''Help Wanted'' is a 2024 novel written by Adelle Waldman. The author, Adelle Waldman, worked for six months in a retail store while researching the novel.

Plot

The story of a cast of characters who all work for Town Square, a big-box mega-retailer in Potterstown, a town near the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...

in upstate New York. Potterstown is experiencing economic decline due to the loss

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

jobs. Big Will is the store manager. The Movement team is responsible for stocking products in the store, with executive manager Meredith, group manager Little Will, and team members Nicole, Ruby, Diego, Val, Milo, Joyce, Travis, Raymond, and Callie. The team usually works in early morning shifts prior to opening time. When Big Will announces his resignation, his employees take on the opportunity to become store manager. Eventually, employees split into factions supporting and opposing Meredith as store manager.

Critical reception

''Help Wanted'' generally had positive reviews. Kevin Power of ''

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'' called it "a funny novel, as well as deeply humane and very angry." For ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Alexandra Chang praised the plot development: "Waldman is skilled at building momentum and tension through intricacies of plot." ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' found "emotional intelligence, wry humor, and sensitivity to matters of money and class" similar to Waldman's previous work '' The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.'' The depiction of retail workers was also a focus of praise. Katy Waldman (no relation) of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' wrote that the novel "washes labor in a stately, almost Steinbeckian light, emphasizing its difficulty but also its dignity." ''

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'' magazine named it one of the best books of March 2024 for having "wonderfully believable" characters. Jordan Kisner of ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' also praised the character development: "...although none of these characters is especially charismatic, you nevertheless find yourself wishing at one point or another that each of them could get the promotion." Kisner also found the plot to be relatable: "...The relentless grind in which these characters find themselves won’t change. There’s little opportunity for any real transformation, hope, or happy ending. And yet this is the plot that guides the lives of millions of Americans." However, the character development was questioned by some critics. Reviewing the book for

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's ''

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'',

Maureen Corrigan Maureen Corrigan (born July 30, 1955) is an American author, scholar, and literary critic. She is the book critic on the NPR radio program ''Fresh Air'' and writes for the "Book World" section of ''The Washington Post''. In 2014, she wrote ''So ...

had a mixed review, praising the "psychological acuity" while finding the character development of the store workers to be limited. Similarly, ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' commented: "Though Waldman touches only briefly on the employees’ personal lives, making it difficult to keep all the characters straight, the narrative builds to a satisfying and surprising conclusion."

References

{{reflist 2024 American novels English-language novels W. W. Norton & Company books