Because She Can

by Bridie Clark

Overview

A witty and revealing roman a clef about a woman who finally gets her dream job in book publishing only to realize she's working for the industry tyrant, in trade for the first time.

In a New York minute, Claire Truman lands both a plum position at a top publishing house and the man she's wanted for ten years...then reality intervenes. Her new boss is Vivian Grant, a notoriously ruthless tyrant known for her tirades, traumatized assistants, and tabloid-inspired bestsellers. Soon Claire's job is stealing more and more of her time and her relationship with her fiance begins to feel the strain. It doesn't help that she's working late nights with a brilliant-and handsome-first-time author. As Vivian's outrageous demands continue to escalate, Claire wonders if she likes where the fast track is taking her-and worries about what she might turn into...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780446697576
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	02/27/2008
Edition description:	REV
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Bridie Clark, a former book and magazine editor, graduated from Harvard University, where she was an editor of the Harvard Crimson. She has written for the New York Times, Vanity Fair, New York, Quest, and Elegant Bride. Clark's debut novel, Because She Can, about a beleaguered young book editor who works for a notoriously tyrannical female publisher, was published in nineteen countries around the world. Clark lives in Connecticut with her husband and daughter.

Editorial Reviews

The not-Anna Wintour character in this much-hyped my-boss-is-famously-unpleasant roman clef is not-Judith Regan--or, to be positive, is Vivian Grant of Grant Books, "the most hotheaded, ruthless woman" in publishing. She physically and verbally abuses her staff, is having an affair with a married New York City official (who dresses in drag) and has made a "fortune by producing tabloid-inspired blockbusters." And though up-and-coming literary fiction editor Claire Truman has heard all the gossip, she takes a job as an editor at Grant Books and quickly discovers Vivian lives up to her reputation as a foul-mouthed, ber-demanding, tantrum-throwing tyrant. Claire tries to maintain some semblance of a life (she's engaged to dreamboat Randall Cox, who went from big man on campus to big man at Goldman Sachs, even though she's really in love with Luke Mayville, a sensitive writer/unrecognized genius), but vicious Vivian keeps her within spitting (and swearing) distance 27 hours a day. Clark, who worked at Regan Books, nails the dark side of the vulgar, spiteful boss archetype, and though the plot is as shopworn as the characters, those in the Page Six and Lloyd Grove set will appreciate this devilish read. (Feb. 12) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Iowa native Claire Truman is an editor in New York, fulfilling her lifelong dream. When her kindly mentor retires, an old college crush, the gorgeous Randall Cox, puts her in touch with cutting-edge editor Vivian Grant (supposedly based on notorious publishing diva Judith Regan, for whom debut author Clark once worked). Although warned of Vivian's legendary temper and mistreatment of employees, Claire sees the job as a steppingstone. But Vivian's insane demands and vicious rages soon exhaust Claire-and she also tires of editing smutty ghostwritten books. Still, Claire is determined to stick it out, especially once she begins editing a fabulous book by Luke Mayville, her mentor's nephew. Even while her love life with Randall is running suspiciously smoothly, Claire can't ignore her underlying attraction to Luke. There are no surprises in this plot, and it would be nice if Claire were to find her backbone sooner, but Clark keeps things moving along. The real hook, however, is the likely publicity, and therefore interest, in this Devil Wears Prada for the book-publishing world.-Lisa Davis-Craig, Canton P.L., MI Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

In Clark's debut novel, an ambitious young editor is stretched to the limit when she takes a job with a monstrous book-publishing diva. (N.B.: The author once worked for book-publishing diva Judith Regan.)When her fatherly mentor, Jackson Mayville, retires, 26-year-old Claire Truman realizes it's time to move on, as much as she has enjoyed her rewarding, if underpaid, stint at a top-tier New York publishing company. The same day Jackson gives her the news, she runs into an old college crush, Randall Cox, who gets her an interview with Vivian Grant, the stunning publisher of the high-profile and extremely lucrative Grant Books. Amazingly, Vivian hires Claire on the spot, offering to triple her current salary, in an offer that only seems too good to be true. The catch is that Vivian is a raving she-devil, with a horrible reputation for verbal abuse, unfair demands and capricious behavior. She is also carrying on an illicit affair with a married city official and prone to graphic descriptions of her own sex life. But in spite of all the warnings from her colleagues, Claire takes the gig, reasoning that if she holds out for a year she will learn a ton, and be poised for great things. And for a time, through dedication and luck, Claire remains in Vivian's good graces, while embarking on a romance with financier Randall, who she ends up moving in with and getting engaged to. She also acquires a novel by Jackson's talented nephew Luke, a sweet guy who seems a much better fit for Claire than the workaholic mama's boy she's with. Needless to say, Claire's resolve to stay at Grant Books is repeatedly tested, with Vivian viciously lashing out at her in public, pitting her against another editor andthreatening to pull the plug on Luke's book. Vivian's self-absorbed malevolence reaches its lowest (and least believable) point when she interrupts Claire's wedding day to talk business. That Vivian never rises above caricature is a disappointment. Funny in parts, especially in the gleeful anarchy of some of Vivian's more sociopathic rants, this boss-from-hell derivative closes with a rather conventional love triangle. Predictable Devil Wears Prada clone. Agent: Daniel Greenberg/Levine Greenberg Literary Agency

Kirkus Reviews

Mary Birdsong is the perfect narrator for this comic romp around the New York publishing scene. When boss-from-hell Vivian Grant begins to have speech patterns reminiscent of Claire Truman’s future mother-in-law, listeners are all but doubled over with laughter. Claire, the young protagonist, is unsure of herself, sounding peppy and innocent one minute, nervous and chiding herself the next. Musical interludes add their own comic twist. There’s good material for Birdsong to work with. Clark meshes literary history (entitling chapters after classics: The Bell Jar and The Sound and the Fury) with memorable sound bites from a high-tech lifestyle. The full book might be overkill, but this abridged version can’t help but delight anyone who’s ever fantasized about working in New York or brushed up against social climbers. R.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

JUN/JUL 07 - AudioFile