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

Then We Came to the End: A Novel | Joshua Ferris | Funny and true to life

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Then We Came to th...

	Then We Came to the End: A Novel Joshua Ferris Little, Brown and Company, 2007 - 400 pages average customer review:based on 226 reviews view larger image
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True to life

One of the best novels I've read in a long time. I too was once a cubicle worker watching my co-workers get laid off and bought out. Our frustration and existential angst was at an all-time high. Joshua Ferris beautifully captures some of the daily fear one feels in that situation - but what I like about this book is that it's not one-dimensional satire. He also highlights the camaraderie, the humor, the affection that result when people work together for years. It's entertaining, sure, but it's also poignant. As glad as I was to be out of my old office, by the time I finished this book, I really missed the place.

I might add that I saw Joshua Ferris do a reading in Boston, and he seemed like a very likable person -- funny and self-deprecating. I was glad to see that.

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Funny and true to life

I just recently started working in an office- and I can say- if you've ever worked in one, you can relate. You feel as if you know all of these people, situations and relationships- however because of the way that it's written, it remains fresh, funny and at times poignant. I rarely buy books, ESPECIALLY in hard cover, but I don't regret this purchase for a minute.

A great read that ends with nostalgia

I love this book. When I got done, I wanted to write the author and tell him. My favorite fiction takes me into the scene, into the lives and minds of the characters, and this book does that very well. I was drawn in quickly and I couldn't put it down. The quirky but relate-able characters work together in an environment rife with insecurities, suspicions, rumors, and unanswered questions. And when it comes to downsizing, who will be next?

I won't give away many details because one of the things I liked best about reading this book was being surprised, wondering along with the characters about some of their co-workers' secrets and what will happen to each one. But I will say that by the end, I felt like I knew these people. When I finished the final page, I breathed a sigh of satisfaction that only comes at the end of a truly well-written book.

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Good Concept Marred by Haphazard Organization

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.

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If cut in half, twice as good

I loved about the first third of this book. Felt it was edgy, fun, creative, and made me laugh out loud. Then it was just more and more and more -- and I thought I would never get to the end. About the last third I read in one setting. I won't repeat the plot, you've got that -- I just felt it would have been twice as good and twice as effective if it would have been shorter. Maybe that was the author's intent -- I felt just like those people employed by that ad agency -- when will this end? And then when it was over, looking back put it all in a different perspective.

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