Do you hate your job?
Oct. 28th, 2009 01:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rainbowunicorn_readsGot to finish Heart-shaped box by Joe Hill and Then we came to the end by Joshua Ferris
Heart-shaped box by Joe Hill
I've fallen in love with this horror novel.
If I like death-metal music, I imagine I would love this all the more. It's about Judas, a death-metal rock god who buys a soul of a dead man from eBay to add to his growing collection of gruesome items.
What happens next--well, what did you expect? The dead man haunts him, following him everywhere and I thought it was predictable too, until Hill turns the tables on me and begs to differ.
Heart-shaped box is filled with surprises, and surprisingly a lot of heart, and I agree with Neil Gaiman's review, where he mentioned that :
"It's the kind of book that the overworked adjectives people use on book jackets-relentless, gripping, powerful, a genuine page-turner-were really meant to describe, for it's all those things and enormously smart besides. I loved it unreservedly."
Joe Hill's writing style is very simple and straight-forward, but the twists are wonderfully executed that I forgot to eat lunch, I just had to find out what would happen next. There are gruesome scenes I skimmed, but also tender, love-filled moments that tugged at my heartstrings and never let go.
While I was reading this, I was aware that Joe Hill is Stephen King's son, and just like his father, Hill is also capable of delivering one hell of a horrifying tale. What I like more about Hill though, is that he was able to end this tale more satisfyingly. I often get turned off by stories that are stylecentric, with little regard for plot, and more focus on the careful poetic stringing of words. This book might have lacked subtlety but made up for it with its gripping turn of events.
Sometimes after reading a King story I become depressed, since his endings are just so sad and dreary sometimes, but Hill manages to balance the realism (if you can call it that) with a healthy dose of pragmatism. I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel by Hill and can't wait to read his future works.
P.S. I agree Eliza, the cover does suck though.
What I think: 8 and a half unicorns
Then we came to the end by Joshua Ferris
"If there was an opportunity to complain, we complained. The creative team complained about the account team. The account team complained about the client. Everybody complained at one time or another about human resources, and human resources complained among themselves about each and every one of us"
A book about retrenchment and the perks and pitfalls of working in a corporate setting, I was apprehensive about reading this. Too close to home, I thought.
I scanned the first few pages though, and I was hooked instantly. I like the way Ferris writes, with his unnamed protagonist telling the story and shifting from various corporate-drone tones ranging from sympathetic and endearing to annoying and condescending. Just your average cubed co-worker. The setting is an ad agency, and I happily devoured the well-crafted ad pitches scattered inside.
Each chapter also started with an outline of short phrases containing what to expect in that chapter, a nifty device that I've never seen before. Think of it as a pre-minutes of the meeting, which is fitting for the office setting. It's amusing and creative, but is a bit distracting sometimes, since I kept thinking of it as a spoiler.
Behind all the catty office gossip and the drudgery of work , this tale, for me, hints on some greater good though--the triumph and resilience of the human spirit, and I liked it for that.
If you are having a quarter-life crisis, or confused about which career path to take, or if you hate working, or hate your job, or work (or have worked) in an ad agency, or work in general, give this book a shot. I have come to better appreciate the idea of working in general and my co-workers after reading this. You just might, too.
What I think: 8 and a half unicorns
Heart-shaped box by Joe Hill
I've fallen in love with this horror novel.
If I like death-metal music, I imagine I would love this all the more. It's about Judas, a death-metal rock god who buys a soul of a dead man from eBay to add to his growing collection of gruesome items.
What happens next--well, what did you expect? The dead man haunts him, following him everywhere and I thought it was predictable too, until Hill turns the tables on me and begs to differ.
Heart-shaped box is filled with surprises, and surprisingly a lot of heart, and I agree with Neil Gaiman's review, where he mentioned that :
"It's the kind of book that the overworked adjectives people use on book jackets-relentless, gripping, powerful, a genuine page-turner-were really meant to describe, for it's all those things and enormously smart besides. I loved it unreservedly."
Joe Hill's writing style is very simple and straight-forward, but the twists are wonderfully executed that I forgot to eat lunch, I just had to find out what would happen next. There are gruesome scenes I skimmed, but also tender, love-filled moments that tugged at my heartstrings and never let go.
While I was reading this, I was aware that Joe Hill is Stephen King's son, and just like his father, Hill is also capable of delivering one hell of a horrifying tale. What I like more about Hill though, is that he was able to end this tale more satisfyingly. I often get turned off by stories that are stylecentric, with little regard for plot, and more focus on the careful poetic stringing of words. This book might have lacked subtlety but made up for it with its gripping turn of events.
Sometimes after reading a King story I become depressed, since his endings are just so sad and dreary sometimes, but Hill manages to balance the realism (if you can call it that) with a healthy dose of pragmatism. I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel by Hill and can't wait to read his future works.
P.S. I agree Eliza, the cover does suck though.
What I think: 8 and a half unicorns
Then we came to the end by Joshua Ferris
"If there was an opportunity to complain, we complained. The creative team complained about the account team. The account team complained about the client. Everybody complained at one time or another about human resources, and human resources complained among themselves about each and every one of us"
A book about retrenchment and the perks and pitfalls of working in a corporate setting, I was apprehensive about reading this. Too close to home, I thought.
I scanned the first few pages though, and I was hooked instantly. I like the way Ferris writes, with his unnamed protagonist telling the story and shifting from various corporate-drone tones ranging from sympathetic and endearing to annoying and condescending. Just your average cubed co-worker. The setting is an ad agency, and I happily devoured the well-crafted ad pitches scattered inside.
Each chapter also started with an outline of short phrases containing what to expect in that chapter, a nifty device that I've never seen before. Think of it as a pre-minutes of the meeting, which is fitting for the office setting. It's amusing and creative, but is a bit distracting sometimes, since I kept thinking of it as a spoiler.
Behind all the catty office gossip and the drudgery of work , this tale, for me, hints on some greater good though--the triumph and resilience of the human spirit, and I liked it for that.
If you are having a quarter-life crisis, or confused about which career path to take, or if you hate working, or hate your job, or work (or have worked) in an ad agency, or work in general, give this book a shot. I have come to better appreciate the idea of working in general and my co-workers after reading this. You just might, too.
What I think: 8 and a half unicorns