Then We Came to the End
 First US edition with image of Post-it notes | |
| Author | Joshua Ferris |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
Publication date | March 1, 2007 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 400 pp (HB 1st edition) |
| ISBN | 978-0-316-01638-4 |
| OCLC | 62679893 |
| 813/.6 22 | |
| LC Class | PS3606.E774 T47 2007 |
Then We Came to the End is the first novel by Joshua Ferris. It was released by Little, Brown and Company on March 1, 2007. A satire of the American workplace, it is similar in tone to Don DeLillo's Americana, even borrowing DeLillo's first line for its title.
It takes place in a Chicago advertising agency that is experiencing a downturn at the end of the 1990s Internet boom. Ferris employs a first-person-plural narrative.
Critical reaction
[edit]The book was greeted with positive reviews from GQ,[1] The New York Times,[2]The New Yorker,[3] Esquire,[4] and Slate.[5] The book was named one of the Best Books of 2007 by The New York Times.[6] On Metacritic, the book received a 82 out of 100 based on 18 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[7] According to Book Marks, primarily from American publications, the book received a "rave" consensus, based on thirteen critics: eight "rave", four "positive", and one "mixed".[8] In May/June 2007 issue of Bookmarks, the book was scored four out of five. The magazine's critical summary quotes The Los Angeles Times: "It may even be, in its own modest way, a great American novel".[9]
Time magazine's Lev Grossman named it one of the Top 10 Fiction Books of 2007, ranking it at #2.[10]
The book won the PEN/Hemingway Award for best first novel[citation needed] and the 2007 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award.[11][12]
References
[edit]- ^ Lieberstein, Paul (March 2007). "The Only Business Book You Need This Year". GQ. Vol. 77, no. 3. p. 206.
- ^ Poniewozik, James (March 18, 2007). "Pink Slip Blues". The New York Times.
- ^ "Briefly Noted: Then We Came to the End"; newyorker.com; March 26, 2007.
- ^ "The Leisure Meter". Esquire. Vol. 147, no. 3. March 2007. p. 68.
- ^ O'Rourke, Meghan (March 8, 2007). "Hell Is Other Cubicles: Joshua Ferris' new novel about work, the great American pastime". slate.com. Slate.
- ^ "The 10 Best Books of 2007"; The New York Times; December 9, 2007.
- ^ "Then We Came to the End". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 11 Mar 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ "Then We Came to the End". Book Marks. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ "Then We Came to the End By Joshua Ferris". Bookmarks. Archived from the original on 8 Sep 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ Grossman, Lev (December 24, 2007). "The 10 Best Fiction Books". Time. pp. 44–45. Archived from the original on 2007-12-12.
- ^ "Kate Braestrup and Joshua Ferris Win Barnes & Noble Discover Prize". Publishers Weekly. 2008-02-28. Archived from the original on 2024-04-23. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
- ^ "Jean Valentine, Junot Díaz Among Finalists for Los Angeles Times Book Prizes". Poets & Writers. 2008-03-05. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved 2024-04-23.