The Scheme for Full Employment: A Novel [Hardcover]

Magnus Mills (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2002

From Magnus Mills, the acknowledged master of the working-class dystopic parable—a genre he practically invented—a new work of comic genius

The whole idea is simple yet so perfect: men drive to and from strategically placed warehouses in Univans—identical and serviceable vehicles—transporting replacement parts for...Univans. Gloriously self-perpetuating, the Scheme was designed to give an honest day’s wage for an honest day’s labor. That it produces nothing does not obtain. Our hero in Magnus Mills’ mesmerizing new work is a five-year veteran of the Scheme: he knows the best routes, the easiest managers, the quickest ways in and out. Inevitably, trouble begins to brew. A woman arrives on the scene. Some workers develop delivery sidelines. And most disturbing of all, not all participants are in agreement. There are “Flat-Dayers,” who believe the Scheme’s eight-hour day is sacrosanct and inviolable, and there are “Swervers,” who fancy being let off a little early now and again. Disagreement turns to argument, argument to debate, debate to outright schism. Soon the Flat-Dayers and Swervers have pushed the Scheme to the very brink of disaster...and readers to the edge of their chairs in delight.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A self-perpetuating means of creating employment provides an allegory for welfare programs and a light meditation on the working class in Magnus Mills's novel The Scheme for Full Employment. Making appointed rounds in UniVans to pick up boxes (containing, what else, UniVan parts), our unnamed protagonist stays the course (mostly, except when he couriers a birthday cake and charts unknown--and unauthorized--territory) while labor unrest stirs between those who champion the eight-hour day and those who want to cut corners and slip out of work early. It is refreshing to see a plot-driven novel come along that is devoid of self-absorbed narration, but the book bounces along on one note; it lacks the depth necessary to be a truly evocative commentary.

Mills's prose is sufficient and the story is well paced. As for the glory of "The Scheme," Mills tells us, "What could be nicer than an excursion in a UniVan on a bright spring morning?... Every so often, when I caught sight of my vehicle reflected in some huge glass-fronted office building, it seemed there could be no better way to earn a living." For a light-hearted, amusing read, The Scheme for Full Employment is worth a quick spin. --Michael Ferch

From Publishers Weekly

The British seem to have a particular talent for producing mordant satires of working-class mores, and Mills (The Restraint of Beasts, etc.) proves again that he is one of the best writers in the genre. In his latest labor satire-cum-parable, he takes on the post-Keynesian capitalist business model, investigating the inner workings of "The Scheme," a circular delivery business in which nondescript "UniVans" go back and forth among multiple destinations, delivering largely nonessential UniVan parts. The perfectly synchronized system begins to fall apart when a labor conflict pits the corner-cutters and slackers in the company-designated "swervers"-against their more staid counterparts, the "flat-dayers," who believe in actually working a by-the-book, eight-hour day. The drama is viewed from the perspective of an anonymous narrator, a five-year veteran of the Scheme, whose life consists of playing the company angles and watching out for new authority figures. Mills makes the plot-driven concept work by underplaying his humor, so much so that the Scheme's work environment offers a genuinely frightening reflection of the circular logic that dominates so many of today's work settings. After milking the details of his odd little scenario for all they're worth, Mills introduces his climactic conflict in the form of a strike by flat-dayers while swervers continue to work. Although the ending is somewhat predictable, the author's ability to nail the nonsensical quirks and idiosyncrasies of job patterns and business models sustains the humor, and numerous passages provide chilling insight into why we go to work and what we do when we get there. With this clever allegory, Mills turns the trip to and from work into a literary joy ride.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Picador; 1st edition (December 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031242163X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312421632
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #618,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Original, thought-provoking and worryingly realistic, August 24, 2004

By 

James Groman (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Scheme for Full Employment: A Novel (Paperback)

Mills has created a masterpiece in The Scheme For Full Employment. 'The Scheme' unfolds quickly in this short story and an amusing twist lies beneath the day to day drudgery of the characters' work. When you start to find out more you find yourself wondering how many similar 'Schemes' might exist in our society today...

I read it in an afternoon and became totally engrossed from the first page on. The author's attention to detail is fantastic although find yourself reaching the end and realizing that you know more or less nothing about the characters other than their names and their role in The Scheme... all part of the genius

This is a fantastic, bite-size read and the sort of book that you can pluck out and talk to people about to guarantee a laugh. It even looks good on the shelf!

Well worth buying along with anything else by Mills

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good entry for first-time Mills readers, April 16, 2003

By 

Mark Rose (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Scheme for Full Employment: A Novel (Hardcover)

So many reviews here are complaining that Mills wasn't up to snuff in relation to his other books. Well, this is the first book of his I've read, and man!, now I want to read the rest.

This is an excellent light comedic satire on work, welfare, social schemes, and the tendency of humans to "give an inch, take a mile." Sure, it's light and frothy but there's also a lot going on behind the scenes here, that is worthy of a bit more reader introspection. Highly recommended.

If this is Mills' slightest work, then his other novels must be truly over the top.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fluffy fun, March 8, 2003

By 

Anna Klein - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Scheme for Full Employment: A Novel (Hardcover)

All throughout the country, men are driving UniVans (filled with, you guessed it, UniVan parts) to and from warehouses and getting paid for their time in what is known as The Scheme for Full Employment (or just "the Scheme"). A cute self perpetuating welfare system, the Scheme has been working fine for three decades (except for UniVans constantly clogging city traffic). But now, told through the perspective of a five-year Schemer (who I don't believe is ever named), the Scheme is falling apart. One Schemer, George, is trafficking decorated cakes (can anyone say "drugs"?). Some workers are pushing for early swerves (getting off early). In response, other workers start campaigning as "flat-dayers" (8 hours work for 8 hours pay). The two groups clash antagonisticly but nonviolently, only to be crushed (and the Scheme too) once and for all by, yes again you guessed it -- a woman.

I had some trouble deciding whether to give THE SCHEME FOR FULL EMPLOYMENT two stars or three, but finally decided on three because the book was delightfully easy to read and without unneccesary verbiage. This little novel has a singular purpose and is also devoid of subplots, home scenes, and anything else beyond the scope of the Scheme. Our narrator's belief in the Scheme allows for a deadpan sort of humor that isn't terribly funny, but does coax a few smiles. The narrator never joins either the early-swervers or the flat-dayers, but gets sucked up by the self corruption just the same. And the portrayal of the supervisors and their behavior is good enough to earn the third star all by itself.

While not great literature or even a good mystery, THE SCHEME FOR FULL EMPLOYMENT is a lightly entertaining, tongue-in-cheek poke at the welfare system.