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Careers for Women
New York in the late 1950s. A city, and a world, on the cusp of change..
Maggie Gleason is looking toward the future. Part of a midcentury wave of young women seeking new lives in New York City, Maggie works for legendary Port Authority public relations maven Lee K. Jaffe--affectionately known to her loyal staff as Mrs. J. Having left Cleveland, Maggie has come to believe that she can write any story for herself that she imagines.
Pauline Moreau is running from the past--and a shameful secret. She arrives in the city on the brink of despair, saddled with a young daughter who needs more love, attention, and resources than Pauline can ever hope to provide. Seeing that Pauline needs a helping hand, Mrs. J tasks Maggie with befriending, and looking after, Pauline.
As the old New York gives way to the new, and Mrs. J's dream of the world's largest skyscraper begins to rise from the streets of lower Manhattan, Pauline--with the aid of Maggie and Mrs. J--also remakes herself. But when she reignites the scandal that drove her to New York, none of their lives will ever be the same. Maggie must question everything she thought she knew about love, work, ambition, and family to discover the truth about the enigmatic, strong woman she thought she had rescued.
Careers for Women is a masterful novel about the difficulties of building a career, a dream, or a life--and about the powerful small mercies of friendship and compassion.
Maggie Gleason is looking toward the future. Part of a midcentury wave of young women seeking new lives in New York City, Maggie works for legendary Port Authority public relations maven Lee K. Jaffe--affectionately known to her loyal staff as Mrs. J. Having left Cleveland, Maggie has come to believe that she can write any story for herself that she imagines.
Pauline Moreau is running from the past--and a shameful secret. She arrives in the city on the brink of despair, saddled with a young daughter who needs more love, attention, and resources than Pauline can ever hope to provide. Seeing that Pauline needs a helping hand, Mrs. J tasks Maggie with befriending, and looking after, Pauline.
As the old New York gives way to the new, and Mrs. J's dream of the world's largest skyscraper begins to rise from the streets of lower Manhattan, Pauline--with the aid of Maggie and Mrs. J--also remakes herself. But when she reignites the scandal that drove her to New York, none of their lives will ever be the same. Maggie must question everything she thought she knew about love, work, ambition, and family to discover the truth about the enigmatic, strong woman she thought she had rescued.
Careers for Women is a masterful novel about the difficulties of building a career, a dream, or a life--and about the powerful small mercies of friendship and compassion.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published July 25, 2017
31 people are currently reading
1777 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Scott
25 books66 followersfrom the backcover:
Joanna Scott is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Rochester. She has also taught in the creative writing programs at Princeton University and the University of Maryland. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship during the writing of Arrogance.
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Joanna^^Scott
Joanna Scott is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Rochester. She has also taught in the creative writing programs at Princeton University and the University of Maryland. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship during the writing of Arrogance.
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Joanna^^Scott
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
April 18, 2017
Whoa, I'm first to review this book. Here's hoping I'm not the last, nor the only one, to think it's wonderful.
The slim size of this novel is deceptive. In fewer than 300 pages, Joanna Scott crafts a narratively complex tale of women's lives the late 20th Century. Given the title, the workplace is central, but it is clear that there is irony embedded into Scott's use of the word career. Her characters's "careers" include prostitution, depressed housewife, single mother, romance novelist, secretary, and blackmailer. While the focus is primarily on three women: Pauline Moreau, Lee Jaffe and the narrator, Maggie Gleason, their lives are shaped by the broader world, specifically the physical transformation of New York City with the building -- and ultimately the destruction of the World Trade Center -- as well as changing mores around corporate ecological responsibility and the costs of what we so blithely label as progress, and ultimately, the wrenching destruction caused by patriarchal assumptions about women.
As the story of Pauline Moreau and her daughter Sonia is told by Maggie Gleason, out of chronological order, the mystery and pathos of her short life becomes reflective of the transience and shortsighted nature of so much human endeavor. Told in a voice that is often wry and amusing, it's only after you've been entranced by the brisk pace that Scott peels back the layers of blithe prose to make the book's tragedy sting.
Maggie's voice threads through the book though she hides it with point of view shifts -- first person, third person, second person are all used effectively -- the reasons for which become clear only later on. Through it all, you never lose the sense that Maggie is at the helm -- no matter the perspective there is a directness and a casual though knowing tone that is consistent. In many ways, this is a story in which the mystery is not what happens to Pauline, but how Maggie discovers the story. As the novel hurtles onwards these questions are answered and we come to understand how Pauline's life and death transform Maggie.
Counterbalancing the impact Pauline has on Maggie, is the equally compelling portrait of Lee K. Jaffe, the real-life trailblazing Director of Public Relations at The Port Authority of NY & NJ. When we meet her in 1958, in the book's opening scene, she is mentoring the young women who work for her over a boozy annual lunch. Here and elsewhere in the novel Ms. Jaffe emerges as a counterpoint to so many negative portraits of mid-Century women in positions of power. She is determined, persistent, and ambitious, but she is also accepting, supportive and caring -- a clear counterpoint to the novel's male characters. I liked her enormously and was thrilled to learn how central she was in the story of the World Trade Center. In fact, I fell for all the women in this smart, readable and illuminating book. I think a lot of other readers will too.
