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A review by vicktorea
The Boys' Club by Erica Katz
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
le sigh
I get what this book was trying to do.
As someone who’s worked in a law firm, yes there’s still parts that are very boys club-y in the sense that there aren’t a lot of women working in those particular areas but the way this book portrayed the life of lawyers working in a law firm was (especially that of first year associates) was extremely exaggerated. It is not like an episode of Suits.
The fact that the events and the FMC’s (pretty pitiful and pathetic) behaviour were built around these exaggerations did the whole disservice to the novel’s ending which I guess was supposed to be the lesson.
The lesson that there’s still a lot of work to be done surrounding workplace harassment and dismantling the “Boys Club” mentality is still very relevant but could’ve been brought to life in this novel in a more realistic way since the author wanted to use a realistic backdrop for the plot.
Something that really bugged me was how this non-Black author wrote in a Black, queer male character who was tired of being the token Black man to check off the diversity box in the workplace but essentially (and perhaps unintentionally) used this character to check it off her own box (bc what the fuck does a non-Black woman know what it’s like to be Black in any capacity?).
Rating this 2.5 stars bc the drama was definitely juicy and kept me hooked but everything else fell flat (I won’t get into the main characters unlikeability and the disgusting POS men [except Sam 🥺 and even Derrick]).
I listened to the audio version of this via Libby and Julia Whelan, as always, did an impeccable job narrating!
I get what this book was trying to do.
As someone who’s worked in a law firm, yes there’s still parts that are very boys club-y in the sense that there aren’t a lot of women working in those particular areas but the way this book portrayed the life of lawyers working in a law firm was (especially that of first year associates) was extremely exaggerated. It is not like an episode of Suits.
The fact that the events and the FMC’s (pretty pitiful and pathetic) behaviour were built around these exaggerations did the whole disservice to the novel’s ending which I guess was supposed to be the lesson.
The lesson that there’s still a lot of work to be done surrounding workplace harassment and dismantling the “Boys Club” mentality is still very relevant but could’ve been brought to life in this novel in a more realistic way since the author wanted to use a realistic backdrop for the plot.
Something that really bugged me was how this non-Black author wrote in a Black, queer male character who was tired of being the token Black man to check off the diversity box in the workplace but essentially (and perhaps unintentionally) used this character to check it off her own box (bc what the fuck does a non-Black woman know what it’s like to be Black in any capacity?).
Rating this 2.5 stars bc the drama was definitely juicy and kept me hooked but everything else fell flat (I won’t get into the main characters unlikeability and the disgusting POS men [except Sam 🥺 and even Derrick]).
I listened to the audio version of this via Libby and Julia Whelan, as always, did an impeccable job narrating!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Sexual content