Darren is 22 and perfectly content living with his mother and working at Starbucks. One day, he impresses a CEO of a hot startup in the building he works at, as Darren convinces him to change his coffee order. The CEO, Rhett, offers Darren an opportunity in sales at his company, Sumwun.
Darren has his doubts in his first hellish week of training/hazing, as he is the only Black person in the company and so endures larger hurdles put in place by his white superiors. He is dubbed “Buck” since he came from Starbucks, and eventually earns a reputation as a ruthless salesman. As he becomes more successful, he starts to shift into someone that his friends and family no longer recognize.
In a string of unfortunate occurrences, Buck digs himself deeper into a hole, and pays the consequences. But the real story is his comeback.
Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to see a clear path forward.
This was a totally unexpected satire on microaggressions and overt racism in the workplace. The writing was hilarious, and kept me interested throughout. Buck’s journey from being someone who was likeable but complacent, to someone who you just want to shake for the decisions he starts to make.
I loved the way this was written, it was witty but at the same time drove home the ugly reality of systemic racism in America’s workforce, and gave a new perspective to what the “American Dream” could look like.
Darren has his doubts in his first hellish week of training/hazing, as he is the only Black person in the company and so endures larger hurdles put in place by his white superiors. He is dubbed “Buck” since he came from Starbucks, and eventually earns a reputation as a ruthless salesman. As he becomes more successful, he starts to shift into someone that his friends and family no longer recognize.
In a string of unfortunate occurrences, Buck digs himself deeper into a hole, and pays the consequences. But the real story is his comeback.
Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to see a clear path forward.
This was a totally unexpected satire on microaggressions and overt racism in the workplace. The writing was hilarious, and kept me interested throughout. Buck’s journey from being someone who was likeable but complacent, to someone who you just want to shake for the decisions he starts to make.
I loved the way this was written, it was witty but at the same time drove home the ugly reality of systemic racism in America’s workforce, and gave a new perspective to what the “American Dream” could look like.