The slim size of this novel is deceptive. In fewer than 300 pages, Joanna Scott crafts a narratively complex tale of women's lives the late 20th Century. Given the title, the workplace is central, but it is clear that there is irony embedded into Scott's use of the word career. Her characters's "careers" include prostitution, depressed housewife, single mother, romance novelist, secretary, and blackmailer. While the focus is primarily on three women: Pauline Moreau, Lee Jaffe and the narrator, Maggie Gleason, their lives are shaped by the broader world, specifically the physical transformation of New York City with the building -- and ultimately the destruction of the World Trade Center -- as well as changing mores around corporate ecological responsibility and the costs of what we so blithely label as progress, and ultimately, the wrenching destruction caused by patriarchal assumptions about women.
As the story of Pauline Moreau and her daughter Sonia is told by Maggie Gleason, out of chronological order, the mystery and pathos of her short life becomes reflective of the transience and shortsighted nature of so much human endeavor. Told in a voice that is often wry and amusing, it's only after you've been entranced by the brisk pace that Scott peels back the layers of blithe prose to make the book's tragedy sting.
Maggie's voice threads through the book though she hides it with point of view shifts -- first person, third person, second person are all used effectively -- the reasons for which become clear only later on. Through it all, you never lose the sense that Maggie is at the helm -- no matter the perspective there is a directness and a casual though knowing tone that is consistent. In many ways, this is a story in which the mystery is not what happens to Pauline, but how Maggie discovers the story. As the novel hurtles onwards these questions are answered and we come to understand how Pauline's life and death transform Maggie.
Counterbalancing the impact Pauline has on Maggie, is the equally compelling portrait of Lee K. Jaffe, the real-life trailblazing Director of Public Relations at The Port Authority of NY & NJ. When we meet her in 1958, in the book's opening scene, she is mentoring the young women who work for her over a boozy annual lunch. Here and elsewhere in the novel Ms. Jaffe emerges as a counterpoint to so many negative portraits of mid-Century women in positions of power. She is determined, persistent, and ambitious, but she is also accepting, supportive and caring -- a clear counterpoint to the novel's male characters. I liked her enormously and was thrilled to learn how central she was in the story of the World Trade Center. In fact, I fell for all the women in this smart, readable and illuminating book. I think a lot of other readers will too.
August 13, 2017
I should start by saying that while I really enjoyed this unusual novel, its style won't be for everyone. It follows no predictable path, not chronological, or ever predictable in its shifting perspectives. Far from point A to B to C, it's more like Q to B to Y to W to H. Perhaps the best comparison would be to picture the storyline as a hard hit ball in pinball machine, careening wildly from place to place bouncing off obstacles and randomly changing directions.
It was sometimes a challenge and, initially, I found it difficult to find my reading groove. But once I succumbed to the style and trusted Scott to bring it all together, I really admired and appreciated this look at women's lives in the 1950s - 2000s.
I found the World Trade Center/Twin Towers a very compelling center-point around which these characters haphazardly wound.
I can't really think who I might recommend this book to as it demands readers not tied to traditional plot or character development, but I, for one, will seek out more work by this author.
It was sometimes a challenge and, initially, I found it difficult to find my reading groove. But once I succumbed to the style and trusted Scott to bring it all together, I really admired and appreciated this look at women's lives in the 1950s - 2000s.
I found the World Trade Center/Twin Towers a very compelling center-point around which these characters haphazardly wound.
I can't really think who I might recommend this book to as it demands readers not tied to traditional plot or character development, but I, for one, will seek out more work by this author.
February 22, 2018
An exceptionally well-written book about women...their occupations, their families, their friends, and how the choices they make affect it all. Set in New York, spanning decades, and told from multiple perspectives...the timeline begins with the early concepts of a World Trade Center and ends when the Twin Towers are brought down.
Written in an associative order, rather than chronologically, it may be a tough read, but I enjoyed the challenge. The rich characters and their interwoven stories were worth it.
Written in an associative order, rather than chronologically, it may be a tough read, but I enjoyed the challenge. The rich characters and their interwoven stories were worth it.
September 8, 2017
3.5 stars. I was initially drawn to this book by the gushing blurb from Kate Atkinson on the cover. I love Atkinson and figured I would love anything she loves. As a writer who experiments with the novel's structure, I expect Atkinson was drawn to this book's unconventional plotting. This book is not told in chronological order. It's not told in reverse chronological order. It's told (we eventually learn) according to association -- so lots of jumping around between time, place, character. And it takes a while to see how all the pieces go together. And even then, it's diffuse.
It does tell about women with careers (executives, secretaries, prostitutes, wives, hostesses - they run the gambit) but I feel like the title is hinting at more than just a job. Like careers for women are never straightforward or simple. They always are fitted within larger narratives. Actually, I think this is a book I will be thinking about for a while.
It does tell about women with careers (executives, secretaries, prostitutes, wives, hostesses - they run the gambit) but I feel like the title is hinting at more than just a job. Like careers for women are never straightforward or simple. They always are fitted within larger narratives. Actually, I think this is a book I will be thinking about for a while.
September 7, 2017
It’s fortunate that I had already read Joanna Scott, or I would have been completely put off by the title and flap copy of her new novel, sure this was not a novel for me.
Scott is such a master that she has it both ways in this novel: playful and serious, sentimental and satirical, and critical of both business and government (even the book’s title is both playfully ironic and accurate). She breaks most of the rules of narration, and manages to make her lack of chronology and bouncing among characters work well. She is even clever about the World Trade Center, and finishes with a literally post-mortem scene that would be horrible in almost any other novel.
Scott is such a master that she has it both ways in this novel: playful and serious, sentimental and satirical, and critical of both business and government (even the book’s title is both playfully ironic and accurate). She breaks most of the rules of narration, and manages to make her lack of chronology and bouncing among characters work well. She is even clever about the World Trade Center, and finishes with a literally post-mortem scene that would be horrible in almost any other novel.
