lisdweer's review
4.0
If you take this book seriously, at face value, you'll struggle to see the appeal. Unrealistic dialogue, some one-dimensional characters (Hamilton and Torrent, for example), other characters who seem to resemble caricatures more than humans (Betga is a clear example here), and a hamfisted morality: those in power are bad and don't care about women, Maselov is "one of the good ones".
I can see the complaints and criticisms of this book. I can understand them. What I did was read it as a mirror of the world -- but zoomed in. An ironic distortion. The dialogue is unrealistic but typically literary, witty at times, boundlessly incomprehensible at other times, almost Kafkaesque in its ways. The characters are caricatures -- but in the same way those in Ace Attorney (a well-loved game series) are. It's not meant to be a realistic display of current times. It's whimsical. It cuts current issues but doesn't try to solve them. Carla was asked not to take her case to trial as most women lose in sexual assault cases. It's not an idealistic novel. The author doesn't show a Utopia, or act like he has the answer. There is some nuance -- Betga and Maselov aren't the best of people, but at the same time neither are Carla or Maselov's wife.
All in all, the novel is enjoyable. Maybe a tad too long, with an ending that is not entirely satisfactory, but it is meant to be a fun journey in a grotesque landscape of mine-filled companies, most of all the Freely Savage law firm. It touches upon current issues, but the excessive focus on the main cast and their interactions shows it is not entirely meant to be an all-too-realistic critique.
I can see the complaints and criticisms of this book. I can understand them. What I did was read it as a mirror of the world -- but zoomed in. An ironic distortion. The dialogue is unrealistic but typically literary, witty at times, boundlessly incomprehensible at other times, almost Kafkaesque in its ways. The characters are caricatures -- but in the same way those in Ace Attorney (a well-loved game series) are. It's not meant to be a realistic display of current times. It's whimsical. It cuts current issues but doesn't try to solve them. Carla was asked not to take her case to trial as most women lose in sexual assault cases. It's not an idealistic novel. The author doesn't show a Utopia, or act like he has the answer. There is some nuance -- Betga and Maselov aren't the best of people, but at the same time neither are Carla or Maselov's wife.
All in all, the novel is enjoyable. Maybe a tad too long, with an ending that is not entirely satisfactory, but it is meant to be a fun journey in a grotesque landscape of mine-filled companies, most of all the Freely Savage law firm. It touches upon current issues, but the excessive focus on the main cast and their interactions shows it is not entirely meant to be an all-too-realistic critique.
boundtwobooks's review against another edition
4.0
I am no stranger to pitfalls of corporate work. I have experienced everything from verbal abuse, sexual harassment, and discrimination to then watch it all get covered up by HR and middle management. You could say I might be a little jaded when it comes to my opinions on corporate life, but then that wouldn’t even scratch the surface.
I came across Eliot Perlman’s novel in my first few weeks of moving to Melbourne. I wanted to read something Australian and preferably something local. When the local bookstore mentioned it would be up for their next book club meeting, I bought the book and signed up for the event.
Perlman’s book can be described as the sort of dark, bleak comedy that you only get after year’s of the system wearing you down. The dark comedy hinges on the relationship of the main protagonist, Stephen Masenov, his wife Elanor, the HR professional Jessica, and the strange lawyer, Betga. Tied up in the plot of the novel is sexual assault and harassment charges at Torrent Industries, which is described as a ludicrously profitable construction firm.
Woven between this Me Too narrative is a vicious and often hilarious attack at corporate capitalist offices with everything from open-plan offices, hot-desking, and collegial competition being mocked. If you have ever felt your job has eaten into your personal life, or perhaps that your personal life no longer exists then this book might bring you comfort in knowing that you aren’t the only one pissed-off and tired.
Perlman offers up a lot of food for thought throughout the novel. It feels at times like not just a novel, but a long rhetorical question for the reader. Especially when he talks about the hatred of our jobs, coupled with our complete financial dependence on them.
“Most of them are absolutely terrified of losing a job they absolutely hate.”
“White collar wage slaves,” as Perlman calls many of the characters in his book appear to be living the dream. They did everything right: finished school, got into law or business at university, graduated, and then worked their way up the corporate ladder. This dream promises us fulfilment at the end of it, but most of us are wondering what the heck we were thinking.
Perlman’s book will not make you comfortable, but you will get some Schadenfreude and snickering in.
“You need to understand that there are now just two kinds of people in this city, the people who are relegated to selling crafts by the side of the road—called consultants—and the people who still have the option of not buying those crafts.”
What Australian literature are you loving at the moment? As always, share the reading love.
I came across Eliot Perlman’s novel in my first few weeks of moving to Melbourne. I wanted to read something Australian and preferably something local. When the local bookstore mentioned it would be up for their next book club meeting, I bought the book and signed up for the event.
Perlman’s book can be described as the sort of dark, bleak comedy that you only get after year’s of the system wearing you down. The dark comedy hinges on the relationship of the main protagonist, Stephen Masenov, his wife Elanor, the HR professional Jessica, and the strange lawyer, Betga. Tied up in the plot of the novel is sexual assault and harassment charges at Torrent Industries, which is described as a ludicrously profitable construction firm.
