e

I work for an interactive advertising agency and I swear I can equate each of these characters with someone at work. I wouldn't be surprised if they were up to the same no-good, backstabbing, shallow, oversexed, unscrupulous, political crap as Beaumont's characters. Okay, who am I kidding, I know we...er...they are.In short, it's advertising and it's funny. You don't have to be in the biz to appreciate it. Be prepared to laugh where ever you are when you read it, and you won't care who hears you cackle.Pony up the bucks, it's well worth it.

Wow! I haven't read such original and hilarious novel in quite a while. I couldn't stop laughing. I marvel at Beaumont's originality. Who would have thought that an author would pull off a novel written in e-mail format? E enters the information age with a brilliant satire of office politics. Through e-mail, the reader learns about the back-stabbing, bureaucratic bungling, and sexual escapades of a group of people working for an ad agency that would do anything to land the Coca-Cola account. I laughed so much when Carla and Zoe were fighting over the PA job that promises more money. And who could forget David Crutton's frustration with e-mail? His e-mails were inexplicably forwarded to a colleague in Finland -- one of the funniest scenes in the novel. Can you handle a novel written in e-mail format? Give this book a whirl. You'll laugh your socks off!

Hand on my heart, it's been a long time since I have read anything quite as amusing as this splendid début novel by Matt Beaumont. As a wannabe novelist myself, still awaiting my first break, and as a fan of the epistolary genre, I could kick myself that I did not think first of this splendid idea for a novel myself. Namely: a book written entirely in e-mails amongst the staff of an advertising agency in London, weaving a tale of intrigue, sexuality, back-stabbing, hypocrisy and office politics.Without giving too much away, "E" is about three weeks inside an advertising agency trying to land a lucrative deal with *Coca-Cola*. But there is much more to it than this. Beaumont gives each secretary, each copywriter, each creative and each manager a really lifelike personality, with their own ways of writing, making each character immediately recognisable both within the novel and in the real life that we live in. We've all met a Simon Horne or a Pinki Fallon in our lives. The medium in which Beaumont has chosen to write his novel admirably and successfully emphasises the constant back-stabbing and twofacedness that takes place on an hourly basis. The speed at which e-mail travels makes the whole experience seem more real and dynamic.Of course, we are not talking about brilliant writing here... in order to make the novel seem more lifelike, the e-mail writers are given their own idiosyncrasies, and occasionally there are intentional misspellings. It makes the novel seem more authentic. What is brilliant is the story itself as it unravels before us, the snowballing lies, the outrageous behaviour."E" has put the E back in e-pistolary. When we consider other novels of this ancient genre, we can appreciate that because of the speed of which e-mails and the gossip hidden within travels, Matt Beaumont's tale is more dynamic than those often sluggish letter-filled works of times past. Anyone who works in an online office environment, particularly if the office has a new-media slant, will love this book. But, to be honest, there is not a single person on this planet to whom I could not wholeheartedly recommend it. Bravo Matt Beaumont. You will go far! Roll on novel number two! TRISTÁN WHITE, London

I literally fell across 'e' while looking for 'Syrup' by Maxx Barry...Matt Beaumont's first novel stood next to it alphabetically. Just got off a Dulles-to-SFO flight and confirmed that these 346 pages can be devoured in one sitting. I must have looked like a complete whacko sitting in my seat with tears of laughter running down my cheeks. Folks, this may be the funniest book you ever read bar none. And amazingly, it is told completely in e-mail format. Takes you about 10 pages to get used to it, but after that it flows smooth and easy. Who would have thought that such complete character development was possible via e-mail dialogue? By the end of the book, you could show me 10 of these missives and I could identify the author of each one. Beaumont is just amazingly creative in this effort. The groundwork he lays for the intricate e-mail exchanges is breathtaking. Just one character to watch out for (among many): Simon Horne, head of Creative Services. A completely amazing creation...all the more because Beaumont has no doubt drawn him from his experiences in the advertising industry.I feel the need to spread the word about this great book.