November 6, 2017
Three and a half stars. Maggie Gleason has a job with the New York Port Authority run by a no nonsense but compassionate boss, Lee K. Jaffee (Mrs J.). Mrs J. Asks Maggie to be a friend to a new hire Pauline. Pauline was hired just after her arrest for prostitution. The novel dips back in time to fill in the story that Scott has teased you with. There is an environmental thread that runs through the story that also involves the Twin Towers. There are a few injections of conversations that don't add to the story line or in some cases detract. Otherwise an ok read.
July 31, 2017
Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and Netgalley for providing me this free ARC in exchange for my honest review!
CAREERS FOR WOMEN has a Mad Men-esque vibe set during the 1950s, which is a period I’ve always been drawn to so naturally I was sucked in from the get-go!
Scott’s cast of characters are every bit who you would expect to meet in mid-century New York City. The women are strong and admirable, each securing their own special place within the story. Maggie, the benign central character is level headed and responsible and truly shines when she sacrifices her future with a prominent doctor to raise her friend Pauline’s special needs daughter. I adored Mrs. J., the Director of PR at The Port of New York Authority and the cornerstone to the construction of the World Trade Center towers, she advocates for her career girls during a time when men ran the corporate show. Her beliefs are firmly rooted in good old fashioned hard work and ingenuity and any woman possessing both can achieve her worth.
The multi storylines constantly evolve; Bob Whittaker is the corporate big shot running Alumacore, the upstate aluminum plant polluting the animals and people and his own morality. His despicable actions have far reaching effects; from the death of his step-son’s fiancée’s father to Pauline the reformed prostitute who gets caught in his crosshairs. The plots are thought-provoking especially because I grew up with equal opportunity and my heart went out to the bright women who could only get so far as typists while enduring the occasional pat on the derrière from the boss.
Scott’s writing is nostalgic, entertaining and well paced and I wanted more. She brilliantly pays homage to women who paved the way into corporate America. I highly recommend this book!
CAREERS FOR WOMEN has a Mad Men-esque vibe set during the 1950s, which is a period I’ve always been drawn to so naturally I was sucked in from the get-go!
Scott’s cast of characters are every bit who you would expect to meet in mid-century New York City. The women are strong and admirable, each securing their own special place within the story. Maggie, the benign central character is level headed and responsible and truly shines when she sacrifices her future with a prominent doctor to raise her friend Pauline’s special needs daughter. I adored Mrs. J., the Director of PR at The Port of New York Authority and the cornerstone to the construction of the World Trade Center towers, she advocates for her career girls during a time when men ran the corporate show. Her beliefs are firmly rooted in good old fashioned hard work and ingenuity and any woman possessing both can achieve her worth.
The multi storylines constantly evolve; Bob Whittaker is the corporate big shot running Alumacore, the upstate aluminum plant polluting the animals and people and his own morality. His despicable actions have far reaching effects; from the death of his step-son’s fiancée’s father to Pauline the reformed prostitute who gets caught in his crosshairs. The plots are thought-provoking especially because I grew up with equal opportunity and my heart went out to the bright women who could only get so far as typists while enduring the occasional pat on the derrière from the boss.
Scott’s writing is nostalgic, entertaining and well paced and I wanted more. She brilliantly pays homage to women who paved the way into corporate America. I highly recommend this book!
August 12, 2017
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2017/08...
This novel starts off really promisingly, focusing on a young woman in New York in the 1950s working at the Port Authority under an interesting woman mentor, the head of PR. But then it just starts jumping around all over the place--New York in the 60s-70s; planning and building the World Trade Center; a young single mother who is befriended by the protagonist, and her little girl; the head of some sort of aluminum company (the father of the aforementioned little girl) and the environmental problems it causes in upstate New York across a couple of decades, and his wife and son and his son's fiancee and the son's fiancee's dead father, etc etc. It is just a lot and it takes too long to come together. I wanted to read the book that was described, about a young career woman in New York, and this was just doing too much. I mean it is interesting from a literary standpoint, but was a bit of a slow read. B.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book is available now.
This novel starts off really promisingly, focusing on a young woman in New York in the 1950s working at the Port Authority under an interesting woman mentor, the head of PR. But then it just starts jumping around all over the place--New York in the 60s-70s; planning and building the World Trade Center; a young single mother who is befriended by the protagonist, and her little girl; the head of some sort of aluminum company (the father of the aforementioned little girl) and the environmental problems it causes in upstate New York across a couple of decades, and his wife and son and his son's fiancee and the son's fiancee's dead father, etc etc. It is just a lot and it takes too long to come together. I wanted to read the book that was described, about a young career woman in New York, and this was just doing too much. I mean it is interesting from a literary standpoint, but was a bit of a slow read. B.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book is available now.
August 8, 2017
This is a very odd little book. Is it about Pauline? Perfidy (a new vocabulary word for me)? Corporate pollution? The Twin Towers? A jumble of topics, lightly stirred.
November 30, 2017
Summary: Great writing and characterizations made the slower-paced mystery a pleasure to read.
In 1950's New York, Maggie Gleason is enjoying the empowerment of having a career at the Port Authority. She stands in awe of her boss, the impressive Mrs. Jeffe, who is driving the creation of the world's largest sky scraper. When Mrs. J asks her to look out for new hire, Pauline Moreau, and her daughter, she takes that charge seriously. So when Pauline vanishes, she won't rest until she finds out what secret from Pauline's past led to her disappearance.
