A review by goldhattedlover
Maybe The Horse Will Talk by Elliot Perlman
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.