Entry Level

Entry Level is a graceful and thought-provoking sequence of stories with a flair for the comedy of the workplace. Each story is intense in its own way; McIsaac explores the costs of being female, often in the workforce. A group of women telemarketers deal with the escalating absurdity of management's rules and restrictions; a seasonal-help cashier in a bustling toy store encounters hostile co-workers, perverted customers and fake fifties, and her parents just don't understand; a preteen girl takes revenge on her lecherous neighbour; two chambermaids clean a hotel room turned upside down in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Each story turns on the revelation of emotional connections that emerge, often to the surprise of the main character, and the reader.
Told in a sparse and taut writing style, Entry Level is a top shelf collection.