I started this book not really knowing what to expect as I had not
read any of the hype surrounding the book and only read what was
written as reviews on the back of the book. That in itself is never
a good place to start if you want a balanced perspective but I
think I agree with most of what was written "back there" on the
cover.
I likened the beginning of the book to a written example of an
episode of Seinfeld, where it's funny but it isn't really about
anything - just caricatures of offensive people's personalities.
Frankly for the first 80 or so pages I was finding myself insulted,
annoyed and offended with childish pranks, homophobic comments,
spiteful spying/gossiping and racist slurs from borderline
sociopaths who worked in the office. And then it dawned on me that
this bothered me so much because I had lived it myself; I was
taking it personally. I couldn't disagree that it is indeed an
accurate portrayal of working in an office.
But then as outlined from the opening quote of the book I expected
that one of themes of the story would be of belonging. As a work
group, in high school cliques, in relationships; it becomes the
purpose to make seemingly nasty, elitist people seem more human by
the end of the book. And then surprisingly (deftly?) I thought the
author moved the emphasis from the personalities into an
interesting story that intrigued me. For the rest of the 300 or so
pages I was submerged in the story and read with interest.
Sure, in my opinion there are traces of elitism and entitlement
throughout the story but not enough to detract from the overall
themes. It is well written and funny and the characters are spot-on
accurate.
I believe you might find the humour in this story if:
a) You have lived it but are now removed from it and/or
b) If you have never worked in such a setting
I believe you will take offense in this story if:
a) You have lived it and still work in a similar setting hence
subject to this oppression regularly and/or
b) If you don't get the irony or the caricatures presented
I would recommend this book.