Private Offerings by Ann Bridges takes the reader to several worlds: the rarefied air of Silicon Valley, where developers do battle using software bugs as weapons; the halls of power in communist China, where agrarian dreams struggle against the need for technological advancement; and the human heart, where love and responsibility and regret combine into a potent cocktail of conflict.
Much of the action focuses on high-level financial dealings, jockeying for political gain, and media manipulation, set within the context of every software company’s biggest leap forward, the dreaded IPO. Hints of sex are sprinkled throughout, featuring provocatively-dressed wannabe execs using their feminine wiles to manipulate both clueless and not-so-clueless coders, with varying results. If you’re looking for violence, you won’t find much here: the wheeling and dealing provide the excitement, not unlike James Clavelle’s 1981 novel Noble House.
Without spoiling the novel, one of the most interesting aspects was how much of the conflict hinged on a single press release, showing the reader how one message, properly crafted and produced at just the right time, can make a world’s worth of difference.
Overall, it’s an enjoyable read, something different. If you’re familiar with business fiction you’ll no doubt find a lot in Private Offerings to entertain. If this is your first foray into the genre, then dive on in, the water’s fine. Just watch out for the commies and femmes fatale.
Thanks, Dave! Many of the business situations were fictionalized accounts of what I ran up against as the sole woman in a roomful of men. With today’s atmosphere of charging everyone with inappropriate behavior, I think the two women’s behavior in the work force serve as contrasting methods to handle any (perceived or not) discrimination. In fact, I most wanted to point out how accusations of sexual harassment carry as much weight as the actual deed. Words matter, in every context. –Ann
“Words matter” is definitely a major theme of the novel. I hope you saved at least some of those accounts for the next book in the series!
I love your horror reviews, Dave, but it’s nice to see a recommendation outside the genre; as a reader, I welcome breaks from the “usual thing.” Can’t wait to check out Private Offerings!
Don’t tell anyone, but horror makes up maybe 10% of what I read these days! I’m always looking for something off the beaten path (of the macabre).
I look forward to hearing your thoughts, too, Sean. Business fiction is a small but growing genre, and it was fun to bring my varied experiences to life through other characters, rather than a boring memoir.
I have not seen or heard anything about this book yet, and I’m glad I came across it here. But, now I’m sad that it isn’t available on audio.
Thanks for the review, I’ve added the book to my TBR list.
Hello, Brian. Thanks for your interest! I hope you enjoy reading Private Offerings, and wish I could make it available in audio format, too. However, what many people don’t realize is that it takes an additional major dollar investment to produce an audiobook. Ebooks and printed formats are extensions of the author’s word processing document, and therefore are very easy to make available at reasonable prices for small, independent, and self-published books. Audiobooks require hiring talent with a great voice to create the drama (especially for fiction), editing an audio file (which takes special software tools and skills), and then pricing it to match those of large publishers who do most of this in-house. It is rarely profitable to produce an audiobook outside of the major bestselling authors. That said, you can use the text-to-speech feature of Kindle if you don’t mind listening to the ebook in a computer-generated voice. Many people do in order to have the mobile convenience.