Because She Can by Bridie Clark - Book Review

Bridie Clark, the author of Because She Can, is a former editor with years of publishing experience. She’s writing what she knows in her debut novel, which follows a young editor working at a controversial publishing house under a tyrannical boss. Because She Can is about getting what you think you want and realizing it’s not all it was cracked up to be.

Bridie Clark’s debut novel, Because She Can, fits squarely into the bad-boss subcategory of chick lit. The Devil Wears Prada is the most famous entrant, and Because She Can takes a similar approach but translates it to the world of book publishing.

Ignoring warnings from her colleagues, Claire Truman leaves a pleasant job in publishing for one that promises better money and faster advancement. After the first day on the job, though, Claire realizes that the horror stories she heard about her new boss were all true. She’s overworked and under-appreciated, and becomes the victim of her boss’ legendary temper and manipulative office politics.

What detracts from the reader’s experience could be said of most books about bad bosses—it’s stressful to read about someone experiencing work stress, and it’s hard not to wonder why the heroine doesn’t quit her job if it’s truly so terrible.

Because She Can also sets the profit-driven attitude of Claire’s new boss (and, it could be argued, of publishing in general) against the more purist, literary approach embodied in Claire’s late father, a respected poet, and her mother, who embraces a slower academic life in Iowa. This approach might betray Clark’s own higher literary ambitions, but it’s also a nice encapsulation of the conflict shared by many people who entered book publishing to work on literature, only to be dismayed by the commercial reality of huge publishing houses.