This
is the first novel to be composed entirely of e mail. Does it live up to
the ideals of the novel of letters? Is it another Liaisons
Dangereuses? Well, yes and no. The whole point of the billet doux
in the Gothic novel of letters was that they were meant to be secret. E
features a CEO who manages to send all his e correspondence to his opposite
number in Finland, the ever chirpy Pertti van Helden. Passions do run
high however, especially since the CEO of Miller Shanks UK thinks he's Stalin and
the Creative Director of this Ad Agency thinks he's a rocket scientist.
Hurled into this frenzy is the competition to win the next contract from the
makers of the biggest soft drink in all the world. Add a pair of lost
knickers, and the nerd in the accounts department, and you have got E.
This novel has a great deal of authenticity about it. And so it should,
since the author's blurb claims that he's been fired by some of London's
leading Ad agencies. However, it's so authentic, that it's almost as if
you're reading your own e mails at work, with all the boring ones edited
out. There is a quite discernible narrative flow, as you
follow the lives of the various Miller Shanks e mail correspondents.
This sense of eavesdropping is quite addictive, almost as intrusive as the Big
Brother house, and you can be sure that it's the kind of place where there'll
always be a Sony minicam in the office to capture you at your most embarrassing
moments. In the end though, it seems as though Beaumont's following quite
a traditional narrative form in terms of the endless battle between good and
incompetence dressed up as evil. Although, there is a hint that the
pigs do start the resemble the farmers, as they did in
Orwell's 'Animal Farm'. The tone of this novel, however, is
mostly that of sardonic wit. Beaumont is an excellent comic writer, and
it's this, more than anything, which keeps you reading. I just loved how
all the characters unwittingly revealed their true nature in prose (I reckon
Liam could be Beaumont's alter ego). There are excellent characters,
like Pinki Fallon and the irrepressible Nigel Godley, but I think Simon Horne
just takes the biscuit. He's certainly taking something. All in
all, this is a very enjoyable and witty debut. Matt Beaumont has successfully
marketed himself. But what for the next campaign? E2?
AuthorTrek
Rating: 8/10