Woven between this Me Too narrative is a vicious and often hilarious attack at corporate capitalist offices with everything from open-plan offices, hot-desking, and collegial competition being mocked. If you have ever felt your job has eaten into your personal life, or perhaps that your personal life no longer exists then this book might bring you comfort in knowing that you aren’t the only one pissed-off and tired.
Perlman offers up a lot of food for thought throughout the novel. It feels at times like not just a novel, but a long rhetorical question for the reader. Especially when he talks about the hatred of our jobs, coupled with our complete financial dependence on them.
“Most of them are absolutely terrified of losing a job they absolutely hate.”
“White collar wage slaves,” as Perlman calls many of the characters in his book appear to be living the dream. They did everything right: finished school, got into law or business at university, graduated, and then worked their way up the corporate ladder. This dream promises us fulfilment at the end of it, but most of us are wondering what the heck we were thinking.
Perlman’s book will not make you comfortable, but you will get some Schadenfreude and snickering in.
“You need to understand that there are now just two kinds of people in this city, the people who are relegated to selling crafts by the side of the road—called consultants—and the people who still have the option of not buying those crafts.”
What Australian literature are you loving at the moment? As always, share the reading love.
peanutporridge's review
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
snoutling's review against another edition
4.0
Comic-tragedy with many laugh-out-loud moments. The story gets a bit too convoluted, but it wouldn't seem right for it to end with tidy resolution.
bookpossum's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the story, but didn't really warm to Perlman's style. Every so often his dialogue is described in a way clunky enough to be irritating and that pulled me out of the story each time. One example:
"I'm going to lose my job for this!" Featherby realised.
It's a pity, as the story is a good one, involving sexual harassment in the workplace, as well as other illegal activity. The central character, with the help of several other players, manages to conclude most matters very well, though we are left unsure at the end of where things will go next for him, either personally or professionally.
"I'm going to lose my job for this!" Featherby realised.
It's a pity, as the story is a good one, involving sexual harassment in the workplace, as well as other illegal activity. The central character, with the help of several other players, manages to conclude most matters very well, though we are left unsure at the end of where things will go next for him, either personally or professionally.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
'I am absolutely terrified of losing a job I absolutely hate.'
Stephen Maserov used to be a teacher. He retrained as a lawyer to try to give his family financial security. He’s now a second-year lawyer for a big corporate law firm, Freely Savage Carter Blanche where he’s working impossible hours to try to make budget. His wife Eleanor, who supported him in his career move, has asked him to move out of the family home because of the hours he works.
Sigh. So, there’s Stephen, working in a job he knows he hates, generating income to pay a mortgage for a home he can’t live in, supporting his wife and two small children. And, if that’s not enough stress, he isn’t sure that he’ll make it into the ranks of the third-year lawyers.
Stephen is both desperate and resourceful. He needs to keep his job to pay his mortgage and he wants to salvage his marriage. He sees and seizes an opportunity.
‘Under the right circumstances, I can make your horse talk.’
Torrent Industries is a major client of Freely Savage Carter Blanche. Stephen manages to get himself seconded there for a year on the basis that he can make some claims of sexual harassment go away.
Can Stephen do this, and how?
To write more about what Stephen does (and how) could ruin the story for an intending reader. Suffice to say, Stephen is walking a tightrope here. Can he survive and maintain an ethical position? Will he be able to expose the corrupt corporate world of which he is a part? And what about his marriage?
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, with its descriptive prose and its humour. I admired the way in which Mr Perlman explored several contemporary issues.
Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Stephen Maserov used to be a teacher. He retrained as a lawyer to try to give his family financial security. He’s now a second-year lawyer for a big corporate law firm, Freely Savage Carter Blanche where he’s working impossible hours to try to make budget. His wife Eleanor, who supported him in his career move, has asked him to move out of the family home because of the hours he works.
Sigh. So, there’s Stephen, working in a job he knows he hates, generating income to pay a mortgage for a home he can’t live in, supporting his wife and two small children. And, if that’s not enough stress, he isn’t sure that he’ll make it into the ranks of the third-year lawyers.
Stephen is both desperate and resourceful. He needs to keep his job to pay his mortgage and he wants to salvage his marriage. He sees and seizes an opportunity.
‘Under the right circumstances, I can make your horse talk.’
Torrent Industries is a major client of Freely Savage Carter Blanche. Stephen manages to get himself seconded there for a year on the basis that he can make some claims of sexual harassment go away.
Can Stephen do this, and how?
To write more about what Stephen does (and how) could ruin the story for an intending reader. Suffice to say, Stephen is walking a tightrope here. Can he survive and maintain an ethical position? Will he be able to expose the corrupt corporate world of which he is a part? And what about his marriage?
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, with its descriptive prose and its humour. I admired the way in which Mr Perlman explored several contemporary issues.
Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
goldhattedlover's review against another edition
3.0
This book's secret is its lack of apparent agenda. Stephen Maserov is a reactive hero, a man looking only for safety in a volatile world and who, consequently, finds himself trapped between a monetary rock and a moralistic hard place. It is this mediatory relationship that allows Perlman to dip into the predominant ideologies surrounding real-world sexual harassment scandals without becoming so condemnatory that the book ceases to be fiction.
