| Product: |
The E Before Christmas - Matt Beaumont |
| Date: |
11/08/07 (205 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Some funny monents
Disadvantages: Rare and so ridiculously overpriced
Some things naturally follow others. A heavy night’s drinking will often be followed by a hangover. In the same way, a sequel will often follow every successful film, book or album. The comparison doesn’t always end there either, as the sequel is frequently rushed out just to cash in with the success of an original and, like the hangover, not nearly as good as the events which caused it.
“The E Before Christmas” follows on from the original “E – A Novel”, picking up events at the Miller Shanks advertising agency some months later. Following the disaster that the agency became, it is time to try and salvage their year by having the best Christmas party ever. Unfortunately, in true Miller Shanks style, they give the organisation of the party to the person least likely to make an effort, who in turn passes it to the person least likely to get it right.
As the organisation of the party hits a few hitches, so does the advertising side of the business. A Miller Shanks idea involving Barbie has not proved a success and we get to follow various Miller Shanks employees as they try to deal with the fall out this has caused, as well as watching them try to come up with an advertising campaign for a new client.
All of the old favourites from “E” return, although some characters have been pushed into the background as a natural follow on from the events of the original novel. At the same time, others have new positions and we get to see how they have adapted to their new roles and there are a couple of new staff, as is natural in any company over the space of a year.
For those unfamiliar with Miller Shanks from “E”, there is very little point in starting by reading “An E Before Christmas”. Being a sequel, especially being a Christmas cash-in sequel, it starts with the assumption that you’ve read the original and doesn’t set the scene in any way, not even introducing you properly to the new people. This means that if you haven’t read the first book, you won’t know the history between certain people and won’t understand where people like Vince and Brett and Simon Horne fit in and this means that many of the jokes will be lost.
Admittedly, there will still be parts that you can enjoy. After all, the things that gave “E” a more universal appeal than for those who had worked in advertising are still there. Some people have their own E-Mail habits, particularly new girl Wanda, which are quite interesting. There is also the standard office gossip, which again seems to revolve greatly around Wanda and this makes the Miller Shanks office seem almost like a soap opera at times. This does mean that you can enjoy the book on its own, but it is much more fun is you’ve read “E”.
That said, even for the experienced Miller Shanks fan, this isn’t the best follow up. The scope is focussed more on the Christmas party and less on the advertising business they are trying to run and this takes some of the edge off it. Those same in jokes that will be lost on the casual reader do add a little more to the mix, but the whole thing feels a little bit like a cash-in based purely on the season and it feels a bit rushed in parts. Unlike the original, I felt that some of the repeated jokes went on a little too long, as if there wasn’t enough material to go around and some of it had to be stretched to fit. The Vinnie Jones scenario was one of these.
As with the original, it is a very readable book, as the E-Mail style encourages you to read just one more and you get through the whole book without realising it. Despite some of the jokes falling a little flat or outstaying their welcome, there are still some very funny moments, even if they do seem to be a bit more thinly spread than in “E”. In particular, the very ending is absolutely hilarious, especially as it comes as quite a surprise, although it is another one of those in jokes that a casual reader may appreciate less than I did.
Were this book more readily available for its original cover price of £2.99, then I would encourage anyone who enjoyed “E” to hunt down a copy straight away. Unfortunately, I believe this was only printed in limited editions, which makes it very difficult to find. A copy was recently sold on eBay for slightly over £10 and I have seen copies on the Amazon Marketplace for more than £20.
Such prices, sadly, reflect only the rarity of the book and not the quality. For this reason, I would not recommend to anyone that they pay this kind of money. However, should you spot a copy in a charity shop for anything less than around £2, which I have to admit I have not done, this is worth buying as an investment. It will give you an enjoyable read once you have it, but it’s not the kind of book you can read repeatedly, so if you find it cheap, it’s worth buying for the sell on value, but for no other reason.
Summary: A weak cash-in sequel to "E - A Novel"
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