âÂeÂ~Extremely funny âÂeÂ" a satirical masterpiece that is tender and existentially-minded as well. I loved it!âÂeÂ(tm) Elizabeth McKenzie, author of THE PORTABLE VEBLENâÂeÂ~Very smart and juicy and weird and entertaining âÂe it reads like a chick lit plot written by FranzenâÂeÂ(tm) Curtis SittenfeldJen has reached her early thirties and has all but abandoned a once-promising painting career when, spurred by the economic crisis, she takes a poorly defined job at a feminist nonprofit. The foundationâÂeÂ(tm)s aim is to empower women, but staffers spend all their time devising acronyms for imaginary programs, ruthlessly undermining one another, and stroking the ego of their boss, the larger-than-life celebrity philanthropist Leora Infinitas.JenâÂeÂ(tm)s complicity in this passive-aggressive hellscape only intensifies her feelings of inferiority compared to her two best friends âÂeÂ" one a wealthy attorney with a picture-perfect family, the other a passionately committed artist âÂeÂ" and so does JenâÂeÂ(tm)s apparent inability to have a baby, a source of existential panic that begins to affect her marriage and her already precarious status at the office.Jessica WinterâÂeÂ(tm)s ferociously intelligent debut novel is a wry satire that explores the difficulty of navigating friendships as they shift to accommodate marriage and family, and the unspoken tensions that can strain even the strongest bonds. |