Lightning Rods

Lore & Background

Joe's concept involves 'lightning rods,' women who work as regular office staff but secretly provide sexual services to selected male employees behind an anonymous wall. The program begins with a voluntary 'spin the bottle'-like kissing game that proves popular, leading Joe to pitch his full idea to a receptive CEO. He installs elaborate mechanisms in shared disabled bathroom stalls, keeping the operation secret from everyone except himself, the CEO, participating high-performing men, and the women involved. Two of these women, Lucille and Renée, use their earnings to attend Harvard Law School; Lucille later becomes a wealthy corporate lawyer while Renée ascends to become a Supreme Court justice. As the industry expands, competitors emerge offering cheaper versions closer to outright prostitution.

In Their Own Story

The novel's narrative arc tracks Joe's journey from a frustrated vacuum cleaner salesman to an architect of a controversial new industry. After his initial success with the kissing program, he secures a contract with a company willing to test his full proposal. The mechanism installed in the bathrooms ensures total anonymity for the male participants while the women remain unrecognized by their colleagues. Over time, the idea spreads widely despite controversy, and Joe even expands into the public sector under FBI conditions that allow access to participant identities. He also diversifies by inventing a height-adjustable toilet after observing a man with dwarfism in Kansas City. By the novel's end, lightning rods have become a widespread industry.

Reader's Guide

Readers should note that this work is a sharp satire on office politics and sexual dynamics rather than a literal guide. The text highlights specific turning points such as the initial failure of Joe's vacuum sales post-hurricane and his subsequent pivot to the 'lightning rod' concept. Critics have noted its unique structure; Jennifer Szalai in The New York Times compared DeWitt's work to Mel Brooks, stating that finding fault with the novel's lack of emotional depth would be like 'denouncing Mel Brooks for having made The Producers instead of The Pawnbroker.' Garth Risk Hallberg praised DeWitt's choice of a 'narrower path' between reality and the logical Ideal, while Slate described it as a 'demented comic masterpiece.'

Did You Know?

• The novel was written immediately after Helen DeWitt's first book but sat unpublished for over ten years.
• Two of the female characters, Lucille and Renée, use their earnings from the program to attend Harvard Law School.
• Lucille eventually becomes a wealthy corporate lawyer while Renée rises to become a Supreme Court justice.
• Joe invents a height-adjustable toilet after seeing a man with dwarfism in Kansas City.
• The FBI allowed Joe to expand into the public sector only on the condition that they could access participant identities.