Ostensibly, ‘Maybe the Horse Will Talk’ is a sole-faceted satire, underlining the dysfunctional priorities of billion-dollar corporations by forcing its protagonist to pose genuine solutions to institutional misogyny in a way that entices a money-hungry CEO. But Perlman also explores the merit of an apolitical mindset, asking his reader to empathise with characters who have, in some way or another, been complicit in misconduct: Maserov defends a company that disregards internal corruption in consideration of his mortgage, wife and children; Betga convinces a victim of sexual assault to leave the perpetrator unscathed in return for financial security; Jessica smothers evidence with the potential to harm her employer in the shameless preservation of her own career. This subtle scrutiny of bystanders is just as poignant as the overt caricature of corporate turpitude.
Thankfully, Perlman allows these controversial questions to gurgle beneath the surface of a plot-driven fable, replete with considered prose and a semi-absurdist sense of humour, which presents itself most obviously as hyperreal dialogue. The narrative falters at times, caught up in extraneous subplots and characters - Maserov’s surveying of Emery and Fleur Werd-Gelding at the bid of Freely Savage’s HR department, for one - but ultimately delivers on the taut, hilarious social commentary promised by its first chapter. Considering the recent saturation of society with #MeToo conversations and corporate scrutiny, ‘Maybe the Horse Will Talk’ is a more compelling experience than it deserves to be.
3.5 stars, rounded up.
Ostensibly, ‘Maybe the Horse Will Talk’ is a sole-faceted satire, underlining the dysfunctional priorities of billion-dollar corporations by forcing its protagonist to pose genuine solutions to institutional misogyny in a way that entices a money-hungry CEO. But Perlman also explores the merit of an apolitical mindset, asking his reader to empathise with characters who have, in some way or another, been complicit in misconduct: Maserov defends a company that disregards internal corruption in consideration of his mortgage, wife and children; Betga convinces a victim of sexual assault to leave the perpetrator unscathed in return for financial security; Jessica smothers evidence with the potential to harm her employer in the shameless preservation of her own career. This subtle scrutiny of bystanders is just as poignant as the overt caricature of corporate turpitude.
Thankfully, Perlman allows these controversial questions to gurgle beneath the surface of a plot-driven fable, replete with considered prose and a semi-absurdist sense of humour, which presents itself most obviously as hyperreal dialogue. The narrative falters at times, caught up in extraneous subplots and characters - Maserov’s surveying of Emery and Fleur Werd-Gelding at the bid of Freely Savage’s HR department, for one - but ultimately delivers on the taut, hilarious social commentary promised by its first chapter. Considering the recent saturation of society with #MeToo conversations and corporate scrutiny, ‘Maybe the Horse Will Talk’ is a more compelling experience than it deserves to be.
3.5 stars, rounded up.
sharondblk's review
4.0
This book has an absolute classic opening line "He was absolutely terrified of loosing a job he absolutely hated" which is a feeling I think many of us understand. Some of the book is satire (the law firm the main character works for is called Freely Savage Carter Blanche) some of it is a sad reflection of late stage capitalism and some of it a bit of a chaotic corporate revenge espionage plot. And there are a couple of complicated love stories in there too so, not a very focussed book. A book that has a lot to say, but says it by throwing a bunch of ideas, plots and concepts into the vat and seeing what happens. Luckily it's very well written, so the chaos is held together with good writting.
I particularly enjoyed the fact that it is set, not just in Melbourne, but in the inner South-East - the pubs the characters hang out in (the Espy, the Dick Wittington and the Governor) are all walking distance from my place. Which leaves me curious and to why they drive everywhere and no-one ever catches a tram. Putting that aside, the book is a bit of a hot mess, but in an enjoyable way.
The ending - I would do this book as a book club book just so I could see what other people thought about the ending, but I'm not going to say anything here, because absolutely anything could be a spoiler, and I'm really glad I had no idea until I read it.
I particularly enjoyed the fact that it is set, not just in Melbourne, but in the inner South-East - the pubs the characters hang out in (the Espy, the Dick Wittington and the Governor) are all walking distance from my place. Which leaves me curious and to why they drive everywhere and no-one ever catches a tram. Putting that aside, the book is a bit of a hot mess, but in an enjoyable way.
The ending - I would do this book as a book club book just so I could see what other people thought about the ending, but I'm not going to say anything here, because absolutely anything could be a spoiler, and I'm really glad I had no idea until I read it.
kimswhims's review
5.0
This is an audiobook read by the author that I really can't rave highly enough about.
Clever and funny on the very confronting subject of sexual abuse in the workplace. The thing is at no time did I feel like it was using the victims of abuse to poke fun at, it really punches up.
Far more impressive than I actually thought it was going to be. I'll be looking out for my by Elliot Perlman.
Clever and funny on the very confronting subject of sexual abuse in the workplace. The thing is at no time did I feel like it was using the victims of abuse to poke fun at, it really punches up.
Far more impressive than I actually thought it was going to be. I'll be looking out for my by Elliot Perlman.