Elisabeth Cohen brings us The Glitch, an ambitious and entertaining novel that centers on Shelley Stone ... the protagonist is one of those women who routinely advise us that we, too, can 'have it all' ... Cohen is a shrewd writer; her take on Shelley’s life is slightly tongue-in-cheek, though the first-person narrative is never mocking ... The 'glitch' in Shelley’s impeccably calibrated system is the unexpected appearance of a young woman who claims to be the younger Shelley. That irrational encounter precipitates the narrator’s steady unraveling and final confrontation with what I can only call the absurd. But what is the 'glitch,' really, for the rest of us? It’s a question of work, and what it costs women to do it.
Silicon Valley big cheese Shelley Stone, the hilariously single-minded protagonist of The Glitch...a mostly terrific satire ... has many a core principle. These include scheduling sex only when she and her husband are changing out of their clothes anyway. Because, really, where’s the pleasure in pleasure? ... The Glitch develops a glitch of its own toward the end. The previously sure-handed Ms. Cohen loses her grip on the narrative and, by sending Shelley on the road to redemption, loses faith in the appeal of an unlikable heroine.
Cohen details big tech precisely, from deskside snacks and drugs (almonds, Ativan) to upstairs vs. downstairs (C-suite, shipping). But the best part of her novel is its global view on gadgetry. When Shelley decides to follow her nose — okay, her ear — from home to halfway around the world, she discovers something that not even her Conch can figure out.
The Glitch takes a hard look at the definition of work-life balance. Through hilarious antics and sensational story lines, Elisabeth Cohen encourages readers to slow down, take a breath and consider the perspective of a younger you. Would that person think you are living your best life?
As an updated version of Allison Pearson's I Don't Know How She Does It for our hyperconnected tech age, this debut novel is funny and smart with an appealing, driven protagonist.
A disturbingly ambitious woman finds herself challenged by mysterious crises—both personal and professional—in Cohen’s painfully funny satire of the tech industry ... Clever, original, and unabashedly silly fun.
Cohen’s novel premise and lead character—so incredibly well-drawn in her singlemindedness—are almost enough to sustain the story. But as the glitches in Shelley’s life begin to pile up, the author loses control of the narrative. By the time she wrests it back, the reader may wonder if a reboot along the way might have worked better.
