Now, it seems men are getting in on the act and in some cases, doing it better. Nick Hornby has had three of his novels (High Fidelity, About a Boy and Fever Pitch) made into successful movies, and writers like Hornby and Tony Parsons have become household names.
| Matt Beaumont |
 E. (A Novel)The book consists entirely of e mails circulated around the advertising agency Miller Shanks as they prepare to pitch the Coke account. As you might expect the agency is staffed by an autocratic CEO, self important account directors, degenerate creatives and back stabbing secretaries. As the pitch looms there are punch ups, plagiarism, drugs, bizarre couplings and enough power struggles to make Machiavelli look like a choir boy.  Simon's opinion: This is a book that I nearly did not finish. During the first half of the book, I found trying to keep track of the different characters tiresome, and found it all too easy to put the book down. However I persevered and as I remembered the identities of main players I began to enjoy it more. The deliciously duplicitous emails, and cunning use of blind copying would be recognisable to anybody who has worked in an office. I thoroughly enjoyed the sub plot surrounding the organisation of the Christmas Party, in the way that you can't help looking at a car crash. This is not a book to expand your consciousness or gain insight into the human condition, but as a pure candyfloss read it does a good job. click here to buy E. (A Novel) The E Before Christmas by Matt Beaumont  A mini-sequel to "E. (A Novel)", following the exact format of e-mails only, basically picking up the story nearly a year on at the advertising Juggernaut which is Miller Shanks. This describes the Miller Shanks attempts to organise a company Christmas party, with very similar results to the company's previous attempts (as detailed in "E.") to organise a Coke campaign. Just as funny as "E.", with all the characters just as bitingly vicious, sarcastic, cynical and perverse as before, this is just as much a pageturner as the original. A shame this is only a bite-sized morsel, it was probably rushed out to cash in on the seasonal attitude. Still, if you loved "E."... David Bailey click here to buy the E-Before Christmas click here to buy The Book, The Film, The T-shirt |
| Posted: 01/04/2005 18:01:43 Last Updated: 15/06/2005 17:07:19 |
Chick Lit > Lad Lit Authors :: Matt Beaumont