false <![CDATA[Then We Came to the End]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171403609m/97782.jpg 97782 19 The dot-com bubble has burst and rolling layoffs have hit an unnamed Chicago advertising firm sending employees into an escalating siege mentality as their numbers dwindle. As a parade of employees depart, bankers boxes filled with their personal effects, those left behind raid their fallen comrades' offices, sifting through the detritus for the errant desk lamp or Aeron chair. Written with confidence in the tricky-to-pull-off first-person plural, the collective fishbowl perspective of the "we" voice nails the dynamics of cubicle culture--the deadlines, the gossip, the elaborate pranks to break the boredom, the joy of discovering free food in the breakroom. Arch, achingly funny, and surprisingly heartfelt, it's a view of how your work becomes a symbiotic part of your life. A dysfunctional family of misfits forced together and fondly remembered as it falls apart. 2926759 1 3 2007 Then We Came to the End total:8117|5:1089|4:2949|3:2624|2:1089|1:366| 8117 27657 12768 2295 2 38 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 12 20:41:00 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 17 19:57:39 -0800 2008 Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris is so obviously the product of an MFA program, I thought to hedge and give this book three stars. But that would be dishonest.

Truth is, but for 34 p...more...]]> 4 16 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 29 08:44:51 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 29 09:24:28 -0700 2007 I LIKED:
(1) How funny it was;
(2) The first-person-plural voice, which could have backfired but didn't for me;
(3) The guy who quotes Emerson (it was around here that I started to feel actual warmth for the characters, even when I couldn't keep them straight);
(4) The Catch-2...more...]]> 3 9 false false Wed Feb 20 13:02:40 -0800 2008 Sun Apr 27 09:30:18 -0700 2008 ...more...]]> 5 9 false false Fri May 02 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Dec 17 12:46:35 -0800 2007 Tue May 06 07:39:45 -0700 2008 Franny & Zooey' when I was right out of college and just starting my life as a post-grad in the city, and it really spoke to me. I read 'A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius' the summer before my senior...more...]]> 4 8 false false Tue Jul 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 08 06:20:20 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 08 07:00:02 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 9 false false Sun Aug 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 26 18:41:33 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 15 17:36:19 -0700 2008
At first,...more...]]> 3 8 false false Thu Jul 26 11:37:58 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 20 14:44:16 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 5 false true Sat Mar 08 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 09 13:00:29 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 09 13:42:13 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 5 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 29 10:38:53 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 29 11:10:14 -0700 2007 Then We Cam...more...]]> 4 5 false false Sat Jun 21 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 27 15:31:43 -0700 2007 Sat Jun 21 21:03:45 -0700 2008 The first thing to say about this book is that no matter what else I think about the plot, the themes, the point of view, or any other aspect of this novel, it was compulsively readable, which in itself is a mark of how fine a talent Joshua Ferris is.

In some ways, he is plowing the...more...]]> 1 4 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 08 11:05:29 -0700 2007 Fri Oct 12 11:21:37 -0700 2007
Then I read the book. And hated every minute...more...]]> 3 4 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 05 05:07:16 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 14 08:16:20 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 3 false false Sat Feb 23 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 04 19:20:03 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 24 08:13:52 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 3 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 24 06:14:14 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 28 21:09:07 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 2 false false Mon Aug 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 20 20:34:56 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 11 14:39:41 -0700 2008
"What I'm trying to get at here is that I'M NOT SURE ANY OF US KNOWS just how far we have removed ourselves not only from nature but from the natural conditions of life that have prevaliled for...more...]]> 5 2 false false Mon Dec 17 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Thu Apr 24 09:23:34 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 08 20:31:04 -0700 2008 “Do you realize how insane we’ve all become?”

In the post-Dilbert world of “The Office,” examinations of the everyday absurdities and indignities of office culture have become more and more commonplace. But rarely are they captured with such acuity, humor and grace as in Josh...more...]]> 4 2 false false Sun Apr 06 18:43:11 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 17 06:12:12 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Mon Feb 11 13:36:03 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 23 17:00:21 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Thu Aug 02 19:34:25 -0700 2007 Mon Dec 31 08:12:59 -0800 2007 more...]]> 2 2 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 23 07:21:51 -0700 2008 Fri Dec 12 15:12:41 -0800 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=97782