I expected this book to have writing that felt very similar to much of the other historical fiction I've read, maybe like Susanna Kearsley or Sarah Jio. Unlike their more lyrical prose, this writing was crisp and sharp. It felt appropriate to the setting, bringing to mind an image of the women in crisply pressed clothes walking briskly through the bustling city. There was also more of a mystery than I expected. The story was told in a lot of short vignettes, moving backwards and forwards in time. Initially it was difficult to figure out how the many scenes connected, but I was always interested to discover what would happen next. Watching everything come together slowly was very satisfying.
Altogether, the author crafted an engaging, character-driven story that I couldn't put down. I found the way people were described very convincing. On many occasions, the author perfectly captured an emotion I'd felt or an experience I'd had before with a phrase I'd never have thought to use. Although this book wasn't what I expected, I really loved it. I'd particularly recommend it to anyone who enjoys slower, more thoughtful, character-driven stories.
This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey
In 1950's New York, Maggie Gleason is enjoying the empowerment of having a career at the Port Authority. She stands in awe of her boss, the impressive Mrs. Jeffe, who is driving the creation of the world's largest sky scraper. When Mrs. J asks her to look out for new hire, Pauline Moreau, and her daughter, she takes that charge seriously. So when Pauline vanishes, she won't rest until she finds out what secret from Pauline's past led to her disappearance.
I expected this book to have writing that felt very similar to much of the other historical fiction I've read, maybe like Susanna Kearsley or Sarah Jio. Unlike their more lyrical prose, this writing was crisp and sharp. It felt appropriate to the setting, bringing to mind an image of the women in crisply pressed clothes walking briskly through the bustling city. There was also more of a mystery than I expected. The story was told in a lot of short vignettes, moving backwards and forwards in time. Initially it was difficult to figure out how the many scenes connected, but I was always interested to discover what would happen next. Watching everything come together slowly was very satisfying.
Altogether, the author crafted an engaging, character-driven story that I couldn't put down. I found the way people were described very convincing. On many occasions, the author perfectly captured an emotion I'd felt or an experience I'd had before with a phrase I'd never have thought to use. Although this book wasn't what I expected, I really loved it. I'd particularly recommend it to anyone who enjoys slower, more thoughtful, character-driven stories.
This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey
August 2, 2017
What a strange but wonderful book. I wasn't really sure what to expect going into this. I had caught a brief excerpt of someone else's Goodreads review that made me suspect the title was ironic, but I had no idea what I was in store for when I opened this book. Having had Joanna Scott as a professor, I shouldn't have been surprised by the non-chronological nature of the narrative, but I was still taken aback at first. Once I acclimated to it, I found it a new and challenging way to read. The point of view is always shifting, as is the year, but it's always Maggie Gleason at heart who's narrating. This isn't a book about Maggie Gleason and it's not a book about careers for women. It's much more than that.
The environmental aspects of this book were weird and unexpected, as was the depressed housewife storyline, the affair, and even the (no spoilers????) murder. It was so interesting to trace the narrative, and so strangely beautiful. I also loved the tie-in with the development of New York City and the World Trade Center, and the haunting conclusion of the novel with 9/11. It left me feeling a lot of thinks, including confused, moved, and thoughtful. I'm not sure what I was supposed to take away from the novel, but I thought a lot and I greatly enjoyed it.
The environmental aspects of this book were weird and unexpected, as was the depressed housewife storyline, the affair, and even the (no spoilers????) murder. It was so interesting to trace the narrative, and so strangely beautiful. I also loved the tie-in with the development of New York City and the World Trade Center, and the haunting conclusion of the novel with 9/11. It left me feeling a lot of thinks, including confused, moved, and thoughtful. I'm not sure what I was supposed to take away from the novel, but I thought a lot and I greatly enjoyed it.
December 30, 2017
I found this a difficult book to rate. The writing is so well-done and the format so original that I was captivated by the prose itself. However, the title and the multiple story lines appear to be only peripherally connected. Scott takes on female friendship, career paths for women, the World Trade Center development and disaster, factories poisoning the land in upstate New York, and murder. (I may have missed a plot point or two.) I felt a little like a jumping bean or a pinball as I careened from one section to the next while my mind sorted and rearranged the pieces of the puzzle. So, did I like it? Yes. Do I recommend this book? I believe I do, but be forewarned that it will stretch your reading muscles. In the end, it is difficult to decide if I approve of the narrator (which is not necessary to enjoy the book) or the choices she makes. You may want to ask yourself this question at the conclusion of the novel: who/what is this tale about? Which of the strands most appeals to you? BTW, re the murder, it isn't a mystery to the reader, although it is to the characters, but the effect is muted by the shadow of the Twin Towers and the disaster we all know is coming.
October 4, 2017
This book is nothing like what the title or blurb suggest. It's an associative (instead of chronological) story that interweaves several complex narratives. The back of the book makes it sound like a dreary story of some mediocre people, but instead it's a sweeping tale of people being people - people making bad decisions because it's easy, and people making good decisions even when it's hard. I don't want to say more at the risk of spoiling the story itself, since it's a story-driven novel, as compared to character-driven or plot-driven. This is just the best way to tell this particular story. Enjoy!
December 7, 2017
This book was not for me. Although I was drawn to the interesting premise and time period, as well as the gorgeous cover art, I found the narration irritating. I don't mind multiple narrators but on occasion I wasn't sure who was talking. The atmosphere of the Port Authority in the 1950s was clearly written and engaging. I simply didn't like the characters very much or the narration. Others may get on better with it
March 3, 2018
This was a tough one to rate.... I came in expecting something like The Bell Jar—and there were parallels for sure—but it also included some mystery and some history and more character sketches and some sly social commentary. I have to say, though, that the nonlinear narrative was a bit confusing (the little snippet headlines could have included a year, just for context), and I did not care for the ending, which seemed too abrupt and a bit contrived.
