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E: A Novel
 
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E: A Novel (Paperback)

by Matt Beaumont (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (91 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.48 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd (4 Sep 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 000710068X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007100682
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (91 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 18,769 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #29 in  Books > Humour > Parodies

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

The idea of the first e-mail novel could have been a disaster but instead is a minor comic triumph thanks to Matt Beaumont's E. The novel of letters goes back to Richardson, of course, but things have moved on from Regency rape to the lethal office politics of an advertising agency. The beleaguered protagonists may appear to be concerned with pitching for the Coca-Cola account but their real problem is watching their backs: the knives are out and everyone from head honcho David Crutton downwards is well aware that their careers are on the line. Another part of Beaumont's lineage in this unputdownable novel is the This Life school of detailed interpersonal observation: no one character is allowed to assume centre stage; people screw, argue and discuss professional responsibility while the reader slowly makes his mind up about them from the information conveyed in the increasingly frantic e-mails.

Matt Beaumont, though, is primarily a sharp and witty observer of the social scene, with caustic humour that leaps out of his characters' electronic missives. And we're pitched headlong into the situation: it's impossible not to find ourselves riveted by Rachel, James, Harriet, Daniel and all the rest of Beaumont's at-the-edge characters as they strive to achieve a common goal and sink deeper and deeper in the waste matter. But did anybody ever send an e-mail like this one from Lorraine, a woman out to get her own way?:

Two days in London and I'm in advertising. I went to a temp agency last week and they got me into this place called Miller Shanks. They did those shite ads for Kimbelle--you know, the Artist Formerly Known as Ginger Spice bungee jumping, looking like someone shoved a high voltage cable up her arse. I'm working for the CEO (posh for managing director). One of the lads thinks he's on for a shag but he looks too much like Bart Simpson (overbite, spiky hair and slightly jaundiced). Mind you, after a few Stellas he starts looking like Brad Pitt, so who knows?
--Barry Forshaw


Review

Praise for e 'A brilliantly plotted comic novel about life in an advertising agency, narrated entirely through office emails. It gives me more sense that literature is alive and kicking than anything else I've read in these millennial 12 months.' Humphrey Carpenter, Sunday Times Review of the Year 'Lively, viciously funny and about as switched on as a novel can be' Mirror 'Hilarious' Cosmopolitan 'Depicts the Machiavellian scheming and summary sackings of the ad world in withering detail and with no shortage of dead-eye wit' The Times 'Groundbreaking!an internet-enabled Clarissa for the 21st century' Evening Standard 'Hysterical, sensationally funny' Arena 'Read it, wipe away your tears, then read it again' Company 'Fab debut!lock eyes with Matt Beaumont. Your career may depend on it' Kirkus 'A genuinely enjoyable page-turner' The Times 'e is the most enjoyable, addictive read I've had since Bridget Jones' Lisa Jewell 'Here's a book that recognises our true priorities: blame-shifting, arse-covering, personal enhancement, shagging -- and, oh yes, the odd advert. Matt compresses into a few weeks a dazzling cascade of events, most of which have either happened at one agency or another or are otherwise completely believable. A finer observer of agency politics you'll never meet.' Andrew Cracknell, Campaign

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

E: A Novel
79% buy the item featured on this page:
E: A Novel 4.7 out of 5 stars (91)
£5.48
E Squared
11% buy
E Squared 4.6 out of 5 stars (12)
£8.36
Small World
4% buy
Small World 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)
£5.47
Staying Alive
3% buy
Staying Alive 4.5 out of 5 stars (10)
£5.47

 

Customer Reviews

91 Reviews
5 star:
 (71)
4 star:
 (14)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (91 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This will make you laugh out loud, 9 Oct 2004
By A. S. Garton "age garton" (milton keynes, england) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This is by far the funniest book I have ever read. The basic premise is simple: an advertising company based in London are going all-out to win the Coke Cola contract..... only the novel is written entirely in the e-mails that fly around between staff and others.

