Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Great look at cubicle culture. Took me back to my days working for The Man editing pharmaceutical promotional materials.
This book plays a lot with the relationship of the individual to the group. Written from the point of view of a limited omniscient “We”, the group actually becomes a character separate from the individuals that constitute it.
There’s also some play with what we make public about ourselves and what we keep secret (and how sometimes those things we intend to be secret become public) and with the way that being part of a group can keep reinforcing one version of ourselves and keep us stuck and unable to grow beyond that one version.
The group needs predictability. Branching out from who the group thinks we are is not acceptable.
At any rate, I really enjoyed reading this book. I was somewhat surprised to find that it is a first novel. I would have thought it was written by someone with a few more books under his belt.
Imperfect Happiness 
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