September 16, 2017
4.5 stars.
February 12, 2020
I don't know why this made me want to cry at the end but it sure did.
November 9, 2019
Really just delightful. Who even is Joanna Scott? I'm suddenly a fan.
February 2, 2018
Careers for Women is honestly a little, unique gem of a book by Joanna Scott. I was drawn to the cover - as I usually am when browsing books at the library - and I typically like books with women as central characters. As I also typically do when a book catches my eye at the library, I started reading the first few pages to see if it would hook me. Needless to say, it did. I checked it out, read it, and am so glad I did, as I enjoyed it immensely.
This is one of those books best devoured within a day or two, as Scott uses a unique narrative device of switching back and forth in time between the 1950s through the 1970s, with a necessary jump ahead at the very end to September 11, 2001 (the reasoning is clear as you discern the building of the World Trader Center Twin Towers is a focal point in the story). Spreading it out over several days, one could easily lose track of key narrative threads - and it becomes evident that all of these threads are brilliantly and eventually woven together by Scott, as a "master puppeteer" of sorts. The main character is Maggie Gleason, a working girl at the Port Authority in NY in the 1950s. Maggie works for the Public Relations department, headed by the formidable and somewhat glamorous Lee K. Jaffe (yes, a real life person). For the record, from the first chapter, it was solidified in my mind that, were a movie to be made of this story, Meryl Streep would play Jaffe perfectly. I don't know if that's because I just came off of watching her play Katharine Graham, a similar character, so well in the film, "The Post" or what it is... but, I digress. Look up photos of Jaffe and you will see I'm not too far off the mark.
Jaffe invites Pauline Moreau, a single mother (and prostitute), down on her luck on the streets of NYC, to join the Port Authority girls, and tasks Maggie with taking her under her wing. Maggie obligingly does so, and Pauline and Maggie become good friends. The past Pauline has been running away from catches up to her, however, with dire consequences. Much of what leads to Pauline's past and downfall is elaborated upon further in side stories throughout a majority of this novel. Just warning you from the upshot - don't think you're going crazy when Scott suddenly detours into a story about an aluminum factory in upstate New York, with the Whitaker family at the heart of it. It all makes sense eventually. It's difficult to put into words how Joanna Scott does this, and does it so well. There are parts where you find yourself wondering, "where is she going now with this?" but trust me, the little vignettes and chapters within chapters all lead up to a particular point.
I would draw your attention to the very first review of this book, presented by "Anmiryan" (I wish I could tag her somehow!) on Good Reads, because she truly sums it up perfectly. This book is truly about so many of the "patriarchal assumptions" made of women trying to forge careers of their own. I was struck so often, as I was reading this, of the continual, overall unfairness of it all - how women constantly have to muddle through men's messes to get anywhere... and even when they get close to the point they want to reach, it is still such an uphill battle. Jaffe herself was a successful businesswoman who, in the end, convinced the Port Authority and the city of New York that the Twin Towers were just what the city needed. How bittersweet that, in the end, that certainty she felt in her project dissolved in light of the disastrous events of 9/11. There's an overlying poignancy to this book that is so craftily laid out by Scott from the get go. Calling this book "Careers for Women" is both ironic and tongue-in-cheek. Careers are something women have needed to fight for, and to be taken seriously as a career-woman, back in the 1950s and even through to present day, is such a battle. Oftentimes, it is the foolish plans and foibles of men that have held them back.
Read this book. It's strange and curiously pieced together, but ultimately satisfying, because I think it has a lot to say, and in a quirky, sometimes humorous way. A good one.
This is one of those books best devoured within a day or two, as Scott uses a unique narrative device of switching back and forth in time between the 1950s through the 1970s, with a necessary jump ahead at the very end to September 11, 2001 (the reasoning is clear as you discern the building of the World Trader Center Twin Towers is a focal point in the story). Spreading it out over several days, one could easily lose track of key narrative threads - and it becomes evident that all of these threads are brilliantly and eventually woven together by Scott, as a "master puppeteer" of sorts. The main character is Maggie Gleason, a working girl at the Port Authority in NY in the 1950s. Maggie works for the Public Relations department, headed by the formidable and somewhat glamorous Lee K. Jaffe (yes, a real life person). For the record, from the first chapter, it was solidified in my mind that, were a movie to be made of this story, Meryl Streep would play Jaffe perfectly. I don't know if that's because I just came off of watching her play Katharine Graham, a similar character, so well in the film, "The Post" or what it is... but, I digress. Look up photos of Jaffe and you will see I'm not too far off the mark.
Jaffe invites Pauline Moreau, a single mother (and prostitute), down on her luck on the streets of NYC, to join the Port Authority girls, and tasks Maggie with taking her under her wing. Maggie obligingly does so, and Pauline and Maggie become good friends. The past Pauline has been running away from catches up to her, however, with dire consequences. Much of what leads to Pauline's past and downfall is elaborated upon further in side stories throughout a majority of this novel. Just warning you from the upshot - don't think you're going crazy when Scott suddenly detours into a story about an aluminum factory in upstate New York, with the Whitaker family at the heart of it. It all makes sense eventually. It's difficult to put into words how Joanna Scott does this, and does it so well. There are parts where you find yourself wondering, "where is she going now with this?" but trust me, the little vignettes and chapters within chapters all lead up to a particular point.
