Then We Came to the End: A Novel

Then We Came to the End: A Novel
by Joshua Ferris

Then We Came to the End: A Novel
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Book Summary Information

Author: Joshua Ferris
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-02-26
ISBN: 031601639X
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Back Bay Books

Book Reviews of Then We Came to the End: A Novel

Book Review: Amusing and Deeper than First Appearance
Summary: 5 Stars

I found this book to be an amusing read.

It may seem superficial with the characters being somewhat two dimensional. However, they still seemed to be entirely believable. That believability made me take a closer look. And I realize that the characters are actually quite deep, but the presentation is two dimensional. But, being that the perspective is that of the workplace, the shallow presentation is purposeful.

Many people see their workmates in two dimensions. Sure there is a deeper story but we tend to view fellow workers in a shallow fashion.

In all, an excellent commentary on white collar workers, especially in the context of the economic downturn. (The office portrayed experiences tough times.)

Summary of Then We Came to the End: A Novel

No one knows us quite the same way as the men and women who sit beside us in department meetings and crowd the office refrigerator with their labeled yogurts.? Every office is a family of sorts, and the ad agency Joshua Ferris brilliantly depicts in his debut novel is family at its strangest and best, coping with a business downturn in the time-honored way: through gossip, pranks, and increasingly frequent coffee breaks.
???? With a demon's eye for the details that make life worth noticing, Joshua Ferris tells a true and funny story about survival in life's strangest environment--the one we pretend is normal five days a week.

Amazon Best of the Month Spotlight Title, April 2007: It's 2001. The dot-com bubble has burst and rolling layoffs have hit an unnamed Chicago advertising firm sending employees into an escalating siege mentality as their numbers dwindle. As a parade of employees depart, bankers boxes filled with their personal effects, those left behind raid their fallen comrades' offices, sifting through the detritus for the errant desk lamp or Aeron chair. Written with confidence in the tricky-to-pull-off first-person plural, the collective fishbowl perspective of the "we" voice nails the dynamics of cubicle culture--the deadlines, the gossip, the elaborate pranks to break the boredom, the joy of discovering free food in the breakroom. Arch, achingly funny, and surprisingly heartfelt, it's a view of how your work becomes a symbiotic part of your life. A dysfunctional family of misfits forced together and fondly remembered as it falls apart. Praised as "the Catch-22 of the business world" and "The Office meets Kafka," I'm happy to report that Joshua Ferris's brilliant debut lives up to every ounce of pre-publication hype and instantly became one of my favorite books of the year. --Brad Thomas Parsons

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