Customer Reviews

e Squared: A Novel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was intrigued by the concept of this book so I had to give it a go. I had not read "e", but since it seemed successful, I thought this might be worth it. It was entirely worth it! I had expected just a series of emails, but was surprised to find emails, IMs, texts, etc. not only from the staff themselves, but also including family, friends, and anyone who can provide an angle on the story.

At first I thought I would get lost in the maze of communication and maybe even have to start a list of the characters to keep it all straight. But after a bit I realized that I did not even need to read the "To" or "From" lines anymore; I knew who was writing by the style and the issue. It felt much more voyeuristic than a conventional book; making me feel somewhat like I was sneaking around with stolen correspondence. The format also encouraged me to fill in the missing bits with my imagination rather than spoon-feeding me everything the author thinks I *should* know.

Now I cannot wait to read "e"! I highly recommend this book to anyone who finds the concept at all intriguing. I sincerely believe that you will not be disappointed.

But only *slightly*.

If you've ever worked in marketing, worked for someone who's worked in marketing, lived with someone who's in the industry, or read an advertisement -- you've love this book. I sat down yesterday to glance through it and four hours later, found myself neck-deep in the hilarious lives of these fictional advertisers, at an agency that could have been any one of a hundred just in this area. It's fairly clear that Beaumont is an ad man; his caricatures of the way things work in modern agencies are just too spot-on for him not to.

Better, the way the story is told is original. A series of emails, texts, and IM conversations between the major players -- a little odd and hard to follow at first (for me, at least), but it felt a little like the reader's allowed to play peeping tom, minus the creepy factor, by the end. In addition, Beaumont's style is laugh-out-loud funny, and in places, I had to actually close the book to avoid losing my place from the tears in my eyes. (And I wondered, just a *little*, if he'd been to my agency. I think I know some of these people. And we're not far from Galax, VA. Which won't make any sense unless you read the book, which you definitely should.)

I thought this was a funny and unique look at the loves and lives of the crazy workers at a fictitious Ad Agency, it didn't make me laugh out loud, but I did chuckle a couple of times. I haven't read the first book 'E' so I didn't know any of the characters and it took me quite a while to really get involved in their story as there were so many characters; but once I did I don't think it mattered that I hadn't read the first book.

I really liked the way the workers daily lives are told through technology at Meerkat360 "the agency that's so cutting-edge you slice your finger on the lift button." The whole book just consisted of them emailing, texting, and blogging to each other during the month of January which seemed to be full of crazy advertising ideas; listings on Ebay of various office products from mugs to photocopiers which have myseriously gone missing; a member of staff who is permanently away on one weird course or another.

We learn about their personal problems, the break-ups, the tears, the tantrums and suicide attempts. Amazingley, they even manage to do some work in between, possibly thanks to Mr Fraggles the new Clown in Residence who is employed to give the creative Department "a vital and distinctive edge."

Even though I didn't feel connected with any of the characters, it was very clever how Beaumont made me feel happy, sad or sorry for them. A good, entertaining read.

e-squared is a fast and fun read! Working in advertising myself, it's great to pick up and enjoy taking a laugh at the hilarious things going on in this fictional agency. I won't let my kids even take a look at it due to the language and humor, but even someone as conservative as myself can find it a roll-on-the-floor riot. Smartly written, incredibly fast-paced, enjoyed by everyone I know who has read it!

The remnants of the crew from Miller Shanks London are back with Meerkat360, a new cutting edge ad agency.

The humor is just as cutting as the two previous books, but there is a darker edge, with Liam's gambling addiction and his attempts to get Lorraine back.

But, Beaumont also successfully integrates different technologies such as IM and SMS to help shape the narrative.

I also enjoyed how he skewers the new generation of corporate mumbo jumbo.

Great success.

I remember ten years ago when e: A Novel--the book that this is a sequel to--first came out. As a fan of epistolary novels, I was fascinated by the concept of updating them using e-mail instead of letters. Somehow, I never got around to reading the original novel. However, when I saw that Beaumont had written a sequel, I jumped at the opportunity to read it. If I enjoyed it, I would go back and re-read the first novel. I am glad that is how things played out or I might have missed out on this very amusing, laugh-out-loud novel.

The first thing that struck me was that Beaumont had updated the concept with the times. In addition to e-mail, the story is told via IMs, text messages, blogs, and many other tools of electronic communication we use everyday. What impressed me most about this approach was how all of these elements simultaneously seemed real--like text, IMs, e-mails, etc.--that one might actually receive--and how they seamlessly told the story. As I would come to find out once I picked up the first novel, this was not the case in the original novel, where the e-mails were often excessively long and shared details that no one actually would share via e-mail. The original felt to me like it was written first as a novel and then broken into e-mails. E Squared does not feel as clunky. The gimmick contributes fully to the story being told. I am willing to admit that this criticism might have more to do with reader perception. It is highly likely that the way we communicate in e-mail has changed over the past 10 years. Each novel may accurately reflect how e-mail (etc.) was used at the time and the original just seems odd to me because I have forgotten how we communicated in e-mail when it was in its infancy.

The one difference that I really liked about this novel when comparing it to the original is that the story moved outside of the office and included family members and others. Many of these characters brought some of the most amusing storylines into the novel. Another real plus for this novel (which again may have been a plus for "e" that I miss reading it now) is its hilarious take on contemporary trends in advertising, the business world, popular media, and today's culture in general. It is definitely a novel that reflects our zeitgeist and hilariously comments on some of the more ridiculous aspects.

