Sean Adams (4)
Autore di The Heap: A Novel
Per altri autori con il nome Sean Adams, vedi la pagina di disambiguazione.
Opere di Sean Adams
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Etichette
Informazioni generali
- Sesso
- male
- Istruzione
- Bennington College
Utenti
Recensioni
Questa recensione è stata scritta per Recensori in anteprima di LibraryThing.So not my book, stopped reading. Could not get access to the story, or the writing.
The Thing in the Snow by Sean Adams is a highly recommended novel which is a satirical and psychological examination of the workplace.
The Northern Institute is a seven story research facility in an environment of permanent snow and ice. The researchers have all left the building and three caretakers, Hart, the supervisor, Gibbs, and Cline, and one mysterious researcher, Gilroy, are left in the building. Hart, Gibbs, and Cline do weekly tasks assigned by Kay to keep the building in working order. These are sent to them in a folder along with their weekly supplies which are dropped off via a weekly helicopter. Their weekly tasks are mundane, repetitious assignments, such as checking every door in the building for squeaks, etc, or sit on every chair to ensure its stability.
After opening their day with coffee and light conversation in Hart's office, the three begin their tasks. They usually start with the first floor, the first two floors are buried in the snow, and work their way upwards. Hart embraces his role as the leader, so when Gibbs and Cline bring up the thing in the snow, he isn't thriller about it and finds it an unnecessary distraction. Those two, however, are mesmerized by it. But then it seems that other things might be a bit off in the building. Are the lights really flickering oddly? Is the thing moving?
Hart is the narrator of the novel, so we experience and view everything through his perceptions and point of view. He is also the only developed character. The pace of the novel is slow and plodding throughout, but is surprisingly appealing and humorous, especially if you have ever experienced work place drama and distractions. There are many things that could be "the thing in the snow" at work places.
This novel is a pure satirical and psychological study of isolation, obsession, ineffective bureaucracy, distractions, and meaningless tasks in a work place. The narrative takes, examining isolation, obsession, and paranoia in a mundane, repetitious environment. It is not an action packed horror novel or even especially creepy. It does tackle the toll of monotony and isolation in one's life and can be surprisingly funny at times.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of William Morrow.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2022/12/the-thing-in-snow.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5171158032… (altro)
The Northern Institute is a seven story research facility in an environment of permanent snow and ice. The researchers have all left the building and three caretakers, Hart, the supervisor, Gibbs, and Cline, and one mysterious researcher, Gilroy, are left in the building. Hart, Gibbs, and Cline do weekly tasks assigned by Kay to keep the building in working order. These are sent to them in a folder along with their weekly supplies which are dropped off via a weekly helicopter. Their weekly tasks are mundane, repetitious assignments, such as checking every door in the building for squeaks, etc, or sit on every chair to ensure its stability.
After opening their day with coffee and light conversation in Hart's office, the three begin their tasks. They usually start with the first floor, the first two floors are buried in the snow, and work their way upwards. Hart embraces his role as the leader, so when Gibbs and Cline bring up the thing in the snow, he isn't thriller about it and finds it an unnecessary distraction. Those two, however, are mesmerized by it. But then it seems that other things might be a bit off in the building. Are the lights really flickering oddly? Is the thing moving?
Hart is the narrator of the novel, so we experience and view everything through his perceptions and point of view. He is also the only developed character. The pace of the novel is slow and plodding throughout, but is surprisingly appealing and humorous, especially if you have ever experienced work place drama and distractions. There are many things that could be "the thing in the snow" at work places.
This novel is a pure satirical and psychological study of isolation, obsession, ineffective bureaucracy, distractions, and meaningless tasks in a work place. The narrative takes, examining isolation, obsession, and paranoia in a mundane, repetitious environment. It is not an action packed horror novel or even especially creepy. It does tackle the toll of monotony and isolation in one's life and can be surprisingly funny at times.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of William Morrow.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2022/12/the-thing-in-snow.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5171158032… (altro)
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Statistiche
- Opere
- 2
- Opere correlate
- 1
- Utenti
- 237
- Popolarità
- #95,614
- Voto
- 3.5
- Recensioni
- 26
- ISBN
- 47
- Lingue
- 1
- Preferito da
- 1
A large research institute in a polar region has been abandoned and its scientists extricated - save for one mysterious presence. Sent in by the corporate board is a three person team of caretakers who are given weekly tasks, communicated by helicopter drop. These tasks include: opening all the doors to check for appropriate door opening volume. Sitting in all the chairs and making reasonable movements in them to check for stability. Placing golf balls on all tables to check for levelness. Etc.
Hart, the supervisor, treats these tasks with the utmost seriousness and conscientiousness. He is also quite keen to assert his small amount of authority over the other two. A source of humor, but: people generally want to find meaning in their work and avoid the feeling of alienation from their labor, as difficult as this may be in many categories of employment in modern society. It is hard not to feel empathy with him, with each of them, when his construction of meaning is punctured by seeing it through the eyes of an outsider (the remaining scientist):
The caretaking team has been warned to never leave the building, as strange effects have been discovered to happen to people who do. Outside is a flat landscape of pure white snow in all directions. But then something is seen from a window, that had not been there before. What is it? Where did it come from? Is it stationary or moving? Is it interfering with the building’s electricity? Is it affecting their minds and their sanity?
Well, the answer here is definitively not Lovecraftian. Alas! The book winds up its humorous satire of modern work through use of an extraordinary setting that, in the end, is just another example of corporate interest at work. No ancient horror, just a Board of Directors. Best treated by modern lampoon.… (altro)