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The We Came to The End

MBR Bookwatch, April, 2008 by April Sullivan

Then We Came to the End

Joshua Ferris

Back Bay Books

Hachette Book Group, 237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017

www.hachettebookgroupusa.com

9780316016391, $13.99, April 2008

"Then We Came to the End" by Joshua Ferris is a hilarious novel about a subject that is so day-to-day: life in the office. Most of us spend eight hours a day at work, behind a desk, or in a cubicle. Someone may ask, "Why would you choose to read about this subject when you do find those few precious hours to pick up a book?" Even though most people would not want to admit it, I think we all have some voyeuristic tendencies to find out if other offices, even fictional ones, operate the same way ours does. It's obvious in the cult status of the movie "The Office Space" and the wild popularity of the TV show "The Office." We all want reassurance that these many hours spent away from our families is worth something besides a paycheck.

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In this book you find all the juicy bits of an office; the office romance, the boss' mysterious illness, the crazed ex-employee, the threat of lay-offs, the meetings after the meetings, and so much more. Benny, Marcia, Tom, Amber, Larry, Jim, Joe, Lynn. You know them all too well. "Then We Came to the End" is a sociological study in the subculture of the office.

Ferris writes with a unique style. He writes in first person plural from the point of view of "we" and "us," immediately drawing the reader in as a member of the group. You are in on all the pranks and scared you will be fired or "walked Spanish down the hall," as he put it, any minute. You get caught up in the dramas and inter-office emails along with the rest of the characters. There are so many great lines and scenarios in this book. Too many to share, and it is like you had to be there anyway to really get it.

"Then We Came to the End" by Joshua Ferris is the best book I have read in a long time. It is a National Book Award Finalist and amazing first novel that is going to be hard for Joshua Ferris to top. Plus, he goes above and beyond with a website to accompany the book. I read the last line of "Then We Came to the End" with a big grin on my face and even said out loud "I love this book!" When was the last time a book made you say that?

The We Came to The End

MBR Bookwatch, April, 2008 by April Sullivan

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