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A review by afrathefish
Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter
4.5
4.5
this was very much a case of perfect place, perfect time when it came to this book, and reading it felt very therapeutic in some ways, if i am completely honest.
the novel follows protagonist cassie navigating her life in silicon valley, a year into her nondescript senior role at a vague startup that holds ‘promise’. we see the protagonist navigate the hidden nature of her role, her shifting relationships with friends and family and lovers, and the weird space in between that coworkers take up. we see her being swallowed by her job, and how everything else in her life consequently falls apart. and there was something so vivid in the way this was written that truly allowed to reader to see how it was minute slights that slowly drove the protagonist to insanity. this honestly felt like kim joyoung, born 1982, but she’s in silicon valley and white.
the writing was honestly a delight - being so vivid in places that it felt like you were watching a movie as opposed to reading a book. it NEEDS to be adapted to the screen. the characters too had a tangible intangible quality to them - i guess in many ways resembling the way we view one another today too.
i’d also never read somethjng that was as good at describing the vapidness that life has become in late stage capitalism. the novel exemplifies how though the protagonist has essentially reached a role at the pinnacle of success in accordance to what we value, nothing still feels enough. her friends are usually made up of surface level encounters, her coworkers feel like strangers you constantly have to overshare to, and you see her constantly having to develop a persona to get through. she’s also seen developing an addiction and is basically an alcoholic, and there’s something so ironic about how she’s having to lose her mind to cope with what is supposed to be the pinnacle of her success. the nature of working in the corporate world was also so wonderfully presented. the late hours, the fake attempts at convincing people you’re working in a team all for it not to matter in the long run, how everything you do feels like it’s not enough, and even after you’ve completed a huge assignment, you’re immediately launched into the next thing, with the only acknowledgment of your achievement coming six months down the line at a shitty company get together where you’re presented with a few pats on the back from people who don’t matter. the constant running yourself to the ground and still being told it’s never enough, all for it to feel so vapid anyway because when you think about it, especially in corporate, what is any of this for anyway? what are you actually expending your life away behind? is any of it worth it? the tokenism in employing EDI initiatives is touched upon, but could have been expanded on.
needless to say, this book has pretty much put me in a tailspin and had me having a few existential panic attacks, and pretty much firmly cementing the fact that I don’t think i’m made for corporate. it brought back very vivid experiences from my internship last summer and … yeah.
the one criticism it some may have is that it is very much … the whinging of an upper middle class woman. this perspective is very much valid, as the complexities of being a POC in these spaces must be so much more complex, as you’re frozen between balancing your backgrounds and forced to inhabit mannerisms and rituals you have no clue exist. nonetheless, the way it is written very much worked for me, and was amazing at presenting the fears that have had cynicism growing in my bones as i’ve started my working life.
this was very much a case of perfect place, perfect time when it came to this book, and reading it felt very therapeutic in some ways, if i am completely honest.
the novel follows protagonist cassie navigating her life in silicon valley, a year into her nondescript senior role at a vague startup that holds ‘promise’. we see the protagonist navigate the hidden nature of her role, her shifting relationships with friends and family and lovers, and the weird space in between that coworkers take up. we see her being swallowed by her job, and how everything else in her life consequently falls apart. and there was something so vivid in the way this was written that truly allowed to reader to see how it was minute slights that slowly drove the protagonist to insanity. this honestly felt like kim joyoung, born 1982, but she’s in silicon valley and white.
the writing was honestly a delight - being so vivid in places that it felt like you were watching a movie as opposed to reading a book. it NEEDS to be adapted to the screen. the characters too had a tangible intangible quality to them - i guess in many ways resembling the way we view one another today too.
i’d also never read somethjng that was as good at describing the vapidness that life has become in late stage capitalism. the novel exemplifies how though the protagonist has essentially reached a role at the pinnacle of success in accordance to what we value, nothing still feels enough. her friends are usually made up of surface level encounters, her coworkers feel like strangers you constantly have to overshare to, and you see her constantly having to develop a persona to get through. she’s also seen developing an addiction and is basically an alcoholic, and there’s something so ironic about how she’s having to lose her mind to cope with what is supposed to be the pinnacle of her success. the nature of working in the corporate world was also so wonderfully presented. the late hours, the fake attempts at convincing people you’re working in a team all for it not to matter in the long run, how everything you do feels like it’s not enough, and even after you’ve completed a huge assignment, you’re immediately launched into the next thing, with the only acknowledgment of your achievement coming six months down the line at a shitty company get together where you’re presented with a few pats on the back from people who don’t matter. the constant running yourself to the ground and still being told it’s never enough, all for it to feel so vapid anyway because when you think about it, especially in corporate, what is any of this for anyway? what are you actually expending your life away behind? is any of it worth it? the tokenism in employing EDI initiatives is touched upon, but could have been expanded on.
needless to say, this book has pretty much put me in a tailspin and had me having a few existential panic attacks, and pretty much firmly cementing the fact that I don’t think i’m made for corporate. it brought back very vivid experiences from my internship last summer and … yeah.
the one criticism it some may have is that it is very much … the whinging of an upper middle class woman. this perspective is very much valid, as the complexities of being a POC in these spaces must be so much more complex, as you’re frozen between balancing your backgrounds and forced to inhabit mannerisms and rituals you have no clue exist. nonetheless, the way it is written very much worked for me, and was amazing at presenting the fears that have had cynicism growing in my bones as i’ve started my working life.