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whimsicalmeerkat's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked the beginning of this, but it fell off towards the last third. It developed a plot. Somehow this was bad.
elevy2's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ashndean88's review against another edition
DNF 96/385 pages (24%)
I saw a review somewhere that said this read like something created for an MFA class, and they are spot on! This has an air of pretentiousness that is hard to shake.
The plot is not linear and goes on multiple tangents within its segmented story. It's very difficult to keep things straight, and I had a hard time focusing because I was so confused. The characters blurred together a lot. Though, I was barely starting to sort them out by the time I stopped.
This book was advertised as "hilarious." It even said it mimicked "The Office." So why am I nearly 100 pages in and I haven't laughed once?
I saw a review somewhere that said this read like something created for an MFA class, and they are spot on! This has an air of pretentiousness that is hard to shake.
The plot is not linear and goes on multiple tangents within its segmented story. It's very difficult to keep things straight, and I had a hard time focusing because I was so confused. The characters blurred together a lot. Though, I was barely starting to sort them out by the time I stopped.
This book was advertised as "hilarious." It even said it mimicked "The Office." So why am I nearly 100 pages in and I haven't laughed once?
sintari's review against another edition
3.0
So far this book is amazingly reminiscent of my own company as we went through our layoff. I'm moving through it a little more slowly than I normally do because it makes me sad/nostalgic as I read.
jess_mango's review against another edition
3.0
I read "Then We Came to the End" for a book club meeting that I have next week. I m still not 100% sure that I can make it to the meeting, but I read the book all the same.
"Then We came to the End" is Ferris's first novel and is set at the turn of the 21st century at a Chicago advertising agency that is struggling through the dot-com failure era. The workers at the office are being laid off one at a time with very little rationale.
The book is laced with disaffected humor as we are allowed to observe the copywriters and designers partake in their office hijinx and suffer from paranoia that they will be the next layoff. The book for the most part is set in the office so, if you've ever worked in corporate America and sat in a cube, you should be able to find something in this tale that you relate too.
Overall, I enjoyed the book although I think it could've been stronger. There were a lot of characters and most of them weren't very deeply drawn so you don't really "get to know" any of the individuals too well.
"Then We came to the End" is Ferris's first novel and is set at the turn of the 21st century at a Chicago advertising agency that is struggling through the dot-com failure era. The workers at the office are being laid off one at a time with very little rationale.
The book is laced with disaffected humor as we are allowed to observe the copywriters and designers partake in their office hijinx and suffer from paranoia that they will be the next layoff. The book for the most part is set in the office so, if you've ever worked in corporate America and sat in a cube, you should be able to find something in this tale that you relate too.
Overall, I enjoyed the book although I think it could've been stronger. There were a lot of characters and most of them weren't very deeply drawn so you don't really "get to know" any of the individuals too well.
karakillough's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know how i feel about this book. It took me a while to get used to the whole first person plural thing. And now i have the unfortunate side effect of thinking about my office as "We." But something about it is sticking with me, and it did have some humorous moments. Kind of reminds me of the British Office; darkly comic yet sadly painful at the same time. Wish i could give it 3.5 stars.
mjoybo's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
mrswhite's review against another edition
3.0
This book seemed overhyped to me. It had its moments, but overall the characters seemed stereotypical and I just couldn't bring myself to care much about any of them. I agree with several of the other reviewers that the collective point of view got a bit annoying and the best part was when it shifted to the boss' point-of-view midway through.