Fallow
Anderson is most incisive about the physicality of wealth, and the romance of financial choices ... The book is most subversive and surprising not in its vision of the workplace, but in its portrayal of female friendship and love. Natalie’s sisters are practically strangers; her friends are co-workers or antagonists or both, everything mediated by a paycheck. Even Natalie’s mother abdicates the challenges of mothering, despite the opportunities Natalie gives her. In its wonderful, wily final act, Fallow asks what it would mean to truly carry the women around you, and what it might cost to be carried in return.
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Very funny ... In prose that is sharp and entertaining, Anderson refreshingly takes on several familiar themes at once: the hidden tolls that working women still face, the stranglehold of Big Tech, the Orwellian nature of corporate-speak, the relentless self-monitoring of wellness culture ... Anderson’s vision is at once outlandish and recognizable ... Anderson captures the way our tech-driven world pulls us into an absurd social experiment that cuts us off not only from others, but also from ourselves ... If this all sounds a little too tidy or corny, rest assured that you’re in good hands.
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Darkly comic ... Matter-of-fact hilarity ... There’s a jarring tonal shift from the first section, which tracks Natalie’s career as a detached, high-priced handmaiden, to the soulful second half when the scene changes to a feminist commune with Natalie as an aggrieved resident. One would also like to know a bit more about Natalie’s parents and her 10 (yes, 10) sisters, who are all quite distant figures. This seems a missed opportunity. Fortunately Ms. Anderson avoids the pitfall of tipping into gooey sentimentality while allowing for the possibility of spiritual rebirth.