The book itself is extremely funny. I frequently found myself laughing out loud and sharing passages with my wife as I read it. I also frequently found myself sitting down to read for a few minutes and realizing that I had been reading for quite a while and had covered many pages, which is always the mark of an enjoyable book for me. The only criticism I have of this book (and it is very minor) is that I wish Beaumont had included something like tweets or status updates along with all the e-mails, IMs, text messages, etc. It seems that the character-limited updates are the method of communication that are most used in today's world. I would really like to have seen how these could have figured into the novel. Perhaps, these (or whatever is coming next) will be featured in a subsequent novel.

Ultimately, this novel succeeds quite well at what it aims to be: a thoroughly amusing comedy of contemporary office, family, and social life. I recommend it highly to anyone looking for something to make them laugh. Even if you have not read the first novel (or, you read it and were not particularly impressed), this is a novel that can be enjoyed thoroughly on its own merits.

TheWilyBadger: Just got done reading new book

Arthurthepanther: what is it?

TheWilyBadger: A rectangular object with pages in it but that's not important right now ^_^

Arthurthepanther: shutup

TheWilyBadger: It's called e2

TheWilyBadger: Well suppossd to be e-squared but I cant figure out how to do the 2 like a square root in text.

Arthurthepanther: whats it abt?

TheWilyBadger: It's a series of emails and texts and stuff between people in an office talk about their lives and stuff.

Arthurthepanther: Good?

TheWilyBadger: Good. Reminds me of "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society"

Arthurthepanther: What? How? Why?

TheWilyBadger: It's British-ish and written as communications between people rather than dialogue

TheWilyBadger: It has a little more swearing tho

Arthurthepanther: cute :P You liked it tho?

TheWilyBadger: Yeah. The characters are a little broad, but they have to be for the format. They're pretty fun though and HH is my hero (he's a "Doctor Who" fan).

Arthurthepanther: Oh they have those in England?

TheWilyBadger: Ha. Ha. Anyhow the plot is kind of all over the place and it's kind of disjointed but that's part of the charm. I really liked it! I'll probably be ordering the first book in the series, which I think is called (character limit exceeded, remainder in next message)

TheWilyBadger: e

Arthurthepanther: cool so you think i should read it/

TheWilyBadger: Since you like funny things and have a somewhat demented sense of humor, you'll enjoy it. People a bit more straight-laced or overly fond of narrative structure won't.

Arthurthepanther: cool now go away so I can go back to watching Caprica

TheWilyBadger: Frak off :P

In a collection of emails, the lives of a group of interesting characters unfold -- and unravel, for that matter. Horrible things happen, relationships crumble, people grow desperate, coincidences pile up ... and then the novel ends. It's an enjoyable read, and it's clever, but it's unsatisfying. No one grows, learns or develops. It's like random collisions among the characters. Or possibly like real life, if you have an unusually eventful life.

The details of the lives of these people are interesting, the voices are worth listening to, and the events are striking. I just wish they got somewhere.

As indicated by the "2" in the title, this is a sequel, so first and foremost, I reccomend you read "E" first. I got a little lost with the hints to the first novel and the large number of characters a few times, but still very much enjoyed the book.

Written in emails, text messages, blogs, news items and so on E2 is a unique read (Meg Cabot has done it a couple times, but this is definately a bit more adult). It's a bit risque- but in a very funny way- but great fun. I read this while travelling and it kept me hooked, while providing convenient break points due to the nature of how it was written. I often don't care for books when so many of the characters are unlikable and silly, but these were so cariacatured that I was just amused- and actually started to like some of them despite their selfishness and ignorance.

Pick up E, then definately continue on with this one!

I don't remember the first book so much besides the fact that I laughed hard throughout. Even as I read this book, I wasn't entirely certain who these people were beyond vague memories but that didn't detract from this book. This isn't a deep book that will stay with you throughout the years, but it is a funny book and it reads fast and that's sometimes what you need.

Beyond that, it also reminds me of my time as a Web designer. When I was a Web designer, I'd get sent to advertising firms and I always loved them. I never lasted very long because I wasn't a very good Web designer (this was in 2000 when everyone was a Web designer - good times.) But I always had a nose pressed to the glass feeling in these places - like if I were to settle down and get a real job, advertising is what I'd want to do. How many other jobs can you talk about a successful campaign using the term "we were so wasted"? And even though recreational drug use isn't automatically part of the advertising business, how else do you explain Charlie the Tuna with an overwhelming desire to be killed and eaten like a lonely German? The few episodes of Mad Men: Season 2 I saw really didn't bring that anarchic feeling (but then again that was 60s advertising firms and not the 70s advertising that gave us suicidal fish and store owners so anal retentive that they freaked out when people grabbed toilet paper the wrong way) that I come to expect from advertising.

This book - told through emails, blog posts and ebay sales - is not just a farce but also a celebration of the crazy world of advertising where jobs are insecure by design and any expense can be justified under the rubric of "creative inspiration" (ok, the clown is an exaggeration but I don't know any bank that insists upon putting fooseball tables in the break room). There are about three main interconnected stories and 3-4 subplots that weave between each other with aplomb. The main boss is angry and dealing with his pregnant wife and crazy kids. The account manager is stealing everything in the office to pay off gambling debts. The secretaries are beset with delusions of grandeur. Harvey Harvey believes every spam email hitting his mail box.

Hilarious book and a fast read. Buy it for yourself and your friends.