Book Review: I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue
About the book
Would you want to know what your colleagues say behind your back? Jolene certainly doesn’t. She’s riddled with anxiety, depressed, and hates her coworkers. The less she knows about them, the better.
So when a catastrophic IT f*ck up grants her access to all of their emails and private messages, she’s initially horrified. The last thing she wants is to be privy to their sad discussions about dying desk plants and marital troubles. That’s until, with job cuts looming, she realises the power this new-found knowledge gives her.
But as she digs deeper and deeper into the private lives of her colleagues, Jolene uncovers a lot more than she bargained for… And the walls she’d so carefully built start crumbling down.
Why we love it
This is one of those books that I picked up on a whim, but didn't necessarily think I'd enjoy. I could not have been more wrong and was completely hooked before I'd even finished the first few pages.
Blending workplace comedy with a hint of romance, I Hope This Finds You Well is a warm, funny, and relatable read that’s full of so much heart.
The book is centred around Jolene, a 33-year old Persian-Canadian office worker for whom life just hasn't turned out the way she'd expected. She lives in a crumbling apartment, has no real social life and hates everything about her job. And who can't relate to some aspect of that?
Natalie Sue brilliantly captures all the soul-crushing banality of office life - the pointless reports no one reads, the subtle micro-aggressions, the forced cheer of team brainstorming sessions and all the awkward coffee-break socialising over store-bought birthday cake.
Jolene is the most amazing character and the story is entirely told through her eyes. She's snarky, quick-witted and yet so emotionally vulnerable that you just want to give her a hug and tell her it'll all be ok. The passive-aggressive way she finds to express her true thoughts to her colleagues in emails is both hilarious and next-level genius. (Oh, I so wish I'd thought of it!). But it’s her gradual journey of opening up to those around her that brings such depth and humanity to the story.
The book is set in Calgary and I particularly loved the subtle nods to Canadian and Persian culture throughout the book. It gave the book a distinct sense of place, despite the fact that one office space is pretty much like another, no matter where in the world it is.
This is the kind of book you’ll want to share with your closest work friend or that one co-worker you’ve kept in touch with over the years who still remembers all your shared horror stories. It’s a refreshingly honest take on modern office life: equal parts hilarious and heartfelt, and one we wholeheartedly recommend.
