Job Shadowing

May 23, 2016
Sutton's first novel, an abstracted, somewhat minimalist exploration of present-day employment, follows two intercutting story lines. Through the conceit of job shadowing, Sutton investigates the proximity between individuals of different classesâboth social and economicâand how and in what ways they can coexist. Victoria is a corporate ladder-climber who feels trapped in place. She is being shadowed by Gil, Etti's husband. Etti is an artist attempting to secure funding for future work. She takes a job writing the life story of Caslon, a by-the-numbers one-percenter who views his wealth, whiteness, and maleness as the capital that elevates his story above others. The narrative is a clearly a response to the current financial landscape in North America; however, the academic veil between the story and the characters keeps the reader at arm's length. Etti and Victoria seem to exist more for the purpose of conveying theme than anything else, and though the book's themes are important, they lack depth due to the paltry characterization. The setting is also thinly sketched and emotionally distant, and the work as a whole is all thesis and no substance.