The Life and Opinions of David Weichert

Incompetent executives, scheming secretaries, anal accountants and creative teams consisting entirely of people who never grew up — all part of one mad advertising agency trying to win Coca-Cola whilst blundering from one fiasco into the next. Spiced with sex and condensed into two weeks of company email. That is “e” by Matt Beaumont. And is it any good?

Well, it isn’t entirely bad. In much the same way that a boring car isn’t bad if you just want to get from A to B. The book is quick and entertaining to read, likely to apeal to a wide yet undemanding audience, and inoffensive even where its creator sauced things up. So the whole thing is an epistulary novel in email, but it wasn’t avantgarde — even when it was new.

Still like to grab the book? Do so by all means, I’m sure it’ll entertain, but I also think it’s likely to be forgotten in much the same way as a ride to the supermarket.

Matt Beaumont: e. Plume Books. October 2000. ISBN 0452281881.