Everyday Life
1991
First Published
3.41
Average Rating
128
Number of Pages
The hiring of a new secretary shouldn't be a big deal—just a slight a change in the office environment. But for the protagonist of this novel, it is a declaration of war, a call to "The new secretary has only been here two days," she says, "and I'm already talking about evil, a word I shouldn't even be using—arming myself for battle and choosing my weapons." Her quiet life of sacrifice and service has been rudely disrupted by the new hire, and she is not—despite the advice of her doctor, her neighbors, and her daughter—about to leave it at that. Instead, sabotage, alcohol, and kindness become the arsenal in a conflict fought across copy rooms and office parties. But the humor is undercut by a sadness, a sense of defeat that makes this slim novel resonate with the injustice of our increasingly impersonal, corporate world.
Avg Rating
3.41
Number of Ratings
105
5 STARS
15%
4 STARS
32%
3 STARS
34%
2 STARS
14%
1 STARS
4%
goodreads
Author
Lydie Salvayre
Author · 10 books
Lydie Salvayre is a French writer. Born in the south of France to Republican refugees from the Spanish Civil War, she went on to study medicine in Toulouse and continues to work as a practicing psychiatrist. She has been awarded both the Prix Hermes and the Prix Novembre for her work. She won the Prix Goncourt 2014 for her novel Pas Pleurer.
