B.S. Incorporated: Review and Reflection

Ok, so I don’t normally review novels.   In fact I rarely read fiction of any kind.  Of course, in this age of alternative facts, it might be that the line between fiction and reality is blurring.  All that aside, I couldn’t resist the title:  B.S. Incorporated.  Being somewhat of a potty mouth myself, I find something alluring about the product of a writer who’s willing to get a little down and dirty.

Was it worth my time to dig in to this 342 page tome?  I checked the comments of others who had reviewed B.S. Incorporated, and a lot of them said it was funny.  Great, I thought.  I could use a little humor.  I’m in.

I should disclose that at various times over the course of my life, I’ve been working with companies at times when  some pretty interesting things came down.

• Corporate downsizing in which I was (at first) the one delivering the pink slips.
• Corporate ethical lapses that resulted in federal investigations and settlements.
• Personal meltdowns of CEO’s that pitted “them” against “us.”  Vein-popping, red-faced meltdowns.

But my experience with corporate America wasn’t all a trip through hell.  On the positive side,  I’ll always remember the golden heart yet take-no-prisoners attitude of Darwin A., the president and majority owner of a industrial contracting firm.  He was all about making money.  But he embraced everyone on the team, at least those who came to play and win, as family.  He took care of us all in ways that still brings a tear to my eye.  But enough of that.

Funny?  Um, No.

About a third of the way through, I thought, “this isn’t funny.”  Maybe it was all hitting a little too close to home.  But I don’t recall breaking even a smile as I read through the first dozen or so chapters.  Entertaining? Yes.  Captivating?  I don’t normally finish any book in one sitting.  This one I did.  With just a tad of frustration about the lack of humor (IMHO), I read a couple more reviewers comments and found this one by Jilly Gagnon:

B.S. Incorporated was so laceratingly dead-on in its satire of corporate culture that it gave me nightmares.  Jargon-filled, soulless nightmares.  This book absolutely skewers its target.”

That was much more like my experience of my present reading.  And, spot-on, including the nightmares.  Yup, I had another meeting with the elements of B.S. Incorporated that very night as I slept.

My Take-Away

The fact that I couldn’t put the book down, despite the hour, until I finished it  says a lot.  It’s a good read.  Maybe you’ll find some humor there, or maybe you’ll be reminded of how things used to be or perhaps could be again.  Or maybe you’ll just get a little pissy about the whole of present-day corporate America and be grateful you’re no longer part of it, as I did.

I’m perfectly okay with the gratitude.  And knowing that there are still a few brave souls out there who are willing to make a difference for the team, and not just the stockholders and Wall Street.

 

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