Hi Readers,
The Beautiful Bureaucrat by Helen Phillips (one of our August picks) was nothing like I thought it would be. When I was looking at which new books I would read in August, I came across this book and the following description:
In a windowless building in a remote part of town, the newly employed Josephine inputs an endless string of numbers into something known only as “The Database.” After a long period of joblessness, she’s not inclined to question her fortune, but as the days inch by and the files stack up, Josephine feels increasingly anxious in her surroundings. The office’s scarred pinkish walls take on a living quality. The drone of keyboards echoes eerily down the long halls. When one evening her husband Joseph disappears and then returns, offering no explanation as to his whereabouts, her creeping unease shifts decidedly to dread.
I was expecting The Beautiful Bureaucrat to be about a woman stuck in a job she hated who comes to discover that she’s wasting her life away in a dark, grey office and needs to make a drastic change. You know, something like Joe v. the Volcano.
Readers, this book was way more intricate and exciting than all that. Phillips crafted a compelling tale that was emotional and complex. I consumed this book in two sittings and was left wanting more. Not wanting more because the story was incomplete, but because Phillips’ writing was so compelling.
I highly recommend this piece and look forward to Phillips’ next book.
Did you get a chance to read it? What is your reaction? Leave a comment below with your thoughts and be sure to tag your copy of the book on instagram with #TWTBookshelf.
Live, Love, Learn,
Candice & The Write Teacher(s)