I would draw your attention to the very first review of this book, presented by "Anmiryan" (I wish I could tag her somehow!) on Good Reads, because she truly sums it up perfectly. This book is truly about so many of the "patriarchal assumptions" made of women trying to forge careers of their own. I was struck so often, as I was reading this, of the continual, overall unfairness of it all - how women constantly have to muddle through men's messes to get anywhere... and even when they get close to the point they want to reach, it is still such an uphill battle. Jaffe herself was a successful businesswoman who, in the end, convinced the Port Authority and the city of New York that the Twin Towers were just what the city needed. How bittersweet that, in the end, that certainty she felt in her project dissolved in light of the disastrous events of 9/11. There's an overlying poignancy to this book that is so craftily laid out by Scott from the get go. Calling this book "Careers for Women" is both ironic and tongue-in-cheek. Careers are something women have needed to fight for, and to be taken seriously as a career-woman, back in the 1950s and even through to present day, is such a battle. Oftentimes, it is the foolish plans and foibles of men that have held them back.
Read this book. It's strange and curiously pieced together, but ultimately satisfying, because I think it has a lot to say, and in a quirky, sometimes humorous way. A good one.
February 22, 2020
Definitely a good read -- it centers on women who worked at the Port Authority during the period of the building of the World Trade Center with a side story involving an aluminum plant in upstate New York.
The author does a good job of capturing the sights and sounds of the times though her descriptive paragraphs run a little long at times and you have to work through those to get back to dialogue and plot lines.
While some of the women are caricatures, I found them more fleshed out than some other books have done.
If you liked Mad Men, you might want to give this a try.
The author does a good job of capturing the sights and sounds of the times though her descriptive paragraphs run a little long at times and you have to work through those to get back to dialogue and plot lines.
While some of the women are caricatures, I found them more fleshed out than some other books have done.
If you liked Mad Men, you might want to give this a try.
July 30, 2017
It was the cover of Joanna Scott’s Careers for Women that drew me to this book. The retro advertising art suggested a light bit of humor and sophistication that I expected to enjoy immensely. It began exactly as I expected, with a group of women mentored by their supervisor, the famed Lee Jaffe of the Port Authority, a story of the subtle wit of women navigating professional life in the oppressive working world of the Fifties and Sixties.
However, there is much more to the story than that. We have the careers for women at the Port Authority with Maggie Gleason, Lee Jaffe, and Pauline Moreau. We also have the story of Kay and Bob Whittaker. Kay’s career is the full-time housewife and mother, supporting her husband who truly does not deserve her support. There is the Robert Whittaker III and Brigid love story. There is also the story of Maggie and Sonia, Pauline’s daughter. There is the story of building the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, Lee Jaffe’s great dream. Then there is the story of perfidy and pollution poisoning the air in upstate New York near the Alumacore plant and all in just three hundred pages.
I will credit Joanna Scott with immense ambition. She packed a lot of stories into her book. She tackles important themes, corruption, environmental devastation and corporate malfeasance, anti-semitism, the challenges of developmental disabilities, sexual politics, infidelity, and misogyny. For me, though, it does not come together despite her considerable skill as a writer.
It’s strange. This is not a long book and it packs in a lot of stories and ideas, yet it still manages to overflow with unnecessary discursive interstices, overheard conversation, the chorus of construction workers, or the Emergency Action Plan, a ploy that bored me and made the book seem endless at times. It reminded me a bit of Shakespeare, who would add a conversation among a few people who show up for that conversation and are never seen again. They deliver some bit of information or an idea and go away. Shakespeare, though, has the sense to limit it to once or twice in a play. Scott throws this flotsam in all over the place. It became intrusive, irritating and I wanted to skip over them.
Scott is a skilled writer. I was drawn to her prose at times and sometimes it was magical. Her Maggie storyline was interesting and the first quarter of the book was fantastic. However, the “mystery” was not enough of a mystery and there was little suspense at all. The environmental storyline was overly dogmatic, its preachy lack of subtlety robbing it of emotional effect. People are contrary and when an author insists on telling us instead of showing us, we resist. Scott showed none of her narrative skill with that story, it was heavy-handed and obvious.
This was such a mixed bag of a novel. There were the parts I liked, the Maggie Gleason and Lee Jaffe story, even the Pauline story. The rest of it, meh.
I received a copy of Careers for Women from the publisher through NetGalley.
★★★
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
However, there is much more to the story than that. We have the careers for women at the Port Authority with Maggie Gleason, Lee Jaffe, and Pauline Moreau. We also have the story of Kay and Bob Whittaker. Kay’s career is the full-time housewife and mother, supporting her husband who truly does not deserve her support. There is the Robert Whittaker III and Brigid love story. There is also the story of Maggie and Sonia, Pauline’s daughter. There is the story of building the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, Lee Jaffe’s great dream. Then there is the story of perfidy and pollution poisoning the air in upstate New York near the Alumacore plant and all in just three hundred pages.
I will credit Joanna Scott with immense ambition. She packed a lot of stories into her book. She tackles important themes, corruption, environmental devastation and corporate malfeasance, anti-semitism, the challenges of developmental disabilities, sexual politics, infidelity, and misogyny. For me, though, it does not come together despite her considerable skill as a writer.
It’s strange. This is not a long book and it packs in a lot of stories and ideas, yet it still manages to overflow with unnecessary discursive interstices, overheard conversation, the chorus of construction workers, or the Emergency Action Plan, a ploy that bored me and made the book seem endless at times. It reminded me a bit of Shakespeare, who would add a conversation among a few people who show up for that conversation and are never seen again. They deliver some bit of information or an idea and go away. Shakespeare, though, has the sense to limit it to once or twice in a play. Scott throws this flotsam in all over the place. It became intrusive, irritating and I wanted to skip over them.
