Waldman’s much-awaited follow-up to The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P could not be set in a more different world. The literary milieu of Brooklyn gives way to the world of a big-box store in gentrified Potterstown, two hours north of New York, a popular destination for “the kind who eschewed – or was priced out of – the Hamptons”. Waldman told an interviewer that her experience of working for the minimum wage in a similar store left her appalled at the arduous working conditions and served as inspiration for this novel.
The story centres on the nine members of the logistics crew who handle the deliveries to the store’s back warehouse. The book begins with a George Eliot quote, “What makes life dreary is the want of motive.” Herein lies the central conflict of this novel. A glimmer of hope in the form of a coveted promotion revives the dreary lives of the poorly paid employees of the store.
When the crew finds out that the store manager is getting transferred out, they set a plan in motion to ensure that Meredith, their collectively despised line manager, gets the job. This will open up a golden opportunity for the entire team to replace her in the esteemed position of executive manager.
The story is told through an omnipresent narrator and indirect interior monologues of the crew members. This narrative choice does this novel a disservice and considerably slackens the pace of the story. With a simple plot, the writing relies on the dynamics between the different members to keep the readers engaged, and succeeds to an extent.
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In the recent past, the success of an ensemble workplace dramedy involves well etched-out characters and substantial comedic or absurdist elements to counter the mundanity of the protagonists’ lives. Workplace novels such as Jessica Winters’ Break in Point of Emergency and There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura struck the right balance. I found both of these wanting here.
Waldman keenly depicts the collateral damage of capitalism by portraying the stark realities of the lives of store employees. Help Wanted works best as an astute social commentary on the gruelling lives of low-wage workers.
