We Are Underlings - by Doretta Lau (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A provocative dark workplace comedy of mystery, hijinks, and absurdist despair set at the only theme park devoted to death, dying, and the afterlife

Zita Chang's job--marketing death for the twenty-first century--is just like everyone else's entry-level position in a corporate machine. While she's grinding away, she's determined not to let her grief over the death of her father interfere with her work. But being a Nine Circles employee comes with perks: she can ask the Afterlife team to replace Siri with her dead dad's voice so that he can give her the advice she never wanted when he was alive.

Just when Zita feels the drudgery can't get any worse, the Nine Circles calls an emergency meeting nine weeks before the park's grand opening to drop a shocking bomb: not only has their executive director died under mysterious circumstances, but Zita and her coworkers are charged with programming his reanimated body to keep the launch on schedule. Can Zita pull this off? Why have a few other colleagues recently dropped dead too? And couldn't this meeting have been an email?

Review Quotes

"I couldn't love this book more." --Eboni Booth, author of Primary Trust

"A biting workplace satire, where humanity's deepest fear becomes the hottest new business venture." --Maria Reva, author of Endling

"A delicious satire of workplace hierarchy in all its dysfunction ... and a whodunnit with heart." --Clea Young, author of Welcome to the Neighbourhood

"A diabolically entertaining and hilariously disturbing vision of the postmodern hell we just might deserve." --David Gordon, author of The Bouncer series and Behind Sunset

"An original voice--darkly hilarious and kaleidoscopic." --Souvankham Thammavongsa, author of Pick a Colour

"Part examination of workplace ethics, part zany madcap mystery, We Are Underlings crackles and dazzles with wit, irreverence, and savvy pop culture references." --Shashi Bhat, author of Death by a Thousand Cuts

"With mordant intelligence, wild imagination, and genuine heart, Doretta Lau asks us to take stock of our lives: what we sacrifice, what we miss, and what matters to us most. An essential read for the age of reckless optimization." --Théodora Armstrong, author of Welcome to Sunny Town and Clear Skies, No Wind, 100% Visibility