Scott is a skilled writer. I was drawn to her prose at times and sometimes it was magical. Her Maggie storyline was interesting and the first quarter of the book was fantastic. However, the “mystery” was not enough of a mystery and there was little suspense at all. The environmental storyline was overly dogmatic, its preachy lack of subtlety robbing it of emotional effect. People are contrary and when an author insists on telling us instead of showing us, we resist. Scott showed none of her narrative skill with that story, it was heavy-handed and obvious.
This was such a mixed bag of a novel. There were the parts I liked, the Maggie Gleason and Lee Jaffe story, even the Pauline story. The rest of it, meh.
I received a copy of Careers for Women from the publisher through NetGalley.
★★★
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
October 22, 2017
This was certainly an interesting book that was not what I expected it to be. Reading the synopsis on the book jacket I expected it to be about working women in New York in the 60's, but honestly it was so much more than that! Initially I found it difficult to follow the different timelines and narratives, so perhaps that could have had a better introduction, however once in the thick of it, the narrative switches back and forth and between characters seamlessly. I enjoyed following the characters and seeing their development throughout the novel. It was also interesting to watch the mystery get solved across time and to see puzzle pieces fit in here and there, including why the story is told the way it is. It all makes sense in the end. I will say I found the last few pages a little strange. Perhaps it was symbolism I didn't catch, but it just seemed quickly connected to 9/11 and wrapping up loose ends for the characters. All in all, this is a solid read and an interesting narrative.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 10, 2018
Robbie said "that if he were the one aiming to find meaning in the confusing morass of life, he just might consider arranging the pieces in accordance with the force of association rather than in obedience to the order of time" (p. 281) -- interesting advice coming from a historian. In any event, this sentence near the end of the book seems to provide the clue to the organization of the narrative in "Careers for Women," a title in which the word "careers" is used very loosely, I would add. I really didn't think this book was much about what the title or the inside flap suggested. It was an interesting mystery of sorts, where the parts were indeed jumbled and presented in a very non-linear ahistorical manner, which, again was surprising in a book that is described as one about New York in the late 1950's. None of the characters were really portrayed deeply or vividly enough to cause me to relate or empathize. This author has several books - I would probably give another one a try. But I'm thinking this one did not at all help me find meaning in the confusing morass of life.
March 24, 2018
There are many voices in this book & characters in two locations: New York City & the town of Visby in St Lawrence Co. It starts out with Maggie as a young woman who begins her career in New York in the mid-50’s—an era when working women were pitied. “Successful ladies did not have to work for a living”
She works for a powerful woman in Public Relations @ Port Authority. She hires on as a secretary—back in the days when typing corrections were made on the original & carbon copy & dictation was taken (I remember those days!).
We meet her friends, associates, and a family who works for & profits from the aluminum foundry in Visby.
Maggie is writing this book based upon the circumstances. She is told by an acquaintance that when she writes their story to “consider arranging the pieces in accordance with the force of association rather than in obedience to the order of time”. This also added another dimension, but despite all these challenges, I had no trouble keeping up with the weaving of the story.
Always looked forward to reading the book when I had the opportunity
She works for a powerful woman in Public Relations @ Port Authority. She hires on as a secretary—back in the days when typing corrections were made on the original & carbon copy & dictation was taken (I remember those days!).
We meet her friends, associates, and a family who works for & profits from the aluminum foundry in Visby.
Maggie is writing this book based upon the circumstances. She is told by an acquaintance that when she writes their story to “consider arranging the pieces in accordance with the force of association rather than in obedience to the order of time”. This also added another dimension, but despite all these challenges, I had no trouble keeping up with the weaving of the story.
Always looked forward to reading the book when I had the opportunity
August 15, 2017
This is not/not a tale of women at the forefront of industry in the 1960s- it's a murder mystery patische with one executive woman as one of the many voices, I've debated this since finishing it. There are multiple characters, all of whom have input, the timeline shifts back and forth and back again in a fashion I found annoying, and Maggie, who is meant to be the lead (per the blurb) is in many ways a cipher. More interesting are Pauline and Mrs. J but don't forget those associated with Alumacore- the Whittakers, the Finneys, the Native Americans, and for heavens sake, some animals. There are also some real people making cameos, all of them associated with the World Trade Center. BUT this is not really about the twin towers or female empowerment; pay attention to what happens in the beginning. Interesting and worth a read but not what I expected.
October 8, 2017
In the Public Relations Department of the New York Port Authority in 1958, Maggie Gleason is learning about being a professional woman from the legendary Lee Jaffe. Lee tries to show her charges that despite the obstacles in their way, they can lead fulfilling, successful lives. But when she takes Pauline Moreau and her daughter Sonia under her wing, no one can foresee the deadly consequences of a secret from the past that Pauline can't escape no matter how hard she tries. What Maggie discovers in the wake of Pauline's mysterious disappearance upends everything she thought she knew about work, love, family, and ambition.
This is an interesting book but it needs editing. The story keeps your attention but the book wanders too much from character to character and between time periods. Still, I am glad that I read it and look forward to more books by Joanna Scott.
This is an interesting book but it needs editing. The story keeps your attention but the book wanders too much from character to character and between time periods. Still, I am glad that I read it and look forward to more books by Joanna Scott.
