The Office Tells the Story in 'Then We Came to the End'

Review of THEN WE CAME TO THE END (Back Bay Books 2008)
Author, Joshua Ferris

One of the first things I noticed about THEN WE CAME TO THE END, a darkly-funny story (it's been called "the CATCH-22 of the business world" and "The Office meets Kafka") about a Chicago advertising agency going through tough times after the dot-com bubble burst, is how starting it was not unlike starting a new job. The characters, at first, are just a whole lot of names thrown at you. A bit confusing to keep straight, but after a while, traits emerge and you come to know them. Some are nice, some are pathetic, some unforgettable and others you'd just as soon forget. The kind of people you might, say, work with in an office.

The other thing I noticed was that reading the story was like revisiting the times when I'd worked in offices. As a freelance writer, I enjoy certain perks--the short commute (seconds rather than hours), flexible scheduling, etc. On the other hand, reading this book took me back to a time and situation that had its drawbacks, but also its joys. Reexperiencing the collegiality of office life, along with its frustrations, office politics, gossip--even the shared misery--was kind of an interesting blast from the past.

The major theme in the story is job security (or lack thereof) and many related issues--getting a bit too secure in one's job, not preparing for change or thinking such change is possible, feeling a trifle too fat, dumb and happy for one's own good. The specter of layoffs haunts the characters throughout the book. At the same time, the story has numerous subplots: the office romance gone wrong; the office eccentric who gets canned and who may (or may not) return to the scene with a semi-automatic weapon and a bad attitude; the office clown, who harbors a secret unrequited love; the office whipping boy, who's the last one to hear anything; the chilly middle-manager; the distant (and intimidating, but respected) boss with no personal life (at least, not one that's immediately obvious to the staff). And, of course (especially since some of whom we are talking about are ad copywriters), the office's would-be screenwriter and "failed" novelist.

The most interesting thing, though, is that the book is written in first person plural. The book opens with the lines, "We were fractious and overpaid. Our mornings lacked promise. At least those of us who smoked had something to look forward to at ten-fifteen. Most of us liked most everyone, a few of us hated specific individuals, one or two people loved everyone and everything. Those who loved everyone were unanimously reviled."

It continues that way, talking about what "we" did and how "we" felt--with the exception of a brief interlude mid-way through, in which the book switches to third person singular. It took a chapter or two for me to realize the individual telling the story hadn't been identified and to ask, "Just who's telling this story, anyway?"

It struck me, then, that "we" could be the collective consciousness of the office. As if the staff as a whole was telling the story. (Joshua Ferris gives a different explanation for using "we" in an interview printed at the end of the book. I like mine better, but he's the author. I suppose that counts for something.)

It is an omniscient "we," as well, for you get to hear some conversations the staff never would have. This "we" manages to be all over the place, witnessing simultaneous events at times. The narrative occasionally shifts from one person's point of view to another with a fluidity I like (but my writing group would tear to shreds).

THEN WE CAME TO THE END not only explores the peculiar dynamic of the office workplace in a clever and funny way, but shows the eroding effect on morale as that office is slowly, but surely, dismantled. So when you come to the end of this book, the "we" seems to have become diffused, broken into bits that are cobbled together for one last collective event. And how natural that, when the event is over and everyone goes home, the storyteller should conclude this tale with--for the one and only time--the word "me."