Customer Reviews

e

5 star:		(75)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are in the mood for something quick, light, fun and funny, look no further than "e." I didn't really know what to expect from a book written entirely in inter-office e-mails, but it works! Matt Beaumont has done a superb job with this novel. I eagerly await the sequel.

"e" is the story of a group of employees at one of London's top advertising agencies, Miller Shanks, and the two weeks of preparation before the big Coca-Cola pitch. Landing Coke is quite a deal, but left in the...ahem...capable hands of the creative department, it is as good as done. Meanwhile, there are disasters on the horizon with other clients, and, of course, an office isn't an office without co-worker rivalry. "e" provides readers with all the juicy details!

Despite knowing any background information or characteristics of the characters, Matt Beaumont has managed, through the e-mails, to give them all distinct voices. It took several pages to finally put it all together, but their personalities eventually shined through. I loved this novel and all it's two-faced bigwigs, [weak] employees, backstabbing, love triangles, and corportate politics. Hilariously written and one I will definitely read again. I also suggest Syrup by Maxx Barry, another great novel based in the corporate world, this time in behind-the-scenes Coca-Cola itself.

I literally fell across 'e' while looking for 'Syrup' by Maxx Barry...Matt Beaumont's first novel stood next to it alphabetically. Just got off a Dulles-to-SFO flight and confirmed that these 346 pages can be devoured in one sitting. I must have looked like a complete whacko sitting in my seat with tears of laughter running down my cheeks.

Folks, this may be the funniest book you ever read bar none. And amazingly, it is told completely in e-mail format. Takes you about 10 pages to get used to it, but after that it flows smooth and easy. Who would have thought that such complete character development was possible via e-mail dialogue?

By the end of the book, you could show me 10 of these missives and I could identify the author of each one. Beaumont is just amazingly creative in this effort. The groundwork he lays for the intricate e-mail exchanges is breathtaking.

Just one character to watch out for (among many): Simon Horne, head of Creative Services. A completely amazing creation...all the more because Beaumont has no doubt drawn him from his experiences in the advertising industry.

I feel the need to spread the word about this great book.

Hand on my heart, it's been a long time since I have read anything quite as amusing as this splendid début novel by Matt Beaumont. As a wannabe novelist myself, still awaiting my first break, and as a fan of the epistolary genre, I could kick myself that I did not think first of this splendid idea for a novel myself. Namely: a book written entirely in e-mails amongst the staff of an advertising agency in London, weaving a tale of intrigue, sexuality, back-stabbing, hypocrisy and office politics.

Without giving too much away, "E" is about three weeks inside an advertising agency trying to land a lucrative deal with *Coca-Cola*. But there is much more to it than this. Beaumont gives each secretary, each copywriter, each creative and each manager a really lifelike personality, with their own ways of writing, making each character immediately recognisable both within the novel and in the real life that we live in. We've all met a Simon Horne or a Pinki Fallon in our lives. The medium in which Beaumont has chosen to write his novel admirably and successfully emphasises the constant back-stabbing and twofacedness that takes place on an hourly basis. The speed at which e-mail travels makes the whole experience seem more real and dynamic.

Of course, we are not talking about brilliant writing here... in order to make the novel seem more lifelike, the e-mail writers are given their own idiosyncrasies, and occasionally there are intentional misspellings. It makes the novel seem more authentic. What is brilliant is the story itself as it unravels before us, the snowballing lies, the outrageous behaviour.

"E" has put the E back in e-pistolary. When we consider other novels of this ancient genre, we can appreciate that because of the speed of which e-mails and the gossip hidden within travels, Matt Beaumont's tale is more dynamic than those often sluggish letter-filled works of times past. Anyone who works in an online office environment, particularly if the office has a new-media slant, will love this book. But, to be honest, there is not a single person on this planet to whom I could not wholeheartedly recommend it. Bravo Matt Beaumont. You will go far! Roll on novel number two!

TRISTÁN WHITE, London

Corks, yet another former copywriter turning his back on the evil empire and following his muse!

