Rating: 
Summary: Near-death of a salesman
Review: Ned Allen is a 30ish, very ambitious New Yorker who, after a series of dead-end jobs, has finally found his niche in advertising sales. He has a stylish wife, stylish apartment, and stylish lifestyle, all of which keeps him living above his means and robbing the proverbial Peter to pay Paul. With his year-end bonus, though, he can pay off this year's debt and start anew accruing next year's. Then, with no warning, his company is bought by foreign interests and, because of a humongous misunderstanding and Ned's precipitous assault on a superior, he is not only fired but rendered virtually unemployable. Eventually, he takes a $5.00 an hour telemarketing job out of sheer desperation. While his wife is away on business, Ned spends a drunken night with a former co-worker after the funeral of another former colleague. Ned's wife unexpectedly returns home at the same time he stumbles into their apartment the next morning, and unceremoniously throws him out.Now homeless, and penniless since he lost his job for taking time off for the funeral, Ned turns to Jerry, an old friend from his hometown who now works for multi-millionaire Jack Ballantine. Jerry not only allows Ned to move in with him, but offers him a job with Ballantine Industries overseeing a new subsidiary, the Excalibur private equity fund. The only catch is, Ned must never breathe a word of Ballantine's affiliation with the fund. And then comes a night when Ned is set up to not only witness a business enemy's murder, but to become the only logical suspect. Jerry provides Ned with a false alibi but, from then on, Ned must dance to Jerry's dark and dangerous tunes. When Ned's job devolves from fund executive to courier of cash deposits to a Bahamian bank, Ned must call up what few resources are available to him and enlist the aid of the pitifully few friends he has left to survive long enough to come up with a plan to expose the Excalibur fund and prove his innocence in the murder before the police close in on him. Douglas Kennedy imbues Ned with amazing resiliency and ingenuity and it waas a genuine pleasure to watch Ned extricate himself from one impossible situation after another and redeem himself at the same time. I'm just sorry it took me so long to get around to reading this!
Rating: 
Summary: This advertising sales rep enjoyed it!
Review: I'm in the advertising sales biz, so I completely related to this book. In fact, it has been passed around our entire office for every sales rep to enjoy. Very "The Firm"ish and this type of plot is always a joy to read. It's an easy read-- you don't have to think too much after a long day of ad sales!
Rating:
Summary: Nightmare of a salesman
Review: The book's pleasure is in that everything portrayed, good and bad,is depicted in such extremes. The authors depiction of the advertising sales world, and the job hunting world were very good. While I'm not trying to claim this book for great literature it is a fast, entertaining read, where the salesman gets to be a good guy (sort of). My only complaint is that the blurb on the back of the book I felt revealed too much story line.
Rating:
Summary: Very good, but why such a strange ending?
Review: I breezed through The Job,it was very hard to put down once you started reading it. You really had to feel for Ned Allen, every move he made turned out to be a bad one. I must ask, though, why it ended so blandly-meeting his wife in a coffee shop? I & others were hoping for more-either a very happy ending or not. It also made you wonder if Ned ever did find his dream job-oh well, yeah, it's just a book...
Rating:
Summary: Good story, typical Douglas Kennedy writing
Review: Enjoyed the deep detail of Kennedy's books. He offers a great exciting story. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: A fine thriller, by a fine story-teller
Review: I bought Douglas kennedys book in Galway, on my Yuletide holiday there. I like the storyline, because I used to deal with the Advertising and journalisic departments of UK computer magazines, so I had some empathy for the hero, Ned Allen. Kennedy writes with a very well-structured Hollywood-friendy style which is reminiscent of Grisham. There were aspects of the story-line that were just a little too fortuitous for our hero - Phil Sirios unquestioning cooperation, and that of D Suarez's - so that you just knew that everything was going to work out well for Ned. Alot of the characters were very sketchily drawn, and the only concession to contemplation and introspection is afforded to Ned, in the form of reference to his relationship with his father. Lizzie, his wife, has no such psychology bestowed upon her. However, Kennedy knows the kind of novel he wishes to write, and while it's not totally monomaniacally male, there is vastly more machismo suffused throughout the book, than any real thought for female characters: the Police officer at Dolinsky's funeral and the employment counsellor could have been endowed with more helpfulness and insight, in their comments, to help Ned, but Kennedy passed on the opportunity. I think it would have been better if Schubert and Lizzie had been allowed more space to reveal their life motivations, because this would have added greater credibility to their dynamic with Ned and Ballantine. Having said all that, it is a good page turner. I narrated a middle quarter of it for my brother, in the car, as we drove from Holyhead in Wales to London. He really loved it, so much so that he wants to know what the ending is now! Kennedy is obviously being positioned as a block-buster thriller writer by his publishers, and I think he'll make it. I picked up on him because I used to enjoy his pieces for the Irish Times. But if he can add a bit more of Hiaasen-esque humour, and can draw more fully-rounded characters a la Richard Price/Stephen King, then he has the ability to be a genuinely great novelist. Oh, and look to Julie Parsons ('Mary, Mary') for a bit more insight into the feminine mind.
Rating: 
Summary: THREW ON THE FIRE AFTER p. 325 !
Review: I read the Big Picture and actually enjoyed it, but this book annoyed me. I finally realized that Douglas Kennedy is a self-aggrandizing, illiterate fool that comes up with the most improbable plots I have ever come across. This book was thoroughly enjoyable until he invovled some spastic thugs to kill the protagonist's 'enemy' and tie him to the tracks. The hideous, childish Kennedy ending was so unrealistic, I threw the stupid book on the fire, where it burned away slowly, first blackening the silly red cover, then page by awful page, blackening it into a pitiful pile of grey ash. A most satisfyinig moment. I have read his other two books, but as a result of the Job, I will never even consider reading another one. I can't escape the feeling that Kennedy isn't much of a brain - and illiterate. Try Patrick Robinson (Kilo Class) instead. Now there's a writer. I also threw away John Grisham's book, "The Partner." Another simpleton who got lucky, thriving on an audience that like it "real simple." There is nothing enriching about these dreadful commercial writers - unless of course, we're discussing Sebastian Faulks, who is a master. Douglas Kennedy writes books that insult our intelligence. Gosh, he's annoyed me! Try Norman Mailer, Chandler, Douglas Adams, Donna Tartt, Fitzgerald, Hemmingway, anyone but Douglas Kennedy. These authors can actually write. Do something for your soul. This book is a waste of time! If zero stars were an option....
Rating:
Summary: Move over Grisham cause here comes Kennedy
Review: Emotionally shattering; a masterpiece. A warning of what can happen when we live life on the edge. Our character Ned Allen (who also narrates) has the dream. A great job, a wonderful wife and the confidence to succeed. When he is brutally fired after the company is sold he takes a job from Jack Ballanstine who has other ideas for Ned. And none of them are good. WOW!
Rating:
Summary: Move over King, here comes Douglas Kennedy
Review: Emotionally shattering; a masterpiece. Author Kennedy gives us the most chilling account of what can happen when you live life to the edge. Imagine having everything you need in life and then losing it. Our character Ned Allen (who also narrates) has a great job until he is fired after the company is sold. Desperate to make a comeback, he takes a job for Jack Ballantine, a man with a lurid background who has other ideas for Ned. WOW, what a book.
Rating: 
Summary: Disjointed
Review: The ending was a downer - let's start with that. And rule #1 of your basic good vs. evil morality play was violated: good villains. The antagonists telegraphed every move, so it diminished Ned's counters moves. With the elaborate setup, I was hoping for something a lot more clever. Enjoyable reading, however. Here's hoping the next one is better.
|
