Ripe follows Cassie, a woman who has a “dream job” in tech in San Francisco. Her job is cutthroat and high pressure and no matter how hard she works there is always more expected of her. The pay isn’t as high as she hoped it’d be, and she’s always struggling financially. She’s in love with a man who will never love her back. She hates most of her friends and most of them hate her. She doesn’t get the support she needs from her family. She can’t get through her days without drugs and alcohol. Her depression (which manifests as a literal black hole, a detail that I loved) follows her wherever she goes. Basically she’s very very unhappy. There’s not really a plot outside of that. The reader just follows Cassie’s life as she tries to push through the pain that follows her throughout her daily life.

This book is great! Each chapter of Ripe begins with the definition of a word, and in the chapter that follows it becomes clear how that definition is relevant to Cassie’s story. The way Ripe is formatted isn’t wildly unique, but it is interesting, smart, and engaging. I personally thought that the satire was hilarious, but I know that it won’t be funny to everyone.

I used to want a demanding job that would consume my life. I thought that as long as it was in a field I loved living like that would make me happy. This isn’t unusual. A lot of us in our 20s and 30s have found ourselves falling into hustle culture. As it did for many people, 2020 made me think deeply about what’s important to me, and I realized that I no longer want that. I started to spend more time speaking to people in the same field I want to go into and I realized that the idea of missing out on my hobbies, my family, my friends, my restful nights of sleep, my weekends, and much more was, quite frankly, my worst nightmare. When I came very close to reaching that life I felt very similar to how Cassie does: like there was a black hole following me around that I felt I might step into at any moment. She knows that she’s in a position in life that she’s put herself in and she feels foolish for having done so. I’ve never been in a position that was as extreme as Cassie’s, but I get her. I understand her pain, and again, I think a lot of us in our 20s and 30s do.

In general I think this is the kind of book that readers will either love or hate, and as you can see I loved it. I highly recommend it if you’re a fan of the “sad girl books,” but if you’ll have any serious issues with reading about mental illness you should stay away from this.

4.5 stars, really.

This was a good'un. Etter does something here that really resonated me. From the black hole as anxiety/depression/darkness personified to the tangible anxiety in Silicon Valley tech culture (it was hard to read at times!) to Cassie's loneliness and uncertainty, all of it just worked for me.

"Ripe" is a book in which nothing much happens, and that sort of feels like the point. In trying to explain the book to my partner, who's not much of a reader, I kept finding myself sharing specific scenes rather than overarching storylines because there aren't many, as such. That's not a bad thing here. In fact, it lends to the overall feeling of being stuck, rudderless, up shit's creek without a paddle, as they say. Was much of Cassie's situation her own doing? Sure, but that doesn't make her any less of a victim of circumstance and her own perceived powerlessness. Things happen in life and it's not always easy to just rise above.

Anyway, I'm going off on a bit of a tangent. This was good. Really good, even. Admittedly, it's a bit heavy and anxiety-inducing, so I'll likely opt for something slightly lighter for my next read just as a palate cleanser. Nevertheless, one of my favorite reads this year so far.

Thanks to NetGalley as usual for the ARC!

This is a brilliant book about the near-future where a virus threatens mankind but workers like Cassie in the Silicon Valley are more concerned with abiding by the corporate guidelines even though a "black hole" seems to follow her around. Clearly her anxiety, the hole manifests itself when she is on edge or worried about her future at Voyager where she is a corporate "cog" in the wheel and must do what her superiors want her to do. Friends are fleeting and boyfriend, the Chef has a girlfriend as well so that makes things complicated. It's a depressing read but oh so prescient that it's worth it going in!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

I have a feeling this one is going to be big this year.

Ripe blew me away because Cassie felt like a real person who is just trying her best to feel something, be something, do something. That grounded, normal quality is often absent in the books that this is likely to be compared to (ahem, My Year of Rest and Relaxation), which are so often built around protagonists you'd run away from in real life.

Bonus points to any book that makes me scream internally: "Move back to Philadelphia! You'd be so much happier here!"

How many books have you picked up with a blurb referencing "My Year of Rest and Relaxation"? For me, it's been many, and while I'm strongly against comparing every "sad girl" sub-genre book to Moshfegh and Rooney, you should know the comparison is not only fitting, but Sarah Rose Etter's "Ripe" transcends. Surreal and unsettling, "Ripe" unsubtly critiques the pipeline of capitalistic dream turned corporate hellscape.

In a sea of hustle culture yes-men nicknamed Believers, the new virus on the horizon is the least of Cassie's worries. A black hole representing her anxiety and depression has followed her to the promised land, she's barely getting by with her soul-sucking tech startup job, and a baby -- the size of a pomegranate seed -- is growing inside her.

I'm sure many of us millennials and zoomers see aspects of ourselves in Cassie, but every time she's greeted by the homeless man outside her window, we're reminded she's hardly the sole victim. With thought-provoking pomegranate metaphors throughout, "Ripe" paints an uncanny portrait of how capitalism's unethical, exploitative practices trickle down the ladder of society until we're all eventually enveloped by our own personal black holes.

