This Could Hurt
Summary (from the publisher): A funny and deeply felt novel that illuminates the pivotal role of work in our lives—a riveting fusion of The Nest, Up in the Air, and Then We Came to the End that captures the emotional complexities of five HR colleagues trying to balance ambition, hope, and fear as their small company is buffeted by economic forces that threaten to upend them.
Rosa Guerrero beat the odds as she rose to the top of the corporate world. An attractive woman of a certain age, the longtime chief of human resources at Ellery Consumer Research is still a formidable presence, even if her most vital days are behind her. A leader who wields power with grace and discretion, she has earned the devotion and loyalty of her staff. No one admires Rosa more than her doting lieutenant Leo Smalls, a benefits vice president whose whole world is Ellery.
While Rosa is consumed with trying to address the needs of her staff within the ever-constricting limits of the company’s bottom line, her associate director, Rob Hirsch, a middle-aged, happily married father of two, finds himself drawing closer to his "work wife," Lucy Bender, an enterprising single woman searching for something—a romance, a promotion—to fill the vacuum in her personal life. For Kenny Verville, a senior manager with an MBA, Ellery is a temporary stepping-stone to bigger and better places—that is, if his high-powered wife has her way.
Compelling, flawed, and heartbreakingly human, these men and women scheme, fall in and out of love, and nurture dreams big and small. As their individual circumstances shift, one thing remains constant—Rosa, the sun around whom they all orbit. When her world begins to crumble, the implications for everyone are profound, and Leo, Rob, Lucy, and Kenny find themselves changed in ways beyond their reckoning.
Jillian Medoff explores the inner workings of an American company in all its brilliant, insane, comforting, and terrifying glory. Authentic, razor-sharp, and achingly funny, This Could Hurt is a novel about work, loneliness, love, and loyalty; about sudden reversals and unexpected windfalls; a novel about life.
Rosa Guerrero beat the odds as she rose to the top of the corporate world. An attractive woman of a certain age, the longtime chief of human resources at Ellery Consumer Research is still a formidable presence, even if her most vital days are behind her. A leader who wields power with grace and discretion, she has earned the devotion and loyalty of her staff. No one admires Rosa more than her doting lieutenant Leo Smalls, a benefits vice president whose whole world is Ellery.
While Rosa is consumed with trying to address the needs of her staff within the ever-constricting limits of the company’s bottom line, her associate director, Rob Hirsch, a middle-aged, happily married father of two, finds himself drawing closer to his "work wife," Lucy Bender, an enterprising single woman searching for something—a romance, a promotion—to fill the vacuum in her personal life. For Kenny Verville, a senior manager with an MBA, Ellery is a temporary stepping-stone to bigger and better places—that is, if his high-powered wife has her way.
Compelling, flawed, and heartbreakingly human, these men and women scheme, fall in and out of love, and nurture dreams big and small. As their individual circumstances shift, one thing remains constant—Rosa, the sun around whom they all orbit. When her world begins to crumble, the implications for everyone are profound, and Leo, Rob, Lucy, and Kenny find themselves changed in ways beyond their reckoning.
Jillian Medoff explores the inner workings of an American company in all its brilliant, insane, comforting, and terrifying glory. Authentic, razor-sharp, and achingly funny, This Could Hurt is a novel about work, loneliness, love, and loyalty; about sudden reversals and unexpected windfalls; a novel about life.
Review: I received an advance reader's edition of this novel from HarperCollins.
This novel focuses on five Human Resources colleagues that are all juggling their career and personal goals, hope with their futures, and fear as the economy tanks in 2009. Rosa Guerrero is the workaholic, childless boss who is both formidable but loyal and devoted to her staff. Leo Smalls is her devoted vice president, an unmarried gay man with a string of failed relationships behind him whose job is also his world. Rob Hirsch is an affable father of two who lacks drive and has failed to reach his potential. His 'work wife' is Lucy Bender, a single woman approaching forty who is searching for something, anything, to fill the void in her life. And finally, Kenny Verville, who holds a MBA from a prestigious college and seems to be using the company as a place holder and stepping stone to bigger and better places. As their supervisor's health continues to decline, the trajectory of the colleagues' stars alter and shift, having profound impacts on all of their lives.
I was initially drawn to this book out of curiosity. It's rare to read books that focus on our work lives, despite that being what the most of us do for the majority of our waking days. It's probably even rarer for a book to focus on an HR department. And yet despite the seemingly dull topic, this book is ultimately about modern life and is delivered with humor. While the characters are in many ways stereotypes, they are recognizable ones that likely will resonate with many with office workplace experience.
Medoff does an excellent job of weaving between perspectives and creating characters that inspire both empathy and humor. For instance, the scenes of Rosa talking to her dead husband are as touching as the scenes where Lucy fields her mother's poorly connected call from Costco are humorous. The author also does a job of illustrating the precarious balance and luck needed to succeed and get ahead in business, as well as the close connection between professional and personal happiness.
It did seem as if everyone's life is nearly too powerfully transformed by Rosa's altered health. It seems unlikely that most of her direct reports would almost entirely overhaul both their professional and personal lives for the better because the office structure changed. However, I did love to see the positive changes in Kenny and Rob in particular and found myself cheered by their altered circumstances by the conclusion of the novel. Overall, an original book about a little written about topic that explores the topic of work, loyalty, and happiness with sharp and witty writing.
Stars: 4
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