Peter Barry (1)

A story of our time set in the advertising world in Sydney. How quickly can things change. The main character, Hugh, is married with a child and has just bought a house in Stanwell Park which stretches the family's budget to the limit .(nice to read a book set in my area) Then things start to go wrong. A new creative director from the UK takes the company's advertising in a different direction, and Hugh is asked to do things at work that he does not agree with. The firm loses important accounts, particularly a long standing client who does not like the direction the company is going.. Hugh ends up out of a job because he will not tow the line and finds it impossible to find an new job in the current environment. His wife has already left him because he was working long hours and did not see them much - that put too much strain on their marriage. But then when Hugh has reached rock bottom and is struggling to make ends meet, he is offered a way our but cannot see his way clear to take the job because he does not agree with the need for the product he is to advertise. I enjoyed this book, particularly the issues of how do we cope when we are asked to do things in a work situation that we do not agree with. What price our moral principles.… (mais)