“This book was compared to "Then We Came to the End" by Joshua Ferris. I think it does both books a disservice, since other than being first novels set in advertising agencies they are very different. Ferris book is second person, an ensemble peice, almost a series of circling vingettes. Kenney's book centers on a single central character. If I hadn't read the blurb I would have approached it differently and not spent half the book waiting for it to open up into the other characters voices. There is some really good thoughts here, about how advertising sells us back a version of ourselves, how technical and insidious it has become. To demonstrate this there is alot of scenes set in and around the advertising business. I really wish there had been more of the scenes with his family. I really believed in the main character's struggle with what his life had become and with him trying to emotionally connect with himself and his family. It had a nice tearjerker ending (okay I'm a sucker for that, but you have to really earn it) that left me drained but feeling that Finn had really evolved as a character. I'd definitely look for his next book. ”
Chicago Librarian wrote this review Tuesday, February 26, 2013.
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