Rate this book

In Office Hours (2011)

by Lucy Kellaway(Favorite Author)

3.05 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0446565695 (ISBN13: 9780446565691)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Grand Central Publishing

review 1: I loved this book. Everything about it: cover to ending. I started reading it yesterday, put it down to go to bed last night and got up twice during the night to keep reading. At times it had a "Working Girl" feel about it, maybe the environment of office politics and secret affairs. At one point I thought the ending might be predictable, but I was happily surprised to see that it wasn't. I highly recommend it!
review 2: I saw IN OFFICE HOURS being heavily advertised on the Tube during a recent trip to London and, being the author of an office-based, relationship-focused novel myself, felt compelled to pick it up. Based on the (British paperback) cover design, I expected it might be something of a chick-lit romp in which the topic--marital infidelity--was dealt... more with lightly, played for laughs, and/or presented as something easily forgiven either by the characters involved or, at least by the reader who is privy to the "whole story" about why the characters do what they do. Yes, there's plenty of romping. But it's certainly not lightweight. In fact, it's easy to see why this novel might divide people. Especially those who come to it with the wrong kind of expectations, or simply don't know what to expect. So what is IN OFFICE HOURS--and should you read it? From a plot perspective, it's a relatively straightforward telling of two mirror-image affairs between high-level executives and younger employees at the same energy company. In one case the boss-figure is a man, in the other a woman (and vice versa). The tale is told from the perspectives of the two female characters: Bella, a working single mum, and Stella, a fast-track executive playing an increasingly visible role in a highly scrutinized industry. Yes, you should definitely read it. BUT ONLY if you want to get up a close up view of the way rationalizations give way to madness, and lies turn into mayhem for characters who are blinded by passion and willing to put careers and family lives at stake in the process FT columnist Lucy Kellaway traces the course of these two illicit, emotional-rollercoaster relationships with reporter-like precision. It's not a novel for those looking for hearts and flowers. But a great read for those who can stomach cruelty and thorns. less

Download links for: In Office Hours

Advertising