By Piyali C.

One of the reasons I love to read is because I am interested in learning about the lived experiences of people around me. Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman gives a vivid, insightful look into the lives of the rank-and-file employees of the Team Movement department of a large corporation – a department store chain called TownSquare. The team receives goods and stocks shelves from 4 to 8 am, when the store opens for customers.

The store manager, Big Will, has been promoted, and the much-desired position of store manager in a small, upstate town in New York will soon be vacant. Meredith, the logistics manager who oversees the Movement department, is almost certain that she will get the job. But the workers under her despise her leadership and are not fond of her as a person. The small group of employees, who are colleagues but not friends, form a plan to position Meredith in a way that will help them. The plan is hatched by Val, a socially conscious woman, married to her wife and mother to their young son. While Val floats the idea and sells it in a way that she professes will help the team, she has very selfish reasons to reposition Meredith.

As their plan progresses, the colleagues slowly learn about each other’s lives and the unique battle each is fighting. Poverty and the constant struggle to stay afloat leave little room to look around and care for others. But this conspiracy to influence the hiring of the store manager by low-level employees who hardly have any influence over anything, including their own lives, brings them closer. They start caring.

The repercussions of this plan and the corporation’s decision to cut costs by manipulating the staff’s hours touch the lives of all the characters. The characters come from all walks of life and belong to different races and ethnicities. One common thread that ties them together is poverty and lack of opportunity. Race gives a slight edge to some over others. Opportunities are rare; when one arises, a whole lot of these people start to dream of a slightly better existence for themselves and their loved ones. 

I did not expect to get so invested in this book. It takes a nosedive into the intricacies of big corporations, their manipulation and control of their employees, and the words they use to avoid turnover. Employees know that they are being exploited, but their options are limited, as many of them are one paycheck away from starvation and food stamps. The callousness of large corporations towards people who have worked for them for years is truly anger-provoking. While I didn’t love the characters, I came to care for them. I understood their apathy. What struck me most was how authentically Adelle Waldman etched each character. They are not perfect and (as I mentioned before) not even always very likeable, but there lies the authenticity of them. They are us – real, flawed, kind, bitter, sometimes petty, and sometimes loving.  

Waldman dedicates this book to all retail workers, and I believe those of us who have worked in retail and those who are curious to know how it is to work for big corporations will find it thought-provoking. 

Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman is available in print and e-book formats. This novel is also featured in our Adult Summer Reading 2024: Fiction (Relationships) booklist. 

Piyali is an instructor and research specialist at HCLS Miller Branch, where she facilitates two book discussion groups: Light But Not Fluffy and Global Reads. She keeps the hope alive that someday she will reach the bottom of her to-read list.