The Anxiety of Everyday Objects

In her absorbing debut novel, Sheehan’s depiction of the working girl’s life in the big city is as charming as it is inspiring. Single, not yet thirty, and devoted companion to her dignified cat, Fruit Bat, Winona Bartlett is a secretary at a New York City law firm. Though she finds a certain security in the rituals of her demandingly undemanding job, Winona’s real ambition is to be a filmmaker. And her romantic life is a mess. When a new lawyer—a blind...
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In her absorbing debut novel, Sheehan’s depiction of the working girl’s life in the big city is as charming as it is inspiring. Single, not yet thirty, and devoted companion to her dignified cat, Fruit Bat, Winona Bartlett is a secretary at a New York City law firm. Though she finds a certain security in the rituals of her demandingly undemanding job, Winona’s real ambition is to be a filmmaker. And her romantic life is a mess. When a new lawyer—a blind woman named Sandy Spires—joins the firm and challenges Winona to trust her own creative ideas, Winona is encouraged to try to be more than just a “non-filmmaking filmmaker.” But it eventually becomes clear that the enigmatic Sandy isn’t who she said she is. After her real motives are uncovered, Winona begins to understand what it means to take risks in life and in love.