From the author of the 'great' (Dolly Alderton), 'terrific' (Zadie Smith) The New Me, comes a subversive, hilarious portrait of two colleagues, each more like the other than they would care to admit.

'Wretchedly riveting' Jia Tolentino, New Yorker

'Butler is an essential contemporary voice' Literary Hub

'A master of writing about work and its discontents' The Millions

Megan is only twenty-four but her life feels like a dead end. Working as a gastroenterologist's receptionist and resenting the success and happiness of her friends, the only thing that makes her feel better is obsessively critiquing the behaviour of her colleague, Jillian. A grotesquely optimistic thirty-five-year-old single mother, Jillian's chirpy positivity obscures her mounting struggles - until her downfall is precipitated by the purchase of a dog . . .

'Outrageous and amusing ... reads like rubbernecking or a junk-food binge, compelling a horrified fascination and bleak laughter' Kirkus

'The funniest book I've read in a long time, but also one of the most important ones' The Rumpus

About the Author
Halle Butler is a writer living in New York City. Her first novel, Jillian, was called the "feel-bad book of the year" by the Chicago Tribune. Her second novel, The New Me, was named a Best Book of the Decade by Vox and a Best Book of the Year by Vanity Fair, Vulture, Chicago Tribune, Mashable, Bustle, and NPR, and the New Yorker called it a "definitive work of millennial literature." She was named one of Granta's Best Young American Novelists and a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree.

Reviews
Outrageous and amusing ... reads like rubbernecking or a junk-food binge, compelling a horrified fascination and bleak laughter * Kirkus *
Wretchedly riveting * New Yorker *
Butler is an essential contemporary voice * Literary Hub *
Butler is an extremely sharp-eyed satirist, and the books are very funny, especially on the deadening banalities of office life -- Alex Clark * Guardian *
A master of writing about work and its discontents * The Millions *
The funniest book I've read in a long time, but also one of the most important ones * The Rumpus *
The feel-bad book of the year ... sublimely awkward and hilarious * Chicago Tribune *
Few authors capture the acidic angst of downtrodden millennials like Butler * The Huffington Post *



Book Information
ISBN 9781474617574
Author Halle Butler
Format Paperback
Page Count 208
Imprint Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Publisher Orion Publishing Co
Weight(grams) 180g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 126mm * 28mm