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withanhauser 's review for:
The New Me
by Halle Butler
I found this book to be an uncomfortable read. A big part of that is the clear, seemingly unavoidable disappointment building for the protagonist. Millie, a 30-year-old temp worker, struggling with depression and striving for professional stability, slowly gets her hopes up, as a temporary job appears to be building towards a long-term position. But, as the reader is simultaneously shown, it's all for nothing--Karen, the deputy officer manager, has an unexplained dislike for Millie, and plans to terminate her role with the company. It's distressing to see Millie get ahead of herself, as she starts to build self-confidence and think about the future. The continual sense of impending doom is a bummer; and, Millie's quiet acceptance of it when it happens is sad.
Plot aside, "The New Me" also made for an uncomfortable read because of how relatable Millie's insecurities feel. I don't know that I still feel this way, but her instant regret over her words ("Humiliated by my impulse to humiliate") and her confused feeling of awkwardness over people treating her as awkward ("Maybe I'm an embarrassment, I'm not sure."), among other things, read as instantly familiar to me. It's weird to see yourself in a character like Millie--I don't think we're similar at all--but, I certainly identified with a lot that she's described as feeling.
I've seen Halle Butler lumped together with Ling Ma ("Severance") and Ottessa Moshfegh ("My Year of Rest and Relaxation"), as a young woman author who: writes about depressed young women who are seemingly indifferent to others; and question modern work-life values. I think that's an understandable comparison, but, to me, Butler isn't quite as impressive as either--her writing isn't as ethereal as (and her message less pointed than) Ma's, and isn't as weirdly sardonic as Moshfegh's. Her indictment of professional stability and office culture is certainly effective, but, in the end, it just left me sad (whereas Ma's, because of its blending with post-apocalyptic fiction, is exciting). And, compared to Moshfegh's characters, Millie is too relatable and comparatively soft (although, her obsession with Forensic Files reminded me of the protagonist in MYoRaR's interest in Whoopi Goldberg). All of this is ultimately what I like about Butler's writing (its sadness; its relatable, soft characters), but it's also what makes her writing feel less ambitious, less weird.
Plot aside, "The New Me" also made for an uncomfortable read because of how relatable Millie's insecurities feel. I don't know that I still feel this way, but her instant regret over her words ("Humiliated by my impulse to humiliate") and her confused feeling of awkwardness over people treating her as awkward ("Maybe I'm an embarrassment, I'm not sure."), among other things, read as instantly familiar to me. It's weird to see yourself in a character like Millie--I don't think we're similar at all--but, I certainly identified with a lot that she's described as feeling.
I've seen Halle Butler lumped together with Ling Ma ("Severance") and Ottessa Moshfegh ("My Year of Rest and Relaxation"), as a young woman author who: writes about depressed young women who are seemingly indifferent to others; and question modern work-life values. I think that's an understandable comparison, but, to me, Butler isn't quite as impressive as either--her writing isn't as ethereal as (and her message less pointed than) Ma's, and isn't as weirdly sardonic as Moshfegh's. Her indictment of professional stability and office culture is certainly effective, but, in the end, it just left me sad (whereas Ma's, because of its blending with post-apocalyptic fiction, is exciting). And, compared to Moshfegh's characters, Millie is too relatable and comparatively soft (although, her obsession with Forensic Files reminded me of the protagonist in MYoRaR's interest in Whoopi Goldberg). All of this is ultimately what I like about Butler's writing (its sadness; its relatable, soft characters), but it's also what makes her writing feel less ambitious, less weird.