Fallow
Darkly comic ... Matter-of-fact hilarity ... There’s a jarring tonal shift from the first section, which tracks Natalie’s career as a detached, high-priced handmaiden, to the soulful second half when the scene changes to a feminist commune with Natalie as an aggrieved resident. One would also like to know a bit more about Natalie’s parents and her 10 (yes, 10) sisters, who are all quite distant figures. This seems a missed opportunity. Fortunately Ms. Anderson avoids the pitfall of tipping into gooey sentimentality while allowing for the possibility of spiritual rebirth.
Unfolding into an utterly unexpected journey, Anderson’s debut novel is an engrossing commentary on workplace culture, autonomy, and late-stage capitalism.
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Darkly funny ... Though the pacing feels uneven, with most of the action occurring in the novel’s latter half, Anderson sustains an absurd yet disturbingly realistic critique of corporate America. This dystopian tale is as sharp as it is moving.
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