This is probably the first book I’ve ever read that uses the first-person plural voice, and it works, primarily because of the last line, but also because of the theme. This is a story about a shared experience: working in an office at a pointless job in modern America. Most of us can relate. There are several parts in the book that are laugh-out-loud funny. The main thing that I think mars the novel and keeps it from being really good is an overlong middle passage, regarding the boss’s battle with cancer, in which point of view is broken. Also, the wrap-up ending-aside from the great last line-is a little too neat and obvious. Overall, this is a moderately fun read that I wish had lived up to my expectations a little better.

I’m not sure what the big deal is – the people are mostly not likable, with only one character the least bit interesting. The style of the beginning, jumping back and forth in time to tell story fragments about people that we don’t know yet, was annoying and confusing more than anything else, and above all, it wasn’t funny.