Where I Wanted To Be

Dispirited by his performance review, Will Gough sets out to redeem himself by updating his companys quality control procedures, while casting a hopeful eye toward other career opportunities. Despite his best intentions, his work troubles follow him home -- to his wife and two sons, where empty yogurt containers are half-sacred, technology a source of childhood wonder, and the business of the world bumps against the quiet walls that protect the rhythms of family life. It's difficult to pull off a portrait of a nice guy in ordinary circumstances, going through the stress of daily living and tensions surrounding job and career opportunities, and he does it very well in simple, understated prose. No sensationalism or alien beings or suicidal desperation or academic angst or terrorist attacks or other assorted rampages and violations: just a life without earthshaking incident, but subtly humourous and convincing.