I picked this book up in a thrift shop because I remembered reading and enjoying it years ago. I thought it would be like reading an episode of 'Mad Men' - all retro and the like.
It wasn't actually anything like that. I didn't get that 'retro' feel because it wasn't. There were no pretty lights and shadows to cover up the fact that this book was misogynistic, homophobic and racist and that, in 1984 that was okay. I suppose the storytelling was interesting enough - it follows the story of Celia Jordan - a woman who, against all odds, rises to the top of her profession in the pharmaceutical industry. We follow the development of new drugs - the testing, the approval, the success and occasionally the spectacular failure. I'm thinking that a modern retelling of a story on this topic could very well be worth reading - this version is no longer the correct vehicle for this story.
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