Please Be Advised

August 22, 2022
Sneed’s perplexing satire in memos (after the collection The Virginity of Famous Men) runs on workplace drama at an office supplies manufacturer. Each memo convincingly apes the corporate voice of interoffice emails, with the added touch of highly personal details such as accounts of employees’ sex lives. Dr. Ken Crickshaw, the new office manager (formerly a county coroner), slowly becomes the designated rival of Bryan Stokerly, Esq., the company president. Meanwhile, an IRS audit is afoot, and Ken has designated himself the company matchmaker. For whatever reason, the first lucky couple is expected to send periodic dispatches regarding their relationship to the entire staff. In addition, employees are encouraged to take frequent wellness surveys. As each share their “Story of Personal Triumph,” the reader senses the author padding the manuscript with manufactured character development. When a recall of the company’s “collapsible paper cutter” causes financial trouble, everyone’s secrets begin to come out. Sneed nails the relentless falsity of corporate jargon and company creeds, but not for any clear purpose. Readers may very well put in their notice before this is over.

September 1, 2022
Sneed follows a story collection, The Virginity of Famous Men (2016), with a riotously funny novel that consists entirely of memos exchanged among the unusual and often hilarious workforce of Quest Industries, which specialize in collapsible office machines. After an awkward start, this unusual form becomes a wonderful way to learn about a huge cast of characters, including the incompetent but confident president, the disgraced coroner turned office manager, and the affronted HR department annoyed that no one filled out the wellness survey. Employees serve on committees pushing utterly pointless initiatives, while the candy-shaming list is a particularly amusing recurring missive. As well as capturing the dreary pointlessness, passive aggression, and pettiness of office life, Sneed also parodies how corporations try to involve themselves in all aspects of their workers' lives, from their health to their romances. Like Calvin Kasulke's Several People Are Typing (2021), this is a timely, witty, and thoughtful satire of the absurdities of corporate existence, one with numerous memorable characters and absurd set pieces reminiscent of David Foster Wallace's corporate lampoons.

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