PW/booklife review

Devereaux's mordantly titled autofiction debut is a witty, sharply observed time capsule of the go-go Wall Street of the 1980s. As a female bond trader in a testosterone-fueled brokerage, Kelly feels sidelined, barred from working on the high-powered New York desk, which generates 80% of the business. These Masters of the Universe don't want to deal with women who'll object to their foul language and crude insults—or cry under pressure. At the same time, she wishes she could go "un-noticed," especially as her colleagues in the "wolf pit" shout things at her like "I'll give you ten dollars to wear that skirt again with knee socks!" Both Kelly and her best friend Casey, who runs a modeling agency, are ambitious and resolute, but every minute in Manhattan feels like combat.

This gritty yet glamorous New York life is presented with biting, often absurdist humor as these battle-weary young women encounter extravagant characters and strange pastimes in a city where common sense defies even the most creative minds. Through Devereaux's vivid storytelling, readers are placed right in the maelstrom, dealing with crises big and small, including fending off a love-struck prisoner and solving the mystery of a model who had her shoes stolen in an elevator. Some bizarre and specific stories (Kelly arriving at her parents' Long Island home in a limo and carrying a stuffed zebra head) sting and surprise, feeling too outlandish to be invented.

The acrimonious divorce of Kelly's parents, Jill and John, takes a surreal turn when Jill converts their Victorian house into his and hers apartments, and they end up sharing custody of their cat by exchanging her via dumbwaiter. Everyday irritants are elevated into comic set pieces, and some characters, like frustrated writer John, spiral spectacularly. With brisk pacing and sharp insights, Odd Lot is easily devoured in one sitting. Devereaux doesn't shy away from portraying the stupefying level of sexism women faced, but she highlights how chaos and resilience go hand in hand on the path to self-discovery.

Takeaway: Drawn-from-life story of determined women facing the comic excesses of 1980s Wall Street.