This is sad girl lit at its finest. You won't be able to put this one down. It's a great one to get lost in!

I finished Ripe a little over a week ago, and the longer I sit with it the more I like it.

The use of the black hole to denote depression and anxiety, and the fake self were so relatable and clever. Etter's reflections on capitalism and big tech are obviously dialed up but I think are pretty accurate as a whole. I think millennials in particular can relate to the feeling of dread that's present throughout the whole book-- feeling like even though the world is ending, you have to keep pushing through at your soul-sucking job.

I think this will be a hit with fans of Severance by Ling Ma or My Year or Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

absolute banger of a book--the metaphor of the black hole was apt and perceptive, without ever feeling kitschy or derivative. i hate to box this in to the slowly growing canon of "sad girl millennial corporate tragicomedy", but.....it belongs. i loved it, full stop.

tldr; add this one to your list when it comes out in july 2023.

i received an eARC of this via scribner and netgalley and was super excited to read Ripe. this book fully captures the millennial panic/dread felt by everyone caught up in the corporate grind, exemplified by the san francisco lifestyle and expenses. i really enjoyed the plot of this one but think a few things could’ve been fleshed out more, like the project prometheus plot line. i also thought that while the words and associated definitions that marked the beginning of each chapter were interesting and beneficial to the story, i was distracted by the “e.g., …” sections that started the bulk of most chapters.

WOW!!!! I wasn't too sure about this book going into it, but it was extremely addicting (no pun intended) Our main character is imperfect and flawed and struggling mentally and I think the author portrayed these well! While the story is short its gripping and written VERY well!

This book follows Cassie as she moves through her transplanted life in SF, working in the tech industry, and trying to stay afloat in a city with rent increases, wildfires, and a looming covid crisis,

It's a sharp, beautiful, and moving novel, dealing with start-ups, bad bosses, personal black holes, and the tech industry's soulless, capitalist environment. It's funny and bleak and hopeful all at once. I only wish there was more of it, because I could have kept reading it. I really wanted to spend more time with Cassie.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC!

Oh I was INTO THIS. I can't wait for all of the sad girl lit fic people to read this when it comes out. Ripe reminded me a lot of the book Severance, and I think in some ways this is what I wanted My Year of Rest Relaxation to be when I first went into that one.

This book gave me a lot of anxiety thinking about work (particularly while working a tech-related job), hustle culture, and societal expectations. It's not even a little subtle with its satire of those things and in its "black hole as a metaphor for depression and anxiety" device. But it's clever, I could not put it down, and I have a feeling I'll be thinking about this one for a while.

Ripe is another one of those books I wouldn't necessarily recommend to everyone, but it was absolutely for me. Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC to review! I have a feeling I'm going to want to get a physical copy when this comes out.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of "Ripe" by Sarah Rose Etter.

"Ripe" read as a majestic work of literary fiction. While reading about Cassie's life was often stressful, it was a contemplative stress, relieved through Etter's gorgeous prose. The stunning cover image was what initially drew my attention; the theme certainly delivered, and was accentuated by the unexpected inclusion of the ever-changing black hole. Silicon Valley was discerned for what it truly is in a manner reminiscent of, but surpassing, Dave Eggers' "The Circle." Finally, props to Etter for her skillful mention of the "virus." I have read books that have done this wrong, but Cassie's intrigue at the virus' emergence felt authentic, not overdone.

this book is so unbelievably good, i genuinely loved every second of it (even tho it was incredibly bleak) and didn't want it to end. THANK u netgalley for the digital copy but laaawd am i getting my hands on a physical copy as soon as they're available !

this was such a wrenching, well-written reflection on the tech industry, mental illness, societal colapse, hustle culture and what it means to be a woman worn thin amidst it all. i knew i'd love it bc i loved 'book of x' but i have to say, i loved 'ripe' about 5x more. etter truly created a piece of art w/ this one.

RIPE follows cassie, a young woman one year deep into her “dream” tech job in silicon valley. this new path she originally welcomed as an escape from her hopeless former life quickly rotted to reveal the scathing realities beneath — a soul-draining workplace in the middle of a city that juxtaposes extreme wealth and privilege alongside poverty and crises. cassie is stuck walking the tightrope—always teetering on the edge of losing the cutthroat job opportunity, struggling to make ends meet and keep her head above water, yet never fully in crises.

at least, that’s what she tells herself. a black hole (metaphorical? literal? we get the sense it is both) follows cassie around, shrinking and growing depending on her mood. the ever present foreboding of the black hole only compounds that of the world around her — a mysterious virus in the headlines, the deaths of other silicon valley workers unable to take the pressures any longer, the looming housing crisis.

when her employer’s demands finally cross a moral line, and when her body demands to be put first, cassie is forced to confront her unraveling life and truly consider if there is a different way to live.

reading this book felt dystopian, yet every fiction presented in the book mirrors our bleak reality — wealth inequality, a generation of burnout overworked and underpaid employees, a pandemic growing ever closer, living paycheck to paycheck. etter captured this dread with candor and creativity. her insights on modern life are dismal yet astute, and are matched with vulnerable and touching flashbacks of cassie’s past. i appreciated that RIPE didn’t feel like a millennial gimmick — it felt incisive and infused with sincerity and humanity.

