Rating: 
Summary: A black comedy, NOT a Hollywood film
Review: A black comedy, where the reader is drawn into a world of hand-to-mouth labourers whose end is justified by their previous actions. The ending is a touch predictable, but then it isn't a Hollywood movie. These people arn't heroes, they don't blow up the factory at the end, and unlike the Hall Bros, they don't get the girl.
Rating: 
Summary: If you like dark humor . . .
Review: A funny, funny book. Dark, but hilarious. Other reviewers are right that if you've ever had a hopelessly crappy job, you'll laugh with recognition at many of the brilliant details. Personally, I laughed out loud at the narrator's description of his two co-workers' insistence on endlessly playing their old, and therefore stretched and uneven, heavy metal tapes. It reminded me of a surreal summer I spent working in a warehouse with a couple of death rockers. But there's more than that. Without meaning to over-intellecutalize a straightforward comic novel, it mines the same comic vein as Kafka -- or, if you prefer, the movie "After Hours". The book captures perfectly the sensation of finding yourself in an increasingly hellish scenario without quite understanding how you got there or how you get yourself out. I can understand how a few readers were put off by the book. If your sense of humor doesn't have a morbid streak -- e.g., if you're put off by Martin Amis or by the amputation scene in Monty Python's "The Holy Grail" -- give this a pass. Otherwise, it's a lot of fun to read.
Rating:
Summary: Funny & Sinister
Review: A group of three low-class fence layers get themselves into a dark situation. Things go from bad to worse, and keep going that way.I was by turns amused, shocked, and frightened by this story. Not frightened in a 'boo! Aagh!' kind of way. More like a Twilight Zone. There is contrast in this story that I sincerely loved. On one hand, Mills gives us low-wage workers of the basest sort. Their lives are endless repetition of the mundane. But then Mills begins to dish out some truly bizarre circumstances, things that can't ever happen ... can they? Surely they shouldn't. Beneath the mundane was a core of something sinister. I can't say I understand what the morale is, or if there was one. But the book was entertaing, and certainly thought provoking.
Rating:
Summary: Funny & Sinister
Review: A group of three low-class fence layers get themselves into a dark situation. Things go from bad to worse, and keep going that way. I was by turns amused, shocked, and frightened by this story. Not frightened in a 'boo! Aagh!' kind of way. More like a Twilight Zone. There is contrast in this story that I sincerely loved. On one hand, Mills gives us low-wage workers of the basest sort. Their lives are endless repetition of the mundane. But then Mills begins to dish out some truly bizarre circumstances, things that can't ever happen ... can they? Surely they shouldn't. Beneath the mundane was a core of something sinister. I can't say I understand what the morale is, or if there was one. But the book was entertaing, and certainly thought provoking.
Rating: 
Summary: A breathtaking treat.
Review: An amazing flight of fancy. On one hand, it's a meeting ground for Beckett's minimalism and Orwell's eye for working details. On the other hand, it's a droll and deadpan bit of eccentricity, like an Ealing comedy gone Kafkaesque. And Thomas Pynchon likes it!
Rating:
Summary: Wished it wouldn't have ended!
Review: Anyone that has worked in manual labor, or who has managed manual labor will love this book. I swear I have met Tam and Ritchie before, as well as Mr. Finlayson. I was laughing out loud on several occasions, and am buying copies of this book as Christmas presents. I felt the book was seriously funny. But like several of the other reviews, I didn't like the ending. Other than that, I really liked the characters, and thoroughly enjoyed the book.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and odd.
Review: At its heart, this is simple study of a working relationship between a foreman and his two very likeable, if shambolic subordinates. Carried by a simple, linear plot line with no twists and turns, the atmosphere builds up quickly and returns like a familiar smell each time you pick up the book and start to read agin. Do not buy this if you want a beginning, a middle, and an end. There is no ending. At all. I like this technique as it leaves the reader to consider the likely outcome. But then, many people seem to prefer closure of the plot themes, and if you are among that number, this final chapter will drive you crazy. Like many novels of this type the accolades on the cover claim great comedy and laughs within. I can't say I laughed out loud, but there are several examples of amusing dialogue between the main protagonists and the more peripheral characters. This is the first of Mills' books I have read, and will be interested to read more. However, I don't think I want to read two of his in close succession.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and odd.
Review: At its heart, this is simple study of a working relationship between a foreman and his two very likeable, if shambolic subordinates. Carried by a simple, linear plot line with no twists and turns, the atmosphere builds up quickly and returns like a familiar smell each time you pick up the book and start to read agin. Do not buy this if you want a beginning, a middle, and an end. There is no ending. At all. I like this technique as it leaves the reader to consider the likely outcome. But then, many people seem to prefer closure of the plot themes, and if you are among that number, this final chapter will drive you crazy. Like many novels of this type the accolades on the cover claim great comedy and laughs within. I can't say I laughed out loud, but there are several examples of amusing dialogue between the main protagonists and the more peripheral characters. This is the first of Mills' books I have read, and will be interested to read more. However, I don't think I want to read two of his in close succession.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly warped!
Review: Don't miss this wild, dark, twisted, hilarious yarn. Don't ask what the plot is, there is no way to do it justice... just read it.
Rating:
Summary: A droll, black humored masterpiece
Review: Ever find yourself trapped in a job that, for whatever reasons, you can't leave? Eventually you find a way to rationalize and deal with things that would normally repulse you or anger you or even frighten you. You become so bogged down in a routine with characters you wouldn't normally associate with and slowly this becomes your life. This book captures the frustration and hopelessness; the coping method of turning the blind eye that anyone that has ever been in a similar situation can know doubt relate with and it is laugh out loud funny to boot! I also highly recommend Mills other book "All Quiet on the Orient Express"
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