Saturday, October 6, 2012

Sad Desk Salad-Jessica Grose

Sad Desk Salad


Jessica Grose

Morrow, Oct 2 2012, $14.99

ISBN: 9780062188342



Alex Lyons avoids the commute as she works from her home as a blogger for Chick Habit the women’s on-line gossip fanzine. She knows hits equal employment as her job requires a million per month so she constantly searches the net for the latest celeb scandal as ten minutes away from the cyber means missing out on a celeb death. Her frustrated boyfriend Peter not only has to remind her to shower, eat and go to the bathroom, he has to beg her as well.



The writer saves her best nastiness for the Sad Desk Salad crowd who eat physically healthy but mentally depressing lunches at their desk. A tip points her to a great scandal as Becky, the MIT daughter of parenting guru Darleen West, is caught snorting. Alex knows this feeding frenzy will end the young woman’s future before it begins so she has doubts about its release. However, her British tabloid trained boss sends it out anyway. As a BTCH (Break the Chick Habit) attacks Alex and her colleagues, feeling guilty she obsesses over finding the missing Becky, ask an angry Peter for forgiveness and regain her self-respect lost since she graduated from Wesleyan.



This is a jocular intelligent look at the instant internet destructiveness of uncaring blogs and competitive media as freedom of information supersedes personal privacy with a click of a cell phone. Fast-paced, readers will relish this exposé as nothing is sacred in the reality of the virtual world.



Harriet Klausner

No comments: