Then We Came to the End
| Written by: | Joshua Ferris |
|---|---|
| Central Theme: | |
| Synopsis: | |
| First published: | March 1, 2007 |
Then We Came to the End is a 2007 novel by Joshua Ferris. It is the story of the employees in a Chicago advertising firm from the late nineties, up to September 11th, 2001. The firm is going under, the boss may or may not have cancer, the workers are fractious, and layoffs are happening.
And drama ensues. Or hilarity, depending on how you look at it.
Tropes used in Then We Came to the End include:
- The All-Concealing "I": The novel--for the most part--is written using "we", and then ends on "you and me." It's only then that the reader realises they know everything about everybody except the narrator.
- Alliterative Name: Jim Jackers
- Black Comedy
- A Day in the Limelight: "The Thing To Do and the Place To Be," follows Lynn Mason on the night before her operation. It is the only part of the book that is not written in first-person plural.
- Gossipy Hens: The entire office staff, except Joe Pope and Lynn Mason.
- Literary Allusion Title: "Then we came to the end" is the first sentence of Don DeLillo's Americana.
- Loads and Loads of Characters
- Meaningful Name: Joe Pope is pretty much the most morally upright character in the book.
- Most Writers Are Writers: Hank Neary became a published author after he left the firm.
- Sad Clown: Tom Mota comes in after his firing in a clown suit, and starts shooting people with paintballs.
- Shout-Out: Several to Ralph Waldo Emerson.
- Invisible to Gaydar: Hank Neary