There are many reasons to hate Joshua Ferris: his debut novel, Then We Came to the End, was one of The New York Times 10 Best Books of 2007. It was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in fiction. His book is written in the first person plural (nonlit majors, think we and us). It takes place in a Chicago ad agency, for the love of Post-itsa dark, beautiful comedy about the modern workplace thats as soft and humane as it is sharp and poignant. Its a critique of the inanity of modern life, described by Nick Hornby as The Office meets Kafka. A book that should be required reading for anyone who (a) needs to laugh or (b) spends time in an office. Did I mention Ferris is cute? Or that I read his book within 48 hours, even though I had a million other books to read for work at the time? And Im sorry, but Im talking about reasons why I love him, right? Right?
Mon., March 24, 7:30 p.m., 2008
