Zoé Shepard

Having completed the required education and state examps, young high-potential Zoé ends up at City Hall of a big French town. Her sense of entitlement is dented when she hits the inertia that is typical of larger organisations and the human limitations and sensibilities that make real life more daunting that it would have seemed in her study books.
The author provides an intelligent and funny view into the inner workings of public administrations in France (though it might not be that different in other countries). Unfortunately, she doesn't come across as a very likeable person, because she needs to emphasise a bit too strongly that she is smarter than the average civil servant (duh), and it is too obvious that she is lacking in the people skills and organisational intelligence that only come with experience, working in more complex environments. But peremptory judgment is the prerogative of the young and bright, which she certainly is.… (more)