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Then We Came to the End: A Novel

Author: Joshua Ferris
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Category: Book

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Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

75 reviews
Sales Rank: 2884

Media: Paperback
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 1.1

ISBN: 0141027630
EAN: 9780141027630
ASIN: 0141027630

Publication Date: January 4, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: A good read at a good price and next day dispatch

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Customer Reviews: Read 70 more reviews...

1 out of 5 stars

Boring, unfunny, the reviewers on the cover must have been drunk July 23, 2008
It is rare that I give up on a book and I did try to persevere, but about a third of the way through, I decided life is too short to read this kind of drivel. There are so many books out there, I had already wasted a few days of my life trying to keep reading this one, so I gladly threw it in the bin (I wouldn't even put it in the charity bag, why inflict suffering on another innocent book lover).

The characters are uninteresting at best, irritating at worst, you feel no sympathy or empathy or any kind of connection with any of them. The author shows no understanding of human nature at all, or any ability to create three dimensional characters - or even two dimensional for that matter. There is no story to speak of, just incredibly boring dialogue. And as for it being "funny", in the over 100 or so pages I tortured myself with, I did not find one single thing funny - oh, except that the publisher actually accepted this book and the author got paid. Actually, that is not funny, that is scary.

I will avoid anything by this author like the plague, and will never again trust any review words written on the back or front of a book, I feel swindled and misled by these drunken reviewers - well either they were drunk or bribed, or insane. Or all three.

3 out of 5 stars

Life in the cubicle-farm July 19, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

It's interesting to compare the largely positive response to this book by literary critics, and the very negative reviews it's getting here from readers. The Richard and Judy Book Club is one of the most powerful forces in British literary marketing, and they got behind Ferris's debut novel - so what went wrong? Perhaps such audiences typically seek something from a story - uplifting endings, appealing characters, a dramatic and tightly-plotted storyline - that just isn't present in 'Then We Came To The End'. The themes of this book are failure, stagnation and unemployment, and Ferris is seeking to produce a bleak inditement of modern office life. If that's your cup of tea, you might get something out of this story. If not, you'll hate it - hence I gie it 3 stars for being an awkward book that doesn't go out of its way to win the reader over.

In seeking to replicate the tedium of office life in the downbeat style of writing, Ferris has a lot in common with Douglas Coupland, particularly the latter's later noels such as J-Pod. Like Coupland, Ferris cannot resist humanising his characters and, in the end, proiding a low-grade sort of redemption in their compassion, stoicism and relationships with each other. Perhaps this is a good thing, or perhaps it's a cop-out from the bleak cynicism of the early part of the book - that's up to each reader to decide. I can't say I enjoyed the book in a fun way (it's funny-sad, not funny-haha), but I still feel it's doing something important in chronicling the greyness and repetition modern office life, a truth that remains strangely absent from most literature. It's difficult to make a good story out of such elements, and Ferris doesn't really succeed, but still I'm glad to have read it - there's an honesty here about the way we live and interact with each other that's quietly remarkable.

1 out of 5 stars

Why did I Bother July 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Why did I bother, what can I say, so so boring. Then I came to the end and I was so pleased.

1 out of 5 stars

INANE !!!! July 8, 2008
Don't bother!! Read this on holiday, so was in a forgiving mood, and rarely give up on a book. All I can say is that it was time well wasted - characters that were so unforgettable... what book am I reviewing again???

1 out of 5 stars

Then We Came to the End June 27, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

I didn't get anywhere near the end of this book! Too many characters, none of which were remotely memorable or sympathetic. Overall, a tedious, pointless and faintly depressing read. Go for Douglas Coupland's JPod instead, now that is a good read!