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GoldGato's Reviews > Not Working
Not Working
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NOTE: This review is of the audio presentation of the book. I am, therefore, reviewing the oral format, not the written one. Save thy pitchforks.
A young self-absorbed woman voluntarily quits her London job with the purpose of finding herself. She finds herself at loose ends with the loss of her daily work routine supplanted by her new daily routine of sitting at a computer looking for work online. The comedy and asides come from her realizations of a changed life. This is NOT a story about the struggles and self-sacrifice from the book's heroine, as she happens to live with a brain surgeon intern, so money is not an issue. Security is not an issue. It's just a search for a new way of life, preferably one with passion.
Verdict: For me, I had difficulty with the basic premise. There aren't any real obstacles or issues or concerns. She won't starve to death. She won't become homeless. She just wants to do what she wants to do. Hmmmm. No problem with that, you only get one life so do what makes you happy, if you have that privilege (which she has). But there's really no there, there. What the protagonist views as 'problems', the rest of us wouldn't give a second thought.
However, I very much enjoyed the narration by Emily Bruni, which was marvelous. She reads, but reacts. The sentences are clearly delivered and I almost came to like Claire Flannery and her half-hearted attempts at confidence building. Almost.
...clusters of supporters lining my route to cheer me on my way
Book Season = Summer (the season of me, myself, and I)
A young self-absorbed woman voluntarily quits her London job with the purpose of finding herself. She finds herself at loose ends with the loss of her daily work routine supplanted by her new daily routine of sitting at a computer looking for work online. The comedy and asides come from her realizations of a changed life. This is NOT a story about the struggles and self-sacrifice from the book's heroine, as she happens to live with a brain surgeon intern, so money is not an issue. Security is not an issue. It's just a search for a new way of life, preferably one with passion.
Verdict: For me, I had difficulty with the basic premise. There aren't any real obstacles or issues or concerns. She won't starve to death. She won't become homeless. She just wants to do what she wants to do. Hmmmm. No problem with that, you only get one life so do what makes you happy, if you have that privilege (which she has). But there's really no there, there. What the protagonist views as 'problems', the rest of us wouldn't give a second thought.
However, I very much enjoyed the narration by Emily Bruni, which was marvelous. She reads, but reacts. The sentences are clearly delivered and I almost came to like Claire Flannery and her half-hearted attempts at confidence building. Almost.
...clusters of supporters lining my route to cheer me on my way
Book Season = Summer (the season of me, myself, and I)
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Stephanie
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Jun 01, 2016 09:16AM
I don't like Claire and I haven't even read the book!
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Uh-oh, I've prejudiced you against the main character, didn't mean to do that! Stephanie wrote: "I don't like Claire and I haven't even read the book!"
Sounds a little tediously self-centred/middle class to me.
I also listened to the audiobook, and I totally get where you're coming from in how Claire seems a bit self-absorbed. But I think a lot of the issues she has are actually a bit more serious then one might think. I personally suffer from a lot of anxiety and depression (on and off), and I found that I could really connect to Claire just because a lot of the issues she has, I often have myself. For me it gets a bit better when I'm working (but in this day and age all I can find are sporatic temp jobs) and when I'm not working, most days I find it hard just to get out of bed, let alone clean the house and make meals. And then my anxiety would get even worse, because I feel like I should be perfectly capable of doing everything because I have all this spare time, which makes me very emotional (angry, upset and annoyed - like pms to the tenth degree). And just seeing Claire facing a lot of the same struggles, made me feel bit better, just knowing that it's not just me, and other people have similar issues too
Thanks, Chloe, that's a viewpoint I didn't consider. Puts Claire's insecurities in a different light.Chloe wrote: "I also listened to the audiobook, and I totally get where you're coming from in how Claire seems a bit self-absorbed. But I think a lot of the issues she has are actually a bit more serious then on..."
