Blog #7: Book Club for One - From The Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein
It wasn’t until I read the initial paragraph of Beck Dorey-Stein’s “From the Corner of the Oval” that I felt someone had perfectly summed up the painstaking internal monologue of someone in their mid-20s during unemployment:
“So what do you do?” Is the first question D.C. people ask, and the last question you want to answer if you’re unemployed, which I am. It’s October 2011, and since the summer, I’ve spent nine to five at my kitchen table writing cover letters no one will ever read. I keep setting the bar lower and lower, and I’m no longer hoping for actual interviews, but just generic acknowledgements that my applications have been received so I know that I haven’t actually disappeared from the universe even if my saving and confidence have. I’ve grown to appreciate employers considerate enough to reject me properly with a courtesy email.
– Beck Dorey-Stein’s “From the Corner of the Oval”
After every sentence I laughed and replied to her in my head like an old friend with “Me” or “Yass Queen!”
Once the excitement of the initial pages wore thin, I unfortunately hit a reading slump for a bit. Just recall that moment when you’re struggling to get through however many pages you’ve allotted yourself within your timeframe. Maybe I was exhausted, I had spent the day before reading “Crazy Rich Asians” like a Netflix show addict binging all season in one sitting, only getting up to feed and walk the dog, fill up on snacks, and of course bathroom breaks for myself.
But, for the first few recollections of Beck’s pre-stenographer period I zoned out, wanting to get to the juiciness of her career. But in her defense, if I wrote a book chronicling my unemployment or series of part-time gigs, readers probably wouldn’t be hanging on every word either.
Once she reaches the life-changing memory of responding to the Craigslist ad for a typewriter, that’s when I discovered my reading groove.
It’s the modern fairytale for the working 20 something-year-old. Woman finds job ad, answers it, receives a follow-up, takes the evaluation test, does not show up for the next interview with said job because she doesn’t want to lose one of her current sources of income, apologizes to job prospect, almost ghosts them completely and trashes prospective job’s email, but conquers her feelings of embarrassment for her unprofessional behavior, and opens the email to discover it’s a White House job under Barack Obama as a stenographer.
For those wondering, a stenographer is someone who transcribes speeches, in Beck’s case, for the 44th President of the United States. No biggie. *Sarcasm fully in tact.
Well, once Beck stepped into her job that’s when her stories enlighten and capture me as a reader. I could almost feel the flurry of burning excitement when she shares gym space with the President for the first time, the rush of amazement when she initially steps onto Air Force One, and feel like the nervous new kid sitting alone on the first day of school, when staff occupies the pool during her first trip and she scans around unsure of who to talk to and befriend.
Our leading lady eventually makes this position her bit…I mean…becomes a total pro at her job, makes her own group of close-knit friends, and even stays a minute for the next president’s arrival.
If you are looking for a thorough historical account of Obama’s presidency—this is not for you. If you ever felt like or can cheer on a post college grad who gets this unexpected surprise career opportunity, falls into love turmoil and tries to balance personal life all the while pinching herself traveling to countless countries and being a pair of eyes and ears in the oval office, this one’s for you.
The book has been compared to a mixture of West Wing meets Sex in the City. I truthfully have never watched West Wing, please fans be nice to me, but I have watched my fair share of Sex in the City.
I want to say the same way you admire Carrie Bradshaw for her unapologetic storytelling voice, her ambition as a writer and the dynamic friendships she fosters, holds the same positives I have for Beck.
But the parts where Carrie loses herself in her relationships and those breaking points where you want to shake Carrie to use her common sense, you get the same pit of frustration and annoyance for Beck.
Let’s be real, we’ve all been the obnoxious friend. The one who vents and asks for advice about something we probably already know the right answer to. But our patient friend(s) voices what we’re trying to conceal in the back of our mind, and yet we end up making the opposite choice to prolong the bad for you, but good for you feeling.
I love a book where you could feel like you’re talking to a girlfriend who is confiding in you. Where you almost want to jump into the middle of the page and give the protagonist a reality check. Thank you Beck for penning your adventure, being true to your voice and experiences, and on your first book. To many more!