes on fiction old/new. In regard to "feeling very old" yourself, speaking from experience, it's all relative.
Reviewing nonfiction can definitely be more fun. Often feels like there's more to say, more it's possible to take away. Wheread with fiction it can feel impossible to really convey the experience of reading the book.
Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel’s break out book (after many previous excellent novels), is a historical novel about Thomas Cromwell and the circle of Henry VIII, but I think also an excellent novel about ambition and a nuanced character study of the career of a brilliant, perhaps workaholic, self-made man.
Scraping out a living, career changes, finance, networking, “managing upward” and such are the fabric of the novel.
Thank you for bringing up the topic of the relative absence of work / careers/ ambition from literary fiction… I’ve wondered about this myself… I have a soft spot for workaholic characters!
Since you mention The Privileges — what about the OG of Wall St novels, Bonfire of the Vanities? An iconic description of finance and legal professions in nyc in the 80s, both central to the characters and plot.
Oh yes, I really liked that one too. A fantastic novel
Based on this, I highly recommend What Makes Sammy Run by Budd Schulberg. There are a lot of really interminable novels about golden age Hollywood by writers who tried to work in the movies and decided the whole thing was a profit-driven hellscape that destroyed True Art ™ (Day of the Locust, Loves of the Last Tycoon, etc etc). This is not that! Schulberg was a brilliant screenwriter, and the novel is really about a fictionalized version of his father B.P. Schulberg, a big-deal Paramount executive in the 20s. Schulberg knows that world, because he grew up in it! I think it's the best book about ambition and craft and the limits and possibilities for creativity in the film industry.
That's a high recommendation! I'll give it a look.
The book sounds interesting, will pick it up. Now reading "Careless people" based on your recommendation.
I find it strange that there isn't really a "canon" of literary work fiction. Maybe because the nature of work changes very rapidly with time? My dad's recommendations to me when I was a kid where a bunch of books by Arthur Hailey, each covering one industry – Moneychangers (Banking), Overload (Electricity), In High Places (Politics), Strong Medicine (Pharma), etc. I read Moneychangers but I didn't feel like picking up the others. Interested to know if anyone else here has thoughts on how these read and how they've aged.
Upton Sinclair also seems to have written a few novels on different industries. But I don't hear anyone talking about "The Jungle" or "Oil!" in the same vein as The Great Gatsby.
I loved those Hailey books when I was growing up! I read so many of them. I am also quite fond _The Jungle_, which is a work of genuine power. In terms of canonical work-related fiction, there was really a period in the 19th-century when the French, in particular, got very into the details of work: I'm thinking especially of Emile Zola, who wrote a number of novels that are all about different industries, like _The Masterpiece_ (art) or _The Lady's Delight_ (department stores) or _Germinal_ (the mines), etc. These are all fantastic, but yes, have not much to say about what work is like for modern folks.
For America, the canonical book about working is Studs' Terkel's _Working_, his collection of oral histories of ppl talking about their work.
Didn't know about Zola and Terkel in this context, though I've heard of them. These sound intriguing, will check them out. The Jungle is on my list, looking forward to it!
Thank you for this review. I have a long and rambling response. Sorry for that.
As someone who reads (and attempts to write) mostly sci-fi and some fantasy, this review made me think back to the time when I started reading as a school boy.
It was some random 'for kids' stuff at the time, like Enid Blyton and Hardy Boys. Then one fine day I discovered these things called classics. It was Dracula, then Anna Karenina, then Scarlet Pimpernel and Tale of Two cities and Oliver Twist and then Pride and Prejudice.
I know, that sentence can give a genre whiplash to those who know those books but I had no idea of 'genres'. I realized that loved sci-fi when I found Isaac Asimov but I digress.
I stumbled upon The Great Gatsby, David Copperfield, War and Peace and its ilk. It didn't know that it was middle class fiction so I termed it 'normal fiction'. Over time I moved away from this normal stuff and got into fantasy and sci-fi but I always had this question.
Is it even possible to write something interesting about us? The regular Joe's, our struggles and small triumphs. I am already saddled with my life, would I find any entertainment if I read about someone else's life?
Then I read White Tiger by Arvind Adiga. Now it might be that I am very familiar with that particular class of person but I realized that it can be done. Just not by someone like me. I am far too compelled by fantasia to avoid it in what I attempt to write.
I now occasionally read memoirs and non-fiction about ambitious people either succeeding or becoming disillusioned (oftentimes both). I also wonder if someone can successful execute, or probably has executed a shoot the shaggy dog trope (pun unintended). I mean a story where a middle class person with ambition rises a little and then falls back into that solemn sea. I know, that the classics have quite a few examples of something similar but I mean a much more contemporary take.
Where are all these divorce and affair novels? I seem to have missed them (other than Annie Ernaux I can’t think of one I’ve read this year or last) but speaking of workplace novels reminds me of Joshua Ferris’ novel from over a decade ago…forgetting the name as always.. And then we were one? Something like that? I’m too lazy to google.