"A hilarious first chapter sets the book up to be truly funny but after that, it all just goes downhill."Pros: The first chapter was great and really hit upon some of the finer points of working in an office setting. Also the various stereotypes of the typical office workers were spot on, the gossip, the storyteller, the quiet one etc.
Cons: The lack of a cohesive story line and the rambling narrative made it difficult and frustrating to follow. There were moments of clarity and real cohesion but in the end, it was a disappointment.
Full Review:
Set in an advertising office, it's told from the point of view of a nameless worker. It all starts to gather cohesion when the narrator starts to explain about the downturn, when things started to go downhill and there were layoffs.
Both amusing and rambling, it touches upon the things that any person who has worked in an office setting is all too familiar with. How some days you feel on top of the world, like you're really making a difference and other days you silently envy the homeless pan handler for their life of freedom and complete absence of mind numbing monotony and tediousness.
There are pranks that turn out to not be funny, like stealing office supplies or writing a derogatory slur on someone's wall and saying the did it themselves. And with the increasing amount of layoffs, everyone is extremely on edge.
After the first chapter though, this book really flopped for me. Some of it was painfully depressing while other times it had no linear story or plot to speak of. It was hard to keep track of the characters and when someone got fired or suffered a tragedy, I found myself trying to remember who they were. It was only until about halfway through the book that the narrative found a bit of a connection to everything. It all connects the dots and things start making sense. There's cohesion but at the same time, it was still a struggle to read.
I found myself reading it just to get it over with and that's never a good way to spend time. The first chapter was great, it hit the nail right on the head, but for everything else, it was all kind of a disappointment. I would recommend at least the first chapter to anyone who's ever worked in an office setting because some of the points are spot on. But overall, this book was a disappointment.
Both amusing and rambling, it touches upon the things that any person who has worked in an office setting is all too familiar with. How some days you feel on top of the world, like you're really making a difference and other days you silently envy the homeless pan handler for their life of freedom and complete absence of mind numbing monotony and tediousness.
There are pranks that turn out to not be funny, like stealing office supplies or writing a derogatory slur on someone's wall and saying the did it themselves. And with the increasing amount of layoffs, everyone is extremely on edge.
After the first chapter though, this book really flopped for me. Some of it was painfully depressing while other times it had no linear story or plot to speak of. It was hard to keep track of the characters and when someone got fired or suffered a tragedy, I found myself trying to remember who they were. It was only until about halfway through the book that the narrative found a bit of a connection to everything. It all connects the dots and things start making sense. There's cohesion but at the same time, it was still a struggle to read.
I found myself reading it just to get it over with and that's never a good way to spend time. The first chapter was great, it hit the nail right on the head, but for everything else, it was all kind of a disappointment. I would recommend at least the first chapter to anyone who's ever worked in an office setting because some of the points are spot on. But overall, this book was a disappointment.
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