.....📚 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 📚.....
One Story by Pip Finkemeyer is a sharp, satirical take on Silicon Valley ambition and collapse, blending tech-industry mythmaking with human vulnerability. It’s a novel that asks how far idealism can stretch before it snaps and is both entertaining and unsettling in its reflections.
In the turbulent world of 2010s Silicon Valley, One Story traces the meteoric rise and catastrophic fall of a tech company built on the promise of reshaping news. At its center is Dot Van Jensen, a visionary CEO turned fugitive, accused of manipulating democracy and steering society toward a darker future.
From her exile in Indonesia, Dot recounts the company’s origins alongside her co-founders: Jon, her son raised in isolation from technology, and Rae, the ambitious partner who saw Dot as a gateway to power. Their intertwined legacies unfold against the backdrop of a documentary investigation, where employees—over a thousand strong—insist on telling their own version of events.
What emerges is a fractured chorus of ambition, betrayal, and self-preservation. Everyone believes they were on the right side of history, but if blame must be assigned, Dot is the one they’re determined to see fall.
Having worked in tech herself, Finkemeyer brings a ring of truth to the surreal narrative, grounding it in recognizable details of startup culture. The novel doesn’t just critique tech; it interrogates how ambition, betrayal, and idealism ripple through personal lives. The documentary-style structure, while clever, can feel disjointed. Dot’s fugitive narration is intriguing but sometimes keeps the reader at arm’s length, making it harder to fully invest in her downfall. Overall, I'd say this one is ambitious and biting but not always warm. Perfect for readers who love their fiction with a side of cultural commentary.