Fiction Addict

Genre: Humor

Publisher: Back Bay Books/Little, Brown and Co.

Publication Date: 2007

Reviewed by Jaci Miller

In an insightful look into the world of advertising, Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris shows the inner workings of a struggling ad agency in a bumpy economy. Ferris is borderline prophetic in this 2007 publication; he forecasts what many shops in the ad world currently face today.

The novel focuses on the creative department of a Chicago agency whose employees spend their mornings twiddling their thumbs, playing pranks and meddling in each others’ business while they wait/hope for work to arrive. As the looming layoffs become a reality to more and more of the agency’s members, readers encounter more of the employees’ lives and the individual crises they face: Carl’s rocky marriage, Tom’s unstable personality, Amber’s intra-office pregnancy and stoic employer Lynn’s rumored battle with cancer which unifies the book and the cast as well. The dynamic roster of characters Ferris has created draws the reader in to the ad world and into the characters’ lives.

As a member of a creative advertising team, I found this book to ring true in tone and content. The hijinks, the projects, the atmosphere. It reminds the reader a bit of “The Office” for ad agencies, but with a gentler humor and greater subtlety of dialogue. Ferris uses the first person plural, “we,” to capture the camaraderie as well as the corporate nature in his novel; I found it very effective. Although a bit jarring at first (it is an unusual point-of-view), it quickly captured the essence of corporate life—this, along with savvy observations of office nuances.

Then We Came to the End is a National Book Award finalist and justifiably so. It’s a surprising and excellent effort from a first time novelist.