2 weeks Ago By Reviewed by Andrea Geary
VERY is touted as a darkly comic send-up of American tech companies — in this case Aurora, led by eccentric Winston Churchill fanboy John Schiller and staffed by backbiting chief officers. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * VERY is touted as a darkly comic send-up of American tech companies — in this case Aurora, led by eccentric Winston Churchill fanboy John Schiller and staffed by backbiting chief officers. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? VERY is touted as a darkly comic send-up of American tech companies — in this case Aurora, led by eccentric Winston Churchill fanboy John Schiller and staffed by backbiting chief officers.
The book seems to have the potential to be a good summertime beach read, but misses the mark mainly due to the wholly unlikable cast of characters author Emma Rosenblum has created. is Rosenblum’s second novel, following her bestselling debut novel, . She’s chief content officer at Bustle Digital Group.
Very Bad Company Rosenblum draws heavily on her personal experience working in the tech world. Unfortunately, the ins and outs of starting up a technology company and the competition that exists amongst American companies doesn’t make for riveting reading unless you possess industry knowledge. The book primarily details the goings-on during Aurora’s three-day executive retreat held in a posh Miami hotel.
CEO Schiller has just hired Caitlin Levy as head of events for the company, to the surprise of the company’s seven other executive officers. The reason they’re baffled by Levy’s hire is that the company offers online advertising management, and doesn’t hold any events. Olive Green, Aurora’s communications director, who generally feels out of the loop regarding Schiller’s random decisions, thinks, “Why had they hired Caitlin? It didn’t make any sense, unless something fishy was going on.
” Levy is joining Aurora just as it’s poised to be bought out by a much larger tech company. Schiller is arbitrarily awarding shares to each of his executive team members except for Jessica Radum, head of partnerships. Radum and chief technology officer Dallas Joy, along with Schiller, were the three who originally launched Aurora following the sudden overdose death of their friend and techno whiz Robbie Long during a Mexican holiday.
Radum, whose real role within the company is also questionable, is killed off on the first night of the corporate retreat. The purported cause is tainted cocaine, but a few of her co-workers doubt that her death was accidental. There are overt and covert alliances among Aurora’s executive team.
Chief people officer Debra Foley has her hands full trying to act as peacekeeper while struggling over her personal circumstances — a pregnancy after a drunken one-night stand. Monday mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Schiller’s young assistant Madison Bez also tries to force the unruly officers to adhere to the retreat’s tight agenda which includes jet skiing, parasailing, shared meals at expensive restaurants and a half-day sports marathon of pickleball and races.
She’s enamoured with her boss despite his mania for Winston Churchill and wants to please him. Schiller sprinkles his speech with Churchillian quotes and collects the former PM’s memorabilia, even going out clubbing dressed in a one-piece suit originally designed for Churchill. Portrayed as a short, insecure man with a big ego, Rosenblum assigns him the annoyingly pointless habit of repeating the first and last names of his employees three times every time he encounters them as a means to show his lack of social grace.
A reporter for an online tech publication shadows the Aurora crew throughout their retreat, trying to discover whether or not the company’s financial valuation is based on fake data before it’s sold off, making Schiller and his officers multi-millionaires. Rosenblum assigns each chapter of to a different narrator in order to advance the storyline using various points-of-view. This tactic allows her to enhance the intrigue as each officer reveals their secret desires and fears.
However, most come off as being one-dimensional and none are likable. In the end there’s too much technology and not enough true emotion. Andrea Geary is a freelance writer in Winnipeg.
Very Bad Company: A Novel By Emma Rosenblum Flatiron Books, 272 pages, $25 Advertisement Advertisement.
