A review by eleanormarierose
Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

This is the story of Nora who works in publishing. She is underpaid and takes up a side job to make ends meet. This however leaves her in a morally difficult situation. 

For me, I just couldn’t gel with it. It took me weeks to get through it. 

I found the plot somewhat unrealistic, especially introducing a slight touch of romance in what is predominantly a career/feminine fiction book. 

[trigger warning] There was also a fleeting mention of suicidal thoughts which I don’t think was handled well. 

I feel like I just had higher expectations for this book unfortunately. Obviously there were some relatable thoughts in the book as I work in publishing but besides that this book just wasn’t what I hoped for. 

____

Favourite quotes: 
‘Knowing she had a purpose beyond dull admin work was doing wonders for her self-esteem.’ 

‘Parsons’s official line was that low advances left room for aggressive marketing, and that this, combined with a decent royalty structure, ensured authors were fairly compensated. In truth, Parsons framed authorship as an act of generosity…The implication, Nora thought, was that writing a book expecting to profit from it would be ghastly.’ 

’She needed to be more than a three.’ 

’The impressing wasn’t new. She’d always known it, seen it, done it. The way people dressed up for author meetings, false smiles at the ready - it was standard for their line of work.’ 

’She couldn’t even feel proud about taking one step forward in search of happiness. Not when she had reason to fear where that step would lead her next.’ 

’The revenue from a book that was sure to sell gave publishers the freedom to take chances on less-marketable books, the ones that may not appeal to a broad audience.’ 

’The only thing more dangerous than a man with a bad idea was a man with the power to make it happen.’

‘I miss seeing books for what they are, instead of how much money they’ll make.’

‘Maybe some people are fine with doing something pointless for the rest of their lives, but I’m not. If my life is pointless, that’s not a life I want to live.’ 

‘It could absolutely be the wrong career for her. But that was true of anything. If she waited until she was sure, she would rot here forever, paralyzed by indecision…She had to try something. She had to start somewhere.’

‘Why had she relied on her unfulfilling job to give her the experience she needed for a fulfilling one?’
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