Citizen Girl
by Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin
Penguin $108
Three years ago, Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin invented 'revenge lit' with The Nanny Diaries - a snarky expose about New York's elite upper east side families, based on their own experiences as nannies. This follow-up uses a similar tone for women in the workplace, but it's never clear what point the authors are trying to make. The heroine, whose name is Girl, starts out working for a feminist icon of the 1970s who prefers mouthing off rhetoric to changing anything. Girl sees herself as more of a feminist for today. This raises the question of what constitutes a modern feminist - an interesting realm for a novel. Unfortunately, no answers are given. The authors at least capture the disillusionment many young people feel when they join the workforce, particularly the link between attractive women and career success. But we don't know what Girl has learnt: we just know she's not happy about what she sees.
