mycouponz's Full Review: Joshua Ferris - Then We Came to the End: A Novel
This is the story of an office of marketers with little work to do and much to gossip about. According to my local library, this book is a best seller. I can't begin to explain why. I picked up the book hoping for a light read with a dash of comedy. It delivered on the former.
Once again, it's an office full of odd people. They seem to get their jollies by pushing other peoples' buttons. Take Tom, a nutcase outsider who writes cryptic emails to his coworkers, and leaves decomposing sushi behind a superior's bookcase, only to be found when it really gets on his nerves. Then there's Chris Yop, a guy who, after he gets canned, decides to stick around for the afternoon and attend a work meeting. Even after threats of being thrown out of the building, he sticks around - in hiding - and continues to work on projects. Unbeknown to his superiors, but his co-workers are aware. There's also a grieving mother who works at the office. One of her co-workers finds this mother rolling in the mound of plastic balls at Mcd's Playplace, and within days has dragged all of her co-workers there to watch the spectacle. Kinda sad if you ask me.
I can't say I was captivated by the book at any point, but something made me continue reading. The author lists all the forthcoming topics in a chapter at the start of each chapter in point form, which I found unusual. Ferris covers a wide range of topics, but never seems to draw any conclusions. Marital difficulties? Suicidal thoughts? Unexpressed love? Nothing seems taboo.
With all the bickering and characters' idiosyncracies, you would think that they wouldn't communicate very much. Day after day, they gather to discuss the cruelest things, only dashing back to their desks when the boss comes around. One of the things that binds them is the fear of 'walking spanish down the hall' as the author likes to put it - getting fired in other words.
The author comes at the reader from different perspectives, changing characters at different points in the story. One of the things I did like was the way the author describes how different characters go about problem-solving in different ways. Of course, not all of their solutions are rational, and more often than not the characters are stubborn and unwilling to change.
I was surprised, after not being enthralled with the book how the ending affected me. I liked how the author wrapped everything up neatly. I only wonder if the rest of the book had the same frank writing as is evidenced in the last few chapters, if I would have enjoyed it more. Having said that, the improved ending cannot in my mind make up for the deficiencies of the rest of the book.
Most of the book consists of dialogue between characters, but the author took pains to describe situations when the need arose. Ferris uses straightforward language and there were only a handful of words I didn't understand. He makes reference to a couple movies, books and one or two individuals - I admit, I didn't get some of those references. For example, reference is made to Ralph Waldo Emerson. I have no idea who that is. A great deal of the action takes place in the offices of the firm. Perhaps one of the reasons the book didn't resonate with me was the fact that I can't relate. I've never worked in a cubicle, never had to deal with people so unreasonable, or at such close quarters.
Overall, if you're looking for a turn-your-brain-off type of book, you could do a lot better than this. This is the author's first novel, and although it's been well received, I never really got into it. It's supposed to be funny, and I admit it's tough to make me laugh, but this book just did not do it for me. The last thing I'll mention is that there is some foul language in this book.
Then we Came to the End: A Novel
Joshua Ferris
385 pages
Fiction
ISBN-10: 0-316-01638-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-316-01638-4
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