Review: The Big Dream

by Sara Mahmood

The Big Dream by Rebecca Rosenblum

The characters of The Big Dream all work at Dream Inc., but with the company on the verge on bankruptcy, working there is more like a nightmare.

The 13 short stories in The Big Dream are loosely connected by the fact that the characters all work for the same publishing company, but they have much more in common than that. From the customer service rep who is hopelessly in love with his boss, to the CEO who can’t remember if he cheated on his wife, everyone is struggling to keep their job and life in order.

One of my favourite stories is the opener, “Dream Big." Clint, a temp employee, has just ended his contract but hasn’t officially been let go. He continues to work for Dream Inc., hoping he’ll get hired as a full-time employee. He starts to develop a toothache but wants to get his health benefits before he sees a dentist. He tries to impress his bosses by doing extra work, but he just ends up ruining his social life – he forgets about important dates and always comes home late. Meanwhile, his toothache keeps getting worse, but he has no money to pay for dental work. This story captivated me because we’ve all gone through (or are going through) that phase where we put work ahead of our own needs. Clint is just like anyone else, but all his hard work gets him nowhere because the story ends with him needing serious medical care and he still doesn’t know if he has a future with the company. The story is an important reminder to take care of your own needs because you never know what the future holds. Your career is important, but so are your health and your personal life.

Another stand-out story is “How to Keep your Day Job.” Rosenblum’s humour and creativity really shine in this guide to fitting in at the office. At heart, it’s a story about isolation: the main character was in an abusive relationship, but “nobody likes a whiner,” so she does not complain. She even falls down the stairs and has possibly broken a bone and although someone helps her, she hides how painful it really is because she “has a job to do.”  Just like Clint in the opening story, she puts her job ahead of herself. Yet both these characters’ actions all end in vain – the company is going bankrupt and most employees are being laid off. There’s no way either of them can know that and so they keep making their jobs their first priority.

The Big Dream is really interesting because it’s all about work. It’s the stories about researching for stories, wondering where you can sit during lunch and people worrying about having their jobs outsourced to other companies that are the most entertaining. Thanks to Rosenblum’s mix of humour and insight into office-life, a seemingly mundane concept, stories about working in an office become lively.