RIPE was unexpectedly grave. i yearned for morsels of hope, and think some aspects of the text could have benefitted from even more exploration — the housing crisis, the homeless man outside her home, the deaths across the city, the new-hire noor — but also respect that many elements were left intentionally unresolved and suspended in this existential malaise. that is, after all, more realistic, isn’t it?

a compelling and compulsively readable millennial tragedy. if LAPVONA and SEVERANCE had a book-child in silicon valley, it’d be RIPE. i’m impressed by etter’s dexterity blending elements of surrealism, dread, philosophy, all expressed through the horrors of day-to-day capitalism.

5/5 ⭐️

I appreciated this quick and thoughtful read which, despite its brevity, managed to delve deep into the modern-day dichotomy of who we really are and who we become at work to survive. I thought the storytelling handled dark and complex topics in a manner that drove the plot, while still weaving in social commentary at large. There were some graphic details that didn't always add to the story, but I felt the black hole through-line made sense and added to the dark sense of foreboding that followed Cassie until the end of the story.

This was amazing. It was FAR too relatable. The writing reminded me of my bestie Kate and the things we tell each other about work. However, we are in the public sector so it is evil but not like this. The abusive bosses, the fake selves, and the black hole are so relatable.
This also reaffirmed my desire not to ever work in tech despite my education in it. No thanks. I want to have a soul and not let my fake self drive everything.
The end was gorgeous.
I reccomend this to everyone.

The deal: Cassie is trapped in a Silicon Valley hell job. She is also followed everywhere by a literal black hole. (I got an ARC from NetGalley.)

Is it worth it?: This was a banger. At first, I was apprehensive about Etter’s dictionary-definition framing device, which would have felt gimmicky if the writing wasn’t so damn good. This book explores quite a bit — capitalism, family, womanhood, trauma, class, mommy issues, magical realism — all at once and manages to succeed in most of it. In short, if you interact with Silicon Valley even a smidge in your job (and feel not great about that fact), it’s worth exploring.

Pairs well with: Self Care by Leigh Stein, NSFW by Isabel Kaplan (presumably — I haven’t read), Devs on Hulu, Severance on Apple TV+

A

I can't say this book doesn't work. I can only say this book doesn't work for me. As someone who has worked in Silicon Valley and commuted all around the Bay Area for decades this book didn't work for me from page 1. No one calls CalTrain "the train." No one panhandles on CalTrain, it's too pricey--at least in my many years commuting I never saw anyone do it. No one who lives in San Francisco would say they were commuting to "Silicon Valley," they would name the town, the company. And on and on with the geographic and socio-cultural references in this novel just being wrong.

So what is the matter with me, worrying about these many mini factual errors in a book set in some vague time (maybe even the future, where everything might have changed?) and where the protagonist is followed around by a black hole? I mean, we're not talking about reality here, right? It's fiction, right?

Only: the observations the novel makes about this fictional "Silicon Valley" are the same obvious and superficial observations people make about the real place all the time. The novel paints a portrait of the Silicon Valley that everyone imagines for themselves already, whether you live and work here or not. The protagonist has nothing new to tell me, either about working in an environment where you feel deeply alienated from the rest of your coworkers, or about growing up with parents seemingly intent on destructive acts toward their progeny, or about being a young woman trying to navigate a meaningless career, or where people light themselves on fire on sidewalks (What? No they don't! Not so often anyway. But that early scene, one that promised something new and weird was to come, was never followed up with anything similarly bizarre and unexpected--to my regret).

Yes indeed we Silicon Valley people have long commutes and weird obsessions with smoothies and we work late and have meetings full of buzzwords, and we believe we're changing the world for the better through tech while ignoring the toxic waste dumps of our used-up products piling up from India to the Philippines, and we walk by the squalid poor all around us on sidewalks instead of helping them while we sleep in our company's parking lot in our RV in a mock reenactment of poverty ourselves, etc etc....and these are not very interesting things to say about our world. It's just the world as it is. The lack of unexpectedness in the Silicon Valley world painted in this novel made the little fact-wrongness stand out as weird and sloppy to me.

While I personally got nothing out of reading this novel, that's okay. Other people surely will. As for me I can still re-read The Book of X and be grateful such an author exists who could imagine that entirely unexpected world. Now that was killer fiction. Utterly original and yet familiar in all the best ways, and for a book about a woman whose stomach was tied in a knot, it was absolutely true. I would not have written so much if I didn't love this author and her amazing ability to forge new images in my head and I can't wait to read what happens in the next book she writes.