Who
hasn't had a bad boss? A crazy boss? A boss who requires you to go
beyond all stretches of reality and pull great and remarkable
things out of thin air at a moment's notice? Bridie Clark's debut
novel, BECAUSE SHE CAN, gives readers one of the all-time work
horror stories, as based on her experiences with the real
publishing world's most high-profile, high-performance (and most
histrionic) publisher. Think of a certain O.J. book that got pulled
off the shelves before its official release date, and you'll be on
the right track. Clark counters this craziness, however, with a
charming love triangle that helps add a fun twist to the evildoings
in the workplace. And, because she does, this is a fun read ---
well-written and stylish without being a throwaway.

In BECAUSE SHE CAN, the bottom-feeding boss from the depths of hell
fills a young editor's professional life with crazy-person
invectives and hysterical tirades (as well as lap dances and other
unsavory extras), while her super-WASP boyfriend with the
ultra-moneyed background changes her idea of a satisfying personal
life in ways she couldn't have seen coming. Claire Truman, the
daughter of a renowned poet and a boho artist mom whose family has
ties to the Mayflower, always expected that she would land in the
world of book publishing --- but the education she gets on the 12th
floor of Mathers-Hollinger changes her forever. Claire's need to
publish books that matter clashes with her boss's credo of
publishing anything that makes money. The more sensational, the
better. (Clark has what I hope is a fantastic imagination when
making up books like the memoirs of a teenage pimp and a handbook
for adults who want to get away with adultery).

Claire takes on the case of a talented young writer named Luke, who
happens to be the nephew of her old boss, an industry giant who
retires and sends her directly to the gates of publishing hell. At
the same time, she juggles her growing feelings for Luke with her
relationship with Randall, the guy she loved from afar at Princeton
who has become her knight-in-shining-Armani. Is he Mr. Right or Mr.
Maybe Not?

Bridie Clark has a real future as a novelist, as she certainly
gives Claire some serious obstacles and provides readers with
several twisting plotlines that will take them racing from first
page to last. This is a colorful and clear-eyed "Sex and the
City"-type look at the pitfalls and high planes that make up
Claire's planetarium show of lunacy and romance --- and that
enlighten the dark side of the fast-paced world of book publishing
in this National Enquirer state we live in. It's a great
read, a really solid pop novel that strives for more than
stereotypes and cartoons. All the characters operate in
multi-dimensions, even the vile boss lady.

BECAUSE SHE CAN is definitely recommended as book club or beach
reading, for serious readers and straphangers alike.