"Help Wanted" by Adelle Waldman is both a book where very little happens yet so much happens too. The plot is seemingly simple: a vacancy opens up in a department store and 2 people are interviewed for the position. However, it is much more than this, it is about the employees who work at the department store, who can barely afford to work there but equally barely afford not to work there. Waldman paints a depressing picture of capitalist society in the online retail store and zero hours contract era. Yet there is hope, if a vacancy opens up then this leads to other opportunities for others to move up. Just like life!

A wise and kind-hearted study of human folly and the interplay of power and emotions in a retail workplace—and also a quietly searing indictment of late stage capitalism. I loved the characters and the writing was so well observed and precise. Another brilliant book by Adelle Waldman!

Any fans of the sitcom "Superstore" will love this book, I certainly did! It follows the various people who work at Movement at "Town Square" a fictional big box store. When the manager of the store is getting promoted, a lot of internal politics start happening to see who will be the one getting up in the ladder for a life changing move up in life!

Taking aim at the ubiquitous online store which has made itself indispensable to so many consumers while never naming it, Help Wanted is set in the logistics section of a branch of Town Square, a department store, in a small New York town which has seen better days. Big Will, the store’s popular manager, has done the best he can in Pottersdown but is both thrilled and relieved when he’s promoted to run another branch. The staff are all agog, not least Meredith, the loathed manager of Movement, who is convinced Big Will’s job is her’s for the asking. Movement’s in turmoil at the prospect of Meredith’s promotion, horrified at the idea of her running the store but when Val hears that senior management plan to wrap up the appointment speedily, asking the logistics staff what they think of Meredith’s management style, she hits on a risky solution.
Adelle Waldman’s empathetic novel engages our sympathy for the hard-pressed Movement staff on minimum wage with no benefits or medical insurance, exploring the consequences of twenty-first century consumerism and its appetite for ever cheaper goods in an entertaining and engaging way while smartly bringing its readers up short now and again.

I found it a bit slow to begin with, and it took me a while to get to know the characters, but it was lovely and original. It reminded me of the TV show "Superstore", and I found it touching and funny at the same time.

A good book but not for me. I also think there is a time and place for this book and I just didn't read it at the right time.

I’ve been waiting years for Adelle Waldman’s follow-up to The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P, and this did not disappoint. While it’s quite different in structure and theme, the writing style is so distinct and familiar and I was so happy to have it back in my life. Each character is so well drawn and specific that I was never disappointed in a perspective switch, which I think that be a risk in a multi-POV novel like this. It’s funny but never mean, and I never felt like it was anything but empathetic toward its characters, even if they made poor choices or behaved badly. Highly recommended for any fellow fans of Waldman or the TV show Superstore!

Well written, a great ensemble of characters. The employees of a warehouse struggle and deal with corporate politics while attempting to replace a manager. It reveals the appalling labour practices in the US and the fail of capitalism and consumerism. A must read.

***advance review copy received from NetGalley in return for an honest review***
I really enjoyed this book. It reads almost like a Fredrik Backman novel, which is no bad thing at all - well developed and well rounded characters whose lives and interests cross and influence each other.
There’s a lot covered in this very deftly; which just goes to show that a skilful author can create a very real character without going into pages and pages of detail.
A definite recommend that I’ll be thinking about for a while.