Rosa Guerrero beat the odds as she rose to the top of the corporate world. An attractive woman of a certain age, the longtime chief of human resources at Ellery Consumer Research is still a formidable presence, even if her most vital days are behind her. A leader who wields power with grace and discretion, she has earned the devotion and loyalty of her staff. No one admires Rosa more than her doting lieutenant Leo Smalls, a benefits vice president whose whole world is Ellery. While Rosa is consumed with trying to address the needs of her staff within the ever-constricting limits of the company's bottom line, her associate director, Rob Hirsch, a middle-aged, happily married father of two, finds himself drawing closer to his "work wife," Lucy Bender, an enterprising single woman searching for something--a romance, a promotion--to fill the vacuum in her personal life. For Kenny Verville, a senior manager with an MBA, Ellery is a temporary stepping-stone to bigger and better places--that is, if his high-powered wife has her way. Compelling, flawed, and heartbreakingly human, these men and women scheme, fall in and out of love, and nurture dreams big and small. As their individual circumstances shift, one thing remains constant--Rosa, the sun around whom they all orbit. When her world begins to crumble, the implications for everyone are profound, and Leo, Rob, Lucy, and Kenny find themselves changed in ways beyond their reckoning.--Provided by Publisher.
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Comparisons of this book to the amazing Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris are just beyond ridiculous. Ferris' book was hauntingly brilliant, with its unique first person plural narrative itself a commentary on corporate America. It's on my top 10 list of favorite books ever. This Could Hurt has its moments and wasn't unenjoyable, but it does not belong in the same category as Then We Came to the End. End of story.
This Could Hurt is a fairly engaging drama, and I was caught up in the story of the individual members of the HR department, even if they weren't particularly likable. The commentary wasn't subtle and with the exception of the history of the infamously long-delayed Engagement Report, it wasn't particularly biting or notable. The relationships that develop among Rosa, Kenny, Leo, Rob and Lucy drive the plot more than the corporate issues, and by the time the final organizational charts were presented I was invested in their success (or lack thereof). I did feel that the book was slightly sexist and anti-feminist; the men are always, uh, having sexual reactions to the women, while the women are pretty much living proof that you can have career success or you can have a family - but you can't have both.
Not a bad workplace novel, but please spare me the comparisons to one of the best books of the past 20 years. It doesn't do This Could Hurt any favors. Just enjoy it for the drama and the relationship dynamics.
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