Actually though, Matt Beaumont hasn't fallen very far from the tree with this one, an exposé of life in a purportedly fictional London ad agency over the course of two hectic weeks. You have to believe, then, that he knows what he's talking about. The result is a novel that rings so true you're feeling the characters' pain by page three. (And their panties by page 33.)

There are lots of reasons to love this book. The antipodean version (and I guess that means the UK one) is subtitled "a hilariously funny novel," which you have to admire. Its email-based format means it's a damned quick read. Let's talk about that format a little. There is no, absolutely no, linking text. The entire story is told through emails, complete with addresees, cc's, bcc's and time stamps. I thought this would make for a difficult read, but it doesn't. If you're used to working in an organisation where your emails and vmails outnumber f2f's it doesn't take long to pick up the flow of the story.

I think it's even got some edges over traditional narrative. In the time it takes to read six one-sentence emails you get six different perspectives on the same event, complete with insights into how each character chooses to "spin" their response to each other. Checking the cc and bcc lists tells even more of the story. Bit like real life really.

Good on you Matt Beaumont. Told straight, your book would have just been a bloody funny story about life at the advertising coalface. Wrapping it in a brilliantly crafted whole new genre takes it a long way beyond that. Amazonians; read and enjoy. Amazonians in advertising; make that a double and charge it to your favourite client.

Wow! I haven't read such original and hilarious novel in quite a while. I couldn't stop laughing. I marvel at Beaumont's originality. Who would have thought that an author would pull off a novel written in e-mail format? E enters the information age with a brilliant satire of office politics. Through e-mail, the reader learns about the back-stabbing, bureaucratic bungling, and sexual escapades of a group of people working for an ad agency that would do anything to land the Coca-Cola account. I laughed so much when Carla and Zoe were fighting over the PA job that promises more money. And who could forget David Crutton's frustration with e-mail? His e-mails were inexplicably forwarded to a colleague in Finland -- one of the funniest scenes in the novel. Can you handle a novel written in e-mail format? Give this book a whirl. You'll laugh your socks off!

This is a great book. Provides an insightful look into the dog-eat-dog world that is advertising. I read it all within a day, just could not put it down - a laugh-a-page kinda book. Beaumont puts together the happenings of this ad agency via e-mail correspondences between the various people at the agency. Get it! It certainly cheered up my day.

I work for an interactive advertising agency and I swear I can equate each of these characters with someone at work. I wouldn't be surprised if they were up to the same no-good, backstabbing, shallow, oversexed, unscrupulous, political crap as Beaumont's characters. Okay, who am I kidding, I know we...er...they are.

In short, it's advertising and it's funny. You don't have to be in the biz to appreciate it. Be prepared to laugh where ever you are when you read it, and you won't care who hears you cackle.

Pony up the bucks, it's well worth it.

I ran across this book on a table of new fiction at Barnes and Noble and needed a laugh so I got it. I have never laughed no hard! If you have ever worked in the corporate world you will recognize the many different personalities in the book! I am passing this book on to the rest of my family. Humor is terrific medicine and this book is it! ENJOY!!

Not only is this the funniest book I have ever read, it is also a frighteningly accurate portrayal of the politics/roles within an advertising agency. Strangely enough, I think that I might just work for the agency that the author worked with in London (and based his book on). The similarities are hilarious.

Beaumont is just so skilled at making the email format work. Like another reviewer mentioned, you become accustomed to it within a few pages. But the humor gets you on page one.

Oh, this book is just delicious. But be forewarned - you will find yourself trying to read while at work, or cancelling your social plans to get in a couple extra hours of book time, or cursing your BART train for arriving at your destination so quickly.

You just gotta get this book. Anyone who has ever worked in a large corporation will recognize the personality types and the crazy office dynamics.

I read this book cover to cover in one sitting one evening. It consists solely of the emails sent between a fictional London based Ad firm and some of it's suppliers. The faint praise and petty politics of the employeees of the firm are bared through the email system - if wires could talk, in this book they do. The touch is light enough to raise a smile and perhaps a titter every now and then without it being quite a rollercoaster of fun. Intriguing to think of all the evidence of schmoozing and damning lying within the corporate email system. This book demonstrates nicely what gems lie within the office LAN. Undoubtedly truth is stranger than even this at times warped fictional account.