Then I came to the end - sadly (Then We Came to the End - Joshua Ferris)

Name: david_1967

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Product:	Then We Came to the End - Joshua Ferris
Date:	02/03/08 (46 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Instantly recognisable characters and situations, good fun

Disadvantages: Can't think of nay - apart from lost sleep

This is Joshua Ferris's first book and was shortlisted for the National Book Awards and longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award 2007 so when I picked up this title I was immediately intrigued. Also, the cover (back and front), and for a couple of pages within, it is littered with praise from many newspapers/authors. Sometimes this can give a false impression - like when someone claims that it's the 'greatest thing ever written' and it turns out to be all hype - so when the Sunday Times declared it was 'the comedy debut of the year' I, as well as being intrigued, was also rather skeptical.

I was wrong to worry.

What follows is a tale of everyday office life in a Chicago advertising company where even the smallest trivialities become major talking issues in a bid to fill the working day with anything BUT work. Having worked in an office I could immediately recognise all the excuses/reasons me and my colleagues would offer as an excuse to stand/sit around with a coffee and, well, skive to be honest. The employees suffer from the delusion that their jobs are secure but soon have to face the truth as redundancy rears its ugly head and they suddenly have to face their greatest fear and sit praying for their own position within the company.

The story is written almost entirely in the first person - apart from a chapter near the middle of the book when it switches to the third person in order to cover the night of torment one woman suffers through as she tries to overcome her nerves and fears regarding her forthcoming mastectomy, which, considering it was written by a young man, is extremely moving.

It is not a 'laugh out loud' book but it is extremely well observed, making you smile with recognition as you follow the characters through their daily lives in the office.

A funny yet thoughtful story that centres around the employees of a business that is slowly down-sizing and of the people who are desperately clinging on to their jobs and to their own sanity. Wonderfully written and a joy throughout - sometimes funny, other times sad - but always readable.

Summary: A wonderfully observed window on everyday office life