Loved the idea, not totally on board with the execution
It felt bizarre to read this book that's published in 2021, because it feels like it was written 5 years ago and so a lot of the details feel out of date - like the start-up company's "crazy" idea is basically BetterHelp/online therapy - not exactly groundbreaking or new. The "amazing" salary Darren is offered is $40,000 a year plus a bonus. I live in the Midwest and 40k is not a big salary...I can't imagine it would cover costs in New York City.
I'm pretty okay with things in satire being exaggerated/over-the-top - that's the point. I'm not okay with setting up promises to the reader - "This character is going to put these other character in situations where they'll have to use sales techniques" and then ignore them - "the characters will actually just panic and run away." This situation happens twice in the space of a few pages.
There were things I enjoyed - I'm on board with the exploration of the very real issues of racism and lack of representation in leadership roles in organizations. I worry, though, that people will consider the depictions of racism as over-the-top since other elements of the book are exaggerated. It realistically depicts aspects of toxic workplaces, racist microaggressions and overt aggressions, codeswitching, and gentrifications, but the characters and overall plot are exaggerated for satire's sake. I'm just not sure if it all lands together.
I'm pretty okay with things in satire being exaggerated/over-the-top - that's the point. I'm not okay with setting up promises to the reader - "This character is going to put these other character in situations where they'll have to use sales techniques" and then ignore them - "the characters will actually just panic and run away." This situation happens twice in the space of a few pages.
There were things I enjoyed - I'm on board with the exploration of the very real issues of racism and lack of representation in leadership roles in organizations. I worry, though, that people will consider the depictions of racism as over-the-top since other elements of the book are exaggerated. It realistically depicts aspects of toxic workplaces, racist microaggressions and overt aggressions, codeswitching, and gentrifications, but the characters and overall plot are exaggerated for satire's sake. I'm just not sure if it all lands together.