Silver Screen Book Club discussion

This winter we are reading the fiction novel about women in the corporate world by Rona Jaffe called The Best of Everything. This novel was adapted to the screen in 1959 under the same title and stars Hope Lange, Stephen Boyd, Suzy Parker, Diane Baker, Martha Hyer and Joan Crawford.

If you were a woman entering the workforce during this time, what strategy would you use to get ahead?

Which other books or films set in the workplace have you enjoyed?

Samantha wrote: "Which other books or films set in the workplace have you enjoyed?"

The Best of Everything was a good choice for the December book discussion—better, I think, than the book I voted for. But for a number of reasons, it wasn’t necessarily an easy read either. My review is posted at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

Among my favorite workplace films is 1954’s Executive Suite with William Holden, June Allyson, and a number of first tier actors. Based on the bestselling novel by Cameron Hawley, the movie describes the selection of the replacement of a corporate president who has unexpectedly died. I enjoyed watching the juicy politics, blackmail, and strategy as the vice presidents vie for the position.

One serious complaint about the movie is the manner in which the screenwriters (including Hawley himself) treat the character played by Barbara Stanwyck. In the book, the character is clever, strong and influential in the selection of the successor. Conversely, the movie depicts the same character as weak, neurotic and almost suicidal. If they had stayed true to the book, Stanwyck could have blown us away with that character.

After viewing Executive Suite, consider following up with Margin Call with Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons. The film was released in 2011, and based on my experience, accurately portrays corporate life in the 21st century. I’ve seen layoffs conducted in the exact manner depicted in the film. I have worked with characters like these, and might have even been a couple of them.

If you watch both movies, pay close attention to the speeches near the conclusions—William Holden in the boardroom in Executive Suite and Jeremy Irons over his lunch in Margin Call. The contrast of these speeches along with the responses from the listeners speaks volumes about the massive shift in American business mores between 1954 and 2011.

I am finding this book to be very readable, almost like a coming-of-age novel. These women are thrust into the workforce with little to no knowledge of what they're up against.

I think if I were going to work during this time period, I'd try to look pretty but not too pretty, enough to be accepted and liked but not enough to be preyed upon. It is a tricky balancing act. One thing I envy is that if they find a husband they can quit working altogether and start a family. Today that is almost unheard of, especially permanently and trying to achieve career success, romantic success, maternal success and time for oneself is horribly difficult.

I really enjoyed the description of the date with Paul Landis, the kind of man Caroline is supposed to fall for, the reliable, respectful man with a good job but no personality or deep interest in the woman he is dating. I encountered many such men in my youth and they were incredibly dull. Finding the eccentric, the odd, the interesting was a much more difficult task, especially given that those qualities are often ridiculed and intentionally hidden.

On face value, this book seemed like it was going to be light and frothy, but it had a lot of depth and a lot more heartache than I originally anticipated. Each character seemed like a real person. I really loved reading it and didn't want it to end.