Portrait of the writer as a domesticated animal

Lydie Salvayre

The narrator accepts a job writing a laudatory authorized biography of a fast-food magnate, whose egotism borders on megalomania. She thus enters a world of call girls, celebrities, investment portfolios, and bitter rivalries where the desire to dominate others motivates every decision. Quickly seduced, she fully embraces the silver platters and evening chats with Robert de Niro--until her cold-hearted brutish boss receives an unexpected visit from his mother who upends his faith in the corporate world, threatening to destroy his opulent lifestyle and his sanity.