The best bit? If you work in an office and use email reguarly, you'll recognise most of the characters. My office employs at least five of the main characters - the names are different, but style (or lack thereof!) remains. You know, the chap who just can't resist dropping in his title; the PA who 'only works for such-and-such' and couldn't possibly do anything for you; the geek who has anything for sale.

This is sharp stuff and a very cutting commentary of life in your average office, circa Y2K. I have never, ever laughed aloud when reading a book before - I did with this one. I can't recommend it highly enough.

And now there's a sequel.... buying it now!

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One for lovers of 'The Office', 29 May 2006
By Snapdragon (London) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
I couldn't put it down until I'd finished it, which means I've been really antisocial for the last 24 hours.
What a brilliant book!
The whole novel is written in the form of emails, which could have been a total disaster if the characters hadn't been so recognisable.
Don't we all know people who talk about 'putting our ducks in a row' or 'thinking outside the box.'
Perhaps my favourite though is Simon Horne and his terrible Franglais....'Up the creek called Merde. Sans paddle.'

Fantastic and highly recommended.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars electronic maelstrom, 19 Feb 2003
This is a story of a period of time in an advertising firm in London, through documenting the e-mails sent around the office during that time.

To start with this is a little difficult to get the hang of; as it isn't readily apparent until you get the swing of it who is saying what to whom. Then once you establish the hierarchy of the firm it settles into a nice rhythm and is pretty funny. I feel that you have to slightly suspend reality for some passages; as the viability of someone putting their most personal thoughts down on an e-mail when they actually only have to walk 20 feet to where they work to tell them, is slightly unusual. But then we would not be able to keep up with the plot if they were to do that, and also, I would probably believe anything of people who work in advertising.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a light read, or an insight into the latest method of time wasting in the workplace. My only criticism is that it gets a little repetitive by the end, and you find yourself longing for a "normal" passage of writing.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Very very funny emails
Read this several years ago (and still dip into it from time to time) and it is very funny. It tells the story of one month in a London Advertising Agency as they compete for a... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. S. Harrison

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely funny and an unusual approach
E. is an unusual and candid look at the world of advertising through the medium of personal and interdepartmental emails. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Philippa Leah

5.0 out of 5 stars I quit my advertising account manager job after this book.
It was the final straw, the thought of becoming any of those characters had me running for the hills to save my soul while there was any left to save. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Nick

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, the best e:mail mickey take I've read
This book is side splitting fantastic. Better than 'Who moved my Blackberry'. The characters are superb, exagerated I agree, but all of us who've worked in Sales and Marketing... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Mr. Robert A. Emms

5.0 out of 5 stars You had to be there- if you weren't you missed a decade
Brill. A must for any one who lived in the ad world. I did and survived. thanks for the memoriesxxxx
Published 20 months ago by Paula Sterling-stead

5.0 out of 5 stars E: A novel - why buy ripoffs like "who moved my BlackBerry?"
I first read E by Matt Beaumont back in 2000 - absolutely brilliant stuff - and I've just ordered another copy (I'm not parting with my own copy!!) for my fella. Read more
Published on 28 Aug 2007 by Ms. J. Dorey

5.0 out of 5 stars Feels like I know the cast.
Those who have participated in or witnessed the rat race of office politics will immediately empathise with the characters Matt Beaumont brings to life through his "E-Mail"... Read more
Published on 6 Aug 2007 by Kerrigan J. A. Bethel

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute joy
Fantastic. If you laugh and cringe in equal measure at "The Office", you'll adore this. Quite apart from the (hilarious) plotline, the concept of writing a novel based... Read more
Published on 1 May 2007 by Declan Furlong

3.0 out of 5 stars good fun read
A very quick, easy but nonetheless enjoyable read. Despite the book being an outrageous parody it is scary how much of the actions and behaviours you will recognise from the... Read more
Published on 3 April 2007 by G. Turner

4.0 out of 5 stars Does he know the same people I know?
I've just finished this book & enjoyed it enormously.

This book should be found true to life and amusing by almost anyone who works in a professional enviroment, maybe it... Read more

Published on 11 April 2006

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