Ripe

A Novel

By: Sarah Rose Etter

Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow

NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Named a Best Book of the Year by Time, HuffPost, Kirkus Reviews, and more * A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice * A Roxane Gay Audacious Book Club Selection * A Marie Claire Book Club Pick

A surreal literary fiction novel with “a dark, delicious edge” (Time) about a woman in Silicon Valley who must decide how much she’s willing to give up for success—from an award-winning writer whose work Roxane Gay calls “utterly unique and remarkable.”

A year into her dream job at a cutthroat Silicon Valley start-up, Cassie finds herself trapped in a toxic workplace that turns into a corporate nightmare. Between the long hours, toxic bosses, and unethical projects, she also struggles to reconcile the glittering promise of a city shaped by late-stage capitalism where obscene wealth lives alongside abject poverty and suffering. Ivy League grads complain about the snack selection from a conference room with a view of unhoused people bathing in the bay. Start-up burnouts leap into the paths of commuter trains, and men literally set themselves on fire in the streets.

Though isolated, Cassie is never alone. From her earliest memory, a miniature black hole has been her constant companion. It feeds on her depression and anxiety, growing or shrinking in relation to her distress. The black hole watches, but it also waits. Its relentless pull draws Cassie ever closer as the world around her unravels.

When she ends up unexpectedly pregnant at the same time her CEO’s demands cross into illegal territory, Cassie must decide whether the tempting fruits of Silicon Valley are really worth it. “Lurid, tense, and compelling” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), Ripe portrays one millennial woman’s journey through our late-stage capitalist hellscape and offers a brilliantly incisive look at the absurdities of modern life.

Critic reviews

"Laurel Lefkow’s narration evokes the dark tone of this literary novel about a millennial tech worker. Stuck in a toxic Silicon Valley workplace and struggling with depression and anxiety, 33-year-old Cassie feels like she’s falling into a black hole. Things worsen when she discovers that an affair has resulted in an unplanned pregnancy at the same time that a deadly virus is taking over the world. Lefkow’s performance enhances the novel’s bleak mood, building tension as Cassie unravels."

EG Pomogrates and black holes

I did like this book, but I am confused. All the metaphors and then the ending that didn’t conclude any of them? Pls someone, EG is what? I must have missed something…

Gloomy book about choices and values

I liked this book because it was realistic with the feelings young women encounter working in high pressure work environments. I liked the definitions at the beginning of every chapter because I feel like the set the stage in an artful sU that makes you think. I also liked the odd relationship the main character was in because it was clearly not the best choice for her, but she stayed in it anyway because it was the easy choice. This book held up a mirror to our American way of life and some values we hold as important that don't always serve us. Plus it shines a light on corporate ethics and how what they say on corporate mission statements is not usually how they run their business.

Cassie

This book broke me. While reading it i couldn’t help but see myself within the pages. A woman who has been left down since childhood trying to make her own way in the world just to be reduced to nothing more than a vessel for other’s amusement and pleasure. I loved this book and Cassie. Everyone knows a Cassie or are Cassie..be kind to her.

Intense and insightful

Dispels all the glamour of the tech world and San Francisco. Unique writing style. Definitely worth the read, but difficult.

Ghastly

If you're miserable and you want company, this book's for you. The only reason I finished it was that I kept thinking that it would have at least one redeeming feature. But no.

Boring, repetitive writing. Zero character development. No transformation, no change, not even a zombie to spice things up. Move on.