false 2140438 1400096650 9781400096657 13 3 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2140438.The_Exception 163050 Christian Jungersen 270 95 1 1 false Fri Aug 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 15 01:00:23 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 15 01:20:50 -0700 2008 The Exception. The first 400 of its 500 pages embeds you in the inner life of four pathetic, slightly deranged women who all work in the same office – all of whom are obsessed with the tedious minutiae of their work life. Toward the end the story shifts into an awful parody of a late-night TV police serial, complete with hideous cartoon villains and improbable escapes.

The only thing I can say in its favor is its absurdly bleak set-up. The women work in a center dedicated to research on genocide. One even edits a journal called Genocide News (no kidding) and we're treated to pages of ponderous extracts. It's only fitting that after torturing the reader with their empty lives for 500 pages, none of them ends up with much of a life at all. I can only guess that the author has a very droll sense of humor indeed.

Recommended only if you have lots of aquavit on hand.
]]>