Opportunity Rings

Opportunity Rings, Sheryl Steinberg’s debut novel, attempts to join the ranks of Sex and the City and Confessions of a Shopaholic as an anthem for independent women everywhere. It merges fashion and sex with the wireless world to create the ultimate goal: the girl who has it all. However, in this particular case, the end result may be too cute to be considered chic.

Erica Swift is the classic modern woman, a workaholic marketing executive at Rockit Wireless who’s thrust back into the single life after discovering her husband’s infidelity. Determined to make it on her own, Erica launches a new ad campaign, expands her social circle, and, most importantly, learns to install her own wireless Internet router. The string of men Erica is set up with and the ensuing mess she finds herself in provides some great comedic moments, as does her weakness for chocolate martinis. The novel veers off track, not in terms of its story, but in how it is told.

Steinberg gives Erica a relaxed voice, but that decision ultimately adds to a self-conscious undertone. The writing feels most comfortable when it comes to technical language; a style that no-doubt comes very naturally to Steinberg after years of working as a tech writer. Unfortunately, this makes the rest of the novel feel slightly more contrived. Perhaps the best illustration of this is in the numerous pop culture references and colloquialisms throughout the text. From the obscure examples, “My laptop is acting like Grandpa Simpson,” to the uncharacteristic expressions, “I am a culinary virgin,” the language makes Erica sound more like a twenty-four-year-old college graduate than the thirty-something, high-powered executive she is. Though the intent is for the story to be comical and edgy, it sits on a thin line between contemporary and ingenuity.

All of that being said, however, the novel is still a valiant effort from a writer combining two things she knows quite well: being a modern woman and technical writing. Though Opportunity Rings may not become a cult classic, it’s still a fun read for self-sufficient women everywhere.