December 27, 2017
This book turned out to be very different from what I was anticipating... a lot more thought-provoking. It was, as the title says, about careers for women, at least superficially, but perhaps it should have been Struggles of Women, as it examines the difficulties that were faced by women in the working world, starting in the 1950s and on into the present.
It also addresses hot-button topics like the effects of gentrification on large cities (New York to be specific), environmentalism and the pollution of natural resources by large manufacturers, and a number of related subjects.
The common thread throughout is a chain of unfortunate events and outcomes that tie the characters together. Even though the subject matter was often disturbing and occasionally depressing, I just could not put this book down and read it in less than a weekend.
It also addresses hot-button topics like the effects of gentrification on large cities (New York to be specific), environmentalism and the pollution of natural resources by large manufacturers, and a number of related subjects.
The common thread throughout is a chain of unfortunate events and outcomes that tie the characters together. Even though the subject matter was often disturbing and occasionally depressing, I just could not put this book down and read it in less than a weekend.
July 26, 2017
3.5 stars. The lives of three women unfold in this short work and I wish that it was longer because there are elements left unanswered and under developed that would make it a much better novel. The women work in the Public Relations office of The Port Authority of NY & NJ and the building of The World Trade Center is a key plot point. Scott begins her story in late 1950's New York, and she captures office life for her women wonderfully, and as the years pass she chronicles the changing attitudes. She weaves her plotlines together to create the story, but I wanted more of both the lives of her female 'leads' and the environmental impact of building the Trade Center, less is not also more. Worth reading.
September 3, 2017
I admit that I was drawn to this book by the title, but I now think it was a little misleading. While the story is primarily about female characters, it isn't really about females in the workplace. This is a fictional story that takes place in New York (city and state) from the 1950's until the early 2000's. It involves environmental issues, the building of the World Trade Center, and a mystery regarding a woman's disappearance. While slow at certain parts, by the end I couldn't put it down and had to know how the mystery resolved.
January 28, 2022
"She threatened to expose your dirty deed, and you adored her for it. You didn't feel so lonely now that you had Pauline at the center of your fantasies. She wasn't even out of her twenties. She was like a wild animal you were gently trying to domesticate. You gave her everything she asked for, plus some, in hopes that she would soften toward you."
When Maggie lands herself a secretarial job, her boss gives her an assignment: be a friend to Pauline. When Maggie obliges, she learns just what being a friend means. When Pauline goes missing and leaves behind a disabled daughter in the 1950s, Maggie takes it upon herself to look after the young girl and figure out just what happened to her friend and colleague. As the Twin Towers rise in both construction and fame, everything else seems to crumble around Pauline and the narrative she's constructed. She goes away to gamble on horses in the summer--but none of the hotels have record of her. The detectives think that she's abandoned her daughter in hopes for a better life as a single mother--but this is blatantly lazy detective work. And so Maggie begs the question: What happened to Pauline?
Told through short vignettes, we follow Maggie, Sonia, Pauline, and the Whitaker family through the rise and fall of the Twin Towers, of a young woman's life, of an aluminum factory and a town polluted by it. This industrial world where regulation is scant takes no prisoners. While there is absolutely a finger to point, and someone to point it at, Careers for Women constructs a societal reflection in which an amalgamation of factors contribute to Pauline's disappearance. Is it the aluminum which has polluted a town and its minds? Is it the boss who propositions Pauline for a job that can afford her much more money than a secretarial position? Could it be the stress of a home life, a crumbling relationship, the need to get back at a class of women who are suddenly understanding that they can indeed reject the place given to them?
The delight of reading this is the way in which Scott, through Maggie, narrates this book. The usage of "you", both accusatory and descriptive, posits us as the reader as someone who played a hand in Pauline's destruction. The way in which the mystery and resolution slowly unfolds, the vignettes used to piece together the story as Maggie figures out all the pieces.
This is an unexpected mystery, and one that's written in a non-normative style. It's a slow burn, but one that will ignite you and won't let go once it does.
When Maggie lands herself a secretarial job, her boss gives her an assignment: be a friend to Pauline. When Maggie obliges, she learns just what being a friend means. When Pauline goes missing and leaves behind a disabled daughter in the 1950s, Maggie takes it upon herself to look after the young girl and figure out just what happened to her friend and colleague. As the Twin Towers rise in both construction and fame, everything else seems to crumble around Pauline and the narrative she's constructed. She goes away to gamble on horses in the summer--but none of the hotels have record of her. The detectives think that she's abandoned her daughter in hopes for a better life as a single mother--but this is blatantly lazy detective work. And so Maggie begs the question: What happened to Pauline?
Told through short vignettes, we follow Maggie, Sonia, Pauline, and the Whitaker family through the rise and fall of the Twin Towers, of a young woman's life, of an aluminum factory and a town polluted by it. This industrial world where regulation is scant takes no prisoners. While there is absolutely a finger to point, and someone to point it at, Careers for Women constructs a societal reflection in which an amalgamation of factors contribute to Pauline's disappearance. Is it the aluminum which has polluted a town and its minds? Is it the boss who propositions Pauline for a job that can afford her much more money than a secretarial position? Could it be the stress of a home life, a crumbling relationship, the need to get back at a class of women who are suddenly understanding that they can indeed reject the place given to them?
The delight of reading this is the way in which Scott, through Maggie, narrates this book. The usage of "you", both accusatory and descriptive, posits us as the reader as someone who played a hand in Pauline's destruction. The way in which the mystery and resolution slowly unfolds, the vignettes used to piece together the story as Maggie figures out all the pieces.
This is an unexpected mystery, and one that's written in a non-normative style. It's a slow burn, but one that will ignite you and won't let go once it does.
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