The Floater

5.0 out of 5 stars

The Ugly Side of the Law, August 18, 2012

By Randall L. Wilson "Randy Wilson" (San Francisco)

I've spent nearly twenty years of my career working in law firms big and small. And I can vouch for how well "The Floater" nails the petty power slights, the stiff hierarchy and the arrogance of the lawyers, that is all too real in the legal industry.

Norma is a believable character with plenty of street and book smarts that she earned the hard way as a middle-aged latina who couldn't rely on youth, attractiveness or her non-existent old boy's network to get ahead in this high-powered legal world. Her experience with her mother is heartbreaking and we partially relive that in the relationship with her sister.

But it is the employment discrimination suit against her law firm that supplies the core drama of the story. How will these powerful lawyers react to getting sued by a member of their support staff? Will she win? Can she keep her job at the firm even while taking its lawyers to court? There is also a wonderful cameo appearance by an East-Indian woman, Jayashri Gupta, who acts as Norma's lawyer. She is such a terrific counterpoint to the scumbag attorneys that mistreat Norma and she serves as the source of the novel's moral hope.

The heart of the novel is found in the love affair between Norma and Oscar Peterson, the African American who is the firm's copy center manager. He finds the damning evidence that allows Norma to pursue her lawsuit and he supports completely in her lawsuit and also in her life. Oscar is a strong, good man but he is far from perfect. A bit of a hot head who had an affair while married to his first wife, I liked him a lot maybe because of how he overcame his flaws and that could explain Norma's attraction to him as well.

This is the third of Sheryl Sorrentino's novels I've read and while all of them are riveting, "The Floater" reflects a writer who has made big leaps as novelist. I'm enthusiastically awaiting her next one!

5.0 out of 5 stars A Powerful, Poignant, Page-Turner, August 7, 2012

By A.T. - See all my reviews

The year is 2009, but you wouldn't know it walking through the hallowed halls of prestigious New York law firm, Robertson, Levine & Shemke. A throwback to the 1950's, where white men rule and women serve up coffee--and whatever else pleases the powers that be, RLS is the primary setting for novelist Sheryl Sorrentino's third book, "The Floater."

With stunning, captivating, and powerful prose, Sheryl takes us on a nine-month journey in the life of 46-year-old Norma Reyes, an attorney and caretaker for a senile mother and drug-addicted, welfare-collecting sister. Norma finds herself painstakingly navigating a bizarre law office landscape when she is passed over for a full time associate position at RLS and instead accepts a job as a "floater." Sheryl masterfully paints a vivid portrait of a firm where adversarial attorneys treat Norma like crap under their wingtip shoes, drawing the reader into a world they'll instantly love to hate. With equal strokes of genius, Sheryl has created a complex, three-dimensional heroine of Puerto Rican descent who's doggedly determined to realize her dreams, but when faced with the demeaning and discriminatory practices at RLS, falls prey to personal insecurities and childhood issues she has yet to conquer.

Despite Norma's frequent tendency toward tears, she refuses to sit on the pity pot! Sheryl artfully weaves a tale that will have readers rooting for Norma when her suspicions are confirmed that RLS refused to hire her as a lawyer because of her ethnicity, age and background--rather than the fledging economy. But where Sheryl shines brightest is in her renderings of Norma and Oscar's intimate, day-to-day interracial romance, which is strained almost to the breaking point by external pressures from Norma's lawsuit against the firm, as well as internal ones stemming from her past.

"The Floater" is not for the faint at heart. Its subject matter is deep and thought-provoking, its characters flawed, multifaceted, and human. Yet, with all its intensity, "The Floater" is at times as hilarious as it is heart-wrenching. Sheryl pulls no punches as she bares the fragile soul of Norma for the entire world to see, inspiring us to take a look at our own lives, prejudices, and fears. Norma is as loveable as she is irresistible. Kudos to Sheryl for having to courage to write such a bold and beautiful piece of work, and for introducing us to Norma, a woman who's resiliency gives new meaning to the derogatory term she'd been labeled--The Floater.

5.0 out of 5 stars

Spunky Mix of Provocative Legal Drama and Multicultural Romance, August 14, 2012

By Trashed in California "Trashed in California" (Oakland, California)

Does a middle-aged woman really have a better chance of being felled by lightning than meeting a good man? Not according to Sheryl Sorrentino--as long as she can recognize that good man when she sees him.

The Floater is part legal drama for sure, but it's also a rich, multicultural women's fiction romance. The demeaning law office scenes are without a doubt hilarious for their comedic parody of an extremely discriminatory and ethically questionable NYC law firm (perhaps because there's likely more than a grain of truth here). But this book's real soul lies in its protagonist's inner journey once she meets "Oscar, The Copy Guy"--the story's unexpected treasure.

Though possessed of a resourcefulness and perseverance unique to those not born into wealth and privilege (Norma Reyes manages to earn her law degree at night while working full-time and caring for her aging mother), for the first quarter or so of the book, Norma can't seem to catch a lucky break. After accepting the lowly title position because she was unable to find suitable work as a newly-minted lawyer during a horrific recession, she faces one setback after another. By the time she meets Oscar, she's already contemplated downing a bottle of her mother's sleeping pills.

But practically from their fateful first encounter across the copy room threshold, Norma is forced to "woman up" and face the real obstacles holding her back: Suppressed childhood sexual abuse; forever leeching, unappreciative family members; and her own low self-image. To do anything less would mean forsaking her last glimmering hope of hanging on to this proud, pragmatic, but believably imperfect gem of a man (with whom I could not help but fall in love myself!). And thankfully, Norma is no longer willing to accept her former lifelong role as "bootie call" to selfish, unfeeling sexual partners like her landlord.

As was true of Sorrentino's first two offerings, The Floater is an uplifting and entertaining page-turner that is sure to please. But unlike her first two novels, The Floater presents a flawed-but-functional, loving relationship that stands out for its realism and unvarnished simplicity. Providing equal doses of law firm intrigue and poignant, later-in-life love story, Sorrentino's third novel sheds a humorous-yet-unflinching light on stubborn issues plaguing the legal profession today (racism, sexism, classism), while sending a clear message to women never to take abuse lying down, or give up on their dreams of finding happiness at any stage in life. Destined to become a best-seller, The Floater is one you won't want to miss.