Harper's Rules Reviewed

My aunt gave me a copy of Harper's Rules by Danny Cahill about finding love and a job. He connects the two in a novel/self-help hybrid. I appreciate the attempt at a story device even if I don't think Cahill will be nominated for a Pulitzer for his effort. The characters are flat and remain that way. The dialogue is so bad that it made me laugh (that's a compliment, I guess). There's no intrigue-- nothing is left to the reader. Everything is s-p-e-l-l-e-d out. Everything. It must be something to do with the business style of writing-- emphasis on clarity rather than, say, style.

Synopsis:

Harper the brilliant, egotistic head hunter is helping his former client Casey out of a hard spot. Casey's about to lose her job, which Harper finds out through his sheer awesomeness. Casey, a recent divorcee, resigns her job (a no-no) but Harper already has some interviews lined up for her. Voila, Harper writes chapters, texts and chats her through finding her dream job and man. Please note all my cliches, they were inspired by the book.

The cardboard nature of the plot and characters isn't what got me through the 140 page book. There's actually some good advice. I bracketed some sections and put a couple of asterisks in the margins next to some useful pointers.

1. "You haven't committed yet to your career. Down deep you are waiting for a sign, for enough good things to happen to you to justify making a commitment. But, it doesn't work that way. You have to commit first, and then, because you have committed, good things come to you." (p.142)

Cliched, yes. True, yes. Relevant to my professional and personal life, yes.

2. TIme to leave Diagnostic Questions (pp.9-11)

One question: Was it ever what you really wanted?
Another: How many times a day do you laugh during the day?
Another: Do you believe what they tell you at work?
Another: Do you like the work but feel uncomfortable in the culture?

He takes these excellent questions and unpacks them concisely. And, as you can see, they work for a job or a relationship. Brilliant.

3. There's some excellent insight to the interviewing process about the crucial nature of timing and how to express interest.

4. He makes a reference to F. Scott Fitzgerald's concept of the lover and the beloved in a relationship. The power dynamic is in the beloved's favor. And, this reference was believable, satisfying, and sad. Sad because it reminds me of visiting my sister while she was in business school. She and some of her fellow MBAers were just short of brilliant and well-read, but they drank like fish. There's a poetic soul insulated by a cynical, practical shell.

This book isn't by Tolstoy, that's for sure. But I actually read every page, which is more than I can say for most of this kind of book. Most of the time I'd just skim.