I had been looking forward to reading Joshua Ferris’ first novel, Then We Came To The End, for quite sometime given all the good tings I had heard about it being a really great “office” comic novel. But I think it transcends that label since it is LITERATURE and I mean that in a good way. It’s about the human condition. Albeit there are some funny bits about office life, which I think anyone who has worked in an office can relate to but there’s a lot more. So it’s funny, tragic, and heartfelt. It’s unusual that most of the novel is written in the third person, which I thought was chosen so as not to come across as too smug and sarcastic, but it turns out that Ferris reveals in his interview at the book’s homepage, that there are other reasons for his choice. I also have to say I liked how he worked Some Emerson into the narrative. He’s one of those under appreciated American thinkers who I think is very modern, profound and seminal in his writing and thinking. Ferris also mentions on the website that the title comes form a Don DeLillo novel called Americana, which intrigues me.
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I like your observation that it is literary. That's an important distinction, and I agree. It's been a month or so since I finished, and had forgotten about the Emerson references. Great counterpoint to the undercurrents of contemporary despair that run through the office. You've inspired me to go back and revisit Emerson.
Posted by: Patrick W. | March 14, 2011 at 06:33 AM
Yes, I think Emerson and Thoreau are two American thinkers that I think are influential and profound. Definitely worth re-visiting.
Posted by: MC | March 14, 2011 at 10:55 AM