Then We Came to the End: A Novel
by Joshua Ferris
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Book Reviews of Then We Came to the End: A Novel
Book Review: Good Concept Marred by Haphazard Organization
Summary: 3 Stars
I have a very mixed reaction to this novel. The premise, a story about the absurdies of cubicle life told from the first person plural viewpoint, was interesting enough to grab my attention. And the author's strong characterization, together with a creative mixture of dark and slapstick humor, carried me through to the end. But I found the haphazard organization of the story, resembling something scribbled on the post-it notes used as the novel's cover art, to be extremely distracting.
The odd organization of the story line made the use of the anonymous narrator awkward in many places, leaving me struggling to grasp whose point of view I was experiencing. I also thought the plot (an advertizing agency experiencing layoffs) was too thin for a full-length novel, leaving me with the impression that it had been padded up to the required length, relying on the incoherent structure and unique narrative viewpoint to obscure the fact that the plot is so unremarkable. That said, a patient and attentive reader will find some well-written passages and poignant observations amidst this rambling story.
Book Review: Almost . . . A noble first effort of capturing Joseph Heller
Summary: 4 Stars
One of my all-time favorite books is Something Happened by Joseph Heller.Something Happened That book did a phenomenal job of exploiting the absurd/hilarious tragedy that life is. I have longed for another book that mined the same territory successfully. Joshua Ferris goes very far in capturing that world. The first two thirds of this book enthralled me. But the last quarter (I know the fractions don't quite add up) flagged. I appreciate how hard it is to maintain the manic energy that this sort of writing involves. And to say that it doesn't rise to the level of the masterpiece of the genre, Something Happened, is perhaps an unfair criticism. (Joseph Heller, after all, is fairly comparable to Kafka.)
But as dazzling as much of this book is, I thought it important to share my view that the author ultimately stumbled. I certainly look forward to subsequent efforts by Ferris. But for those who were taken with this book, I strongly urge you to start with the Heller book.
Book Review: A Spectacular Debut
Summary: 5 Stars
The We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris is a great debut novel by a obviously gifted writer. His prose is well crafted and humorous.
The novel is a work of satire. Set in an advertising company at the time of its downfall, the book features a wide cast of characters who all possess their own uniquely human virtues and vices. It will make you laugh hard one page and cry on the next.
The book is not written in a linear manner so keep that in mind while reading. The book is told in an all encompassing narrative style which allows the reader to feel as if we are part of the novel.
Joshua Ferris himself worked at an advertising agency before going on to receive his MFA in Creative Writing from University of California, Irvine. His presence is felt throughout the novel, and his own experience with office work allows a deeper insight into the fishbowl.
Simply put I could not ask more out of a novel than I got from Joshua Ferris. I was captivated from the opening line, "We were fractious and overpaid." This is one of my favorite books.
Book Review: Insert canned-laughter here
Summary: 2 Stars
It seemed like one long endless existential crisis. The characters have this deep well of wisdom but they don't exercise it personally, just pontificate from it to others. And 80% of the dialog wasn't natural, but a forced excuse for people to explain their background or thoughts.
In this way I thought this read like a generic, not-funny sitcom. Office Space covered much of the same ground, but it was funny.
So many of the asides and tangents in the book are simply not interesting (all the trouble about office furniture and serial numbers, I don't care). And reading other peoples gossip and rumors, again, I don't care. I think the book is not as good as it's made out to be and does not deserve the attention it gets. Ironically, I think it's success is due to the fact that it's been marketed well.
The use of first person plural was done well, was appropriate, and not a distraction. But other than that, this book was just generic fiction that will be forgotten about in five years. It's not literature.
Book Review: Fun, inconsistent 2007 novel on life at a failing ad agency
Summary: 4 Stars
Joshua Ferris' acclaimed debut novel depicts a fading millennial Chicago advertising agency. The first-person narrator is an anonymous employee who seems to express the collective thoughts of the group while walking the reader around the office and sharing stories. Ferris populates this fictional agency with a richly drawn cast of employees. The accounts of office minutia are usually hilarious and realistic (one employee tries to pass an entire day without touching his computer keyboard) but occasionally neither (the tiresome discussion of office chair switches). The team faces the constant threat of layoffs (they call it "walking Spanish") during the post-Internet bubble advertising slump. Agency owner Lynn's struggle with breast cancer is a key theme of the novel. A segment of the book abruptly shifts from the office to a third person omniscient view of Lynn that, while dignified, disrupts the flow of this fictional work. This strong modern novel is recommended: I read this a few months ago and it still occasionally is in my thoughts.