Paper Trail

by Arleen Paré

Frances, a manager for a large corporation, appears to be very successful. But Frances finds her piece of mind unravelling as she becomes overwhelmed by the destructive bureaucratic nature of the work world she lives in. Frances starts to lose small body parts, hears mysterious Leider music booming throughout her workplace at random times during the day, and obsesses over the caymans that guard her office building. Meanwhile, her alter-ego has regular conversations with the ghost of Kafka, who is writing the manuscript which Frances appears in. Written halfway between poetry and prose, "Paper Trail" questions the rat race work ethic many of us adhere to, more often out of necessity than choice. Through the thoughts and deeds of Frances and her alter-ego, author Arleen Par&eacute demonstrates the stress and loneliness of modern society, and the profound impact this can have on a person's sanity.

Genres: Poetry

176 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

About the author

Arleen Paré is a Canadian writer. She has published two collections of poetry and a novel to date.

Originally from Montreal, Quebec, Paré was educated in social work and adult education, and worked in social services in Vancouver, British Columbia for much of her professional career. She later left her social services job to study creative writing at the University of Victoria.

Her first book, Paper Trail, was published in 2007. A blend of poetry and prose about a businesswoman finding herself stifled by the weight of corporate bureaucracy, the book was a shortlisted nominee for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize in 2008, and won that year's City of Victoria Butler Book Award. She followed up with the novel Leaving Now in 2012.

Her 2014 poetry collection Lake of Two Mountains won the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry. [wikipedia]

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Arleen Paré’s first book, Paper Trail, published by NeWest Press, she examines the everyday ritual of people dreaming themselves into and out of working. Nearing the end of her long career, a sentence, in the public service, Paré dissects the surreal and all-too-real aspects of life in the office.

The book is a series of fleeting or consuming observations, memories, thoughts and mental schedules that flow into each other like the days of the week. Paré leads us through her inner files, a briefcase filled with poetry, poetic prose, memoir and fiction. She records the misconceptions about work, both inside and outside of the office, in relation to who we are. There are sections of her book that focus on the social graces of work life and the unwritten code of fitting in, and using appropriate, airy topics for conversations with colleagues.

There are dense pages and white spaces, like work and the life in-between work. Paré looks at work as a commodity for life and how we calculate our happiness. She gives us the plight of a career woman, shifting gears between different roles that include mother, wife, daughter, and civil servant. Interestingly, she brings in another examination of how the roles of women and their existence differ in comparison with her mother’s generation.

She pairs the surreal, seemingly arbitrary working world with the concrete, practicality of life, and the surreal experiences of life with the encroaching reality of work; measuring security and what her work allows her to have in life. She uses a Cinderella complex to draw a parallel in the idea of work, security, and perceptions being impermanent.

In the midst of all this, she has short, unexpected conversations or daydreams with her own personal Kafka, which is developed throughout the book, trying to find answers, a balance or an anchor, and preparing for this transformation of leaving work.

The notion of working as part of our freewill, and subjecting ourselves to the weight, fear, demand and criticism of our work is a crucial part. She writes about trying to write herself out of her office where she feels boxed in, drawing on the story of a man who spends twenty years in a jail cell and was afraid to leave it when the door was finally opened. He wouldn’t leave. There is an invisible chain that links the civil servant to his or her desk, and the security of a full pension dangling in front of them like a gold carrot.

From there, she launches into the lists of survival kit items for everyday, to survive the office wilderness. Her briefcase is both a burden and a necessity. Paré also identifies herself and her work through the personal sacrifices, self-preservation and resourcefulness of her Parénts’ working lives. In the same vein, Paré likens work to religion and takes another look at these beliefs and values.

In Paper Trail, Paré writes another story between the musings of her work poems, writing herself into a real fiction.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have had this book on my shelf for 10 years! Even signed by the author!
It's a nice book! A little too fluffy for me but well thought out and written! A unique writing style!

[the restless bookflea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book last year from a thrift book stall because I was mainly interested with the varying structure of its poetry entries and finally managed to finish it! But tbh I think I will be more engaged and appreciative to this fiction and its reflections when I am employed someday.

The seemingly personal language administered in the writing is admirable as well. A good read!


Oooh righttttt despite being a challenging read (in terms of compelling factor), the fiction has intriguing yet inviting parts too! Check out pp. 61, 64, 69, 70, 78, 82 and 94).

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

“in North America when women finally entered the workplace in large numbers, as though they now stood equal, the women approached the work seriously. in the offices before the women arrived in large numbers, the men maintained an understanding that work was not so serious, that work should not overwhelm the pleasant state of camaraderie that the men had taken pains to cultivate. ... when the women were permitted, the work became more serious. during the war, which was serious, the women worked. after the baby boom, the women, who had been sent back to their kitchens after the men returned from war, wanted to be permitted even though they had no war to permit them. they had more to prove. they had to be serious. when they entered the workplace they picked up the pace. and most of the men stopped launching paper airplanes from their desks.”