Everyday Life

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 arms: 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.