e (originally subtitled The Novel of Liars, Lunch and Lost Knickers) is a comic novel by Matt Beaumont first published in 2000. Written in the epistolary tradition, it consists entirely of e-mails written between the employees of an advertising agency and some of their business partners. Thus, the novel is a multiple-perspective narrative where events are seen through the eyes of various people working for the agency, from temp to CEO. e centres on corporate business structures, leadership, creativity, headhunting for and firing people to keep up appearances, work efficiency, business ethics, and all kinds of human weaknesses which stall progress by having employees waste their time and energy on unimportant things and which eventually prevent success. Beaumont worked as a copywriter himself before embarking on a literary career, and e is his debut novel.
It was fine. Some aspects were a bit frustrating but, overall, it was fine. Nothing spectacular but not bad. I might pick up the sequel from the library.
Not only is this a highly unusual format for a book, it's also great fun to read... confirming all I always thought was true about advertising agencies. It'll change your e-mailing habits forever, too - for the better, hopefully.
Two highly techie points, mind - .port is not the TLD for Portugal (it's .pt) and the character "/" is illegal in an e-mail address... :)
Hilarious! Especially if you've ever worked in an ad agency. In which case it may seem all too real.
