Working Class Zero

by Rob Payne

Office politics and misguided lust collide in Rob Payne’s hilarious newnovel Praise for Rob "Think Nick Hornby or even Roddy Doyle…adds a much-needed rebel yellto…CanLit." ¾ Eye Magazine "What a hoot! Quirky and original…" ¾ Will Ferguson, author of Happiness "…a surprisingly heartfelt book." ¾ Quill & Quire My Life is ticking away one subway token at a time… Thus begins 30-year old Jay Thompson’s tale of life in Corporate Purgatory.From the individual production modules (a.k.a. cubicles), KGB-stylereceptionists, and inept bosses with Rod Stewart hair, life has never been easyat HMS Trust’s head office. Things are about to get a lot worse. Thanks to his "high accuracy" assessment (which took the employmentagency all of one hour to complete), Jay lands the biggestpromotion-with-out-pay in his life – as the reluctant head of a chaotic callcentre full of temps, at peak season. Enter young Samantha, a temp with more flirtatious energy than Helena BonhamCarter. And of course Jan, Jay’s longtime live-in girlfriend (a second-yeardoctoral student majoring in English Literature/Antisocial Neglect of Her LifePartner); best friend Tyler (dispenser of suspect advice, part-timeRingo Starr impersonator); brother Sheldon (armed with a major life-changingannouncement); and psychotic parents Jim and Sharon, who take bitterrecrimination to all-star levels. What we get is an honest, wickedly funny and ruthlessly disenchanting look atlife, love, and middle management in the Age of the Corporation.

Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jay Thompson is a thirty year-old working in a dead end bank call-centre job in Toronto and in an uneasy relationship with his PhD-candidate girlfriend and off-the-wall parents and brother. Music is his outlet and he gains a second job as a John Denver impersonator as his bank career heads to termination. A feel-good ending suits quite an amusing, light and involving read which captures the soulless fascism so typical of the corporate workplace and the pressures on contemporary relationships. 3.5 stars.

[Andy McCarthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it sort of. I did not find the main character to be likable, so reading a story from his point of view was a little difficult.