Friday. April 25. 2007 Ferris's first novel garners critical acclaim Joshua Ferris ai a hook reading promoting his first novel. Then We Came to the Etui Bv Scott Muska mammon; editin' Mins(i.s2' u psUA’Ju The elemeni of comedic happenings within office environinenls ha\c Ivcome a \er\ popular area of locus for the enicitainmcni media as of laic, with shows like the Olt'iee and films like (tjj'iee S/nne gaining considerable lan bases and critical admira tion. It would make sense, them that a no\cl would eventually he written that minors the humor of the shows and gives readers a glimpse into the life of the antics and adversity that the workers in a seem ingly normal olliee based company would cxperi- Joslnia herns has clone pis debut novel. Then He ('torn writes about an advertising company that consists ol an extremely close stall in the midst of dow iisi/mg and lay - oils. He vividly portrays the hilarious and unthinkable pranks that the friends and workers conduct on one another while also capturing the worry and dread that thcv face everyday. the Iccline lhal llicv niav lx- the ncvt one 10 walk Spanish down the a slang phrase lor hciiiL! fired lhal dates hack to die time id pirates and is e\en featured in a lorn Wails sunn Also incorporated into the storv is die workers' lo\c of jiossip and their contusion over their workaholic boss. Lvnn. who is rumored to have breasi cancer bin refuses to admit ii berris uses an unusual, has writing style that leaves the re; the storyteller is until the end i what he calls "the 'we' writing first person. '■Companies tend to refer n first-person plural." l-'erris said, pany's way of showing unity ai matter of makine every one feel her of the club. In Then lib (' see just who this 'we' really is r ——————— Finals Week Library Schedule j Monday, April 21 - Thursday, May 8 { Monday - Thursday, 8 a.m.-l p.m. i Friday, May 9- l 8 a.m. -5 p.m. L————————————— J a that with hm witty in the i.nd. herris TUO -a:.- : --- ~ W£ cw* 6 To fUf £b!i JoiHW * Eettnie a _ ,4 '1 A Novfl ■ molester, there's a depressed and vaguely psyehotie divorcee and there's a cancerous boss with an k,ill\ unpicecdenied extreme phobia of hospitals and doctors, uler ignorant of who Thri)U gh the book's jubilation and depression. ’! l * K ’^ lol - v Usll, = ! suspense and surprises. Ferris captures the attention ; st\ !e. 01 the plmal a]K | thought of anyone who reads his debut, and has no doubt already solidified his name in the list of n themselves m the U p. an d-coming literary voices of the latest genera h s not just a com- pon. The most surprising thing about it is. though, ml stienth. it s also a [| ial j,- s a type of laugh-out-loud funny that isbegin las il they ic a mem- n j ni , (0 disappear from the all-too-serious world of \ww to tlw l-.ud. you lklk , n novds -;i collection ol ———————— “ 1 Friday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-lO p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m.-l a.m. [TIDE! IT LI <~\r . messy human beings—stripped of their glossy fin ish and eternal corporate optimism." At the conclusion of the story, when the reader is trying to let everything sink in and is probably no longer even considering the enigma of the true nar rator. they figure out that it's one of the workers who was working on his first novel, which ends up being the very story itself, and eventually gets it published. Throughout the first year of its publication. Ferris's novel has garnered him comparisons to two of his literary heroes. Don DeLillo and Joseph Heller. Even Stephen King wrote that Then Wc Came to the End is "Hilarious in a Catch-22 way." Ferris takes a seemingly normal setting and set of events and turns them into laughter and. at times, serious contemplation and makes it almost too easy for the reader to empathize with any of the main charac- There's the usual typecast char acters throughout the story: the funny guy. the aspiring novelist, the mean woman, the control freak and the guy that everyone hates for his hard work and quick pro motions, but Ferris adds complexity. There's a woman who lost her 10 year old daughter to a murderous child Is your campus experience upside-down? Let the Beacon know! Our Student Life section is designed to let YOU know what's happening! Summer Must Read List for Students The Abstinence Teacher ; Tom Perrotta Catch 22, Joseph Heller 1984, George Orwell The Rum Diary, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson Then We Came to the End, Joshua Ferris The Armies of the Night, Norman Mailer The Perks of Being a Wallflower ; Stephen Chbosky Haunted, Chuck Palahniuk The Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers Boomsday, Christopher Buckley As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner Oil, Upton Sinclair The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, Chuck Klosterman Lunar Park, Bret Easton Ellis Spacious 3 and 4 bedroom APARTMENTS AVAILABLE THIS Rates Per Person 1 - $lO5O 2 - $BOO 3 - $750 4 - $675 'R r R SUMMER 2008! The Behrend Beacon I
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