Newman, Sandra. The Heavens

Newman's exceptionally smart and beautiful tale of time-out-of-joint has some economic themes threaded through it ... especially work. Here's a snippet:
The morning of the fight was a workday. Ben had been getting ready while Kate lay reading in bed -- as he'd conceived of it up until then, industrious Ben was preparing to go out to win bread for them both (because Kate scarcely worked; she made hand-painted tablecloths and napkins, which she sometimes sold to friends and for which she was always intending to create a website), and this happy notion played in his head like a song, until the moment he had to shave. It was a task he'd always hated. Then a thought appeared, a blot. It was like a little cockroach in a clean room.
     He turned his shaver off and said, "Are you still thinking of getting a job?"
(JCLW)