Calvin Kasulke
Several People are Typing
ISBN: 978-0-385-54722-2
This book review is an interesting one, because I usually don’t review fictional works (unless you count some of the material in the autobiographies of famous entrepreneurs, which I review from time to time.) Most of the fiction I read has nothing to do with business or self-improvement – I’m a big fan of mystery novels, science fiction, and fantasy works. However, Several People are Typing by Calvin Kasulke is like nothing I’ve ever read.
The novel is written in the form of Slack chats, both public and private. We never get a description of the physical offices in which the characters work or of the characters themselves. In a way, this was pretty interesting – I was able to decide what the characters looked like, as can anyone reading this book. The only clue about the physical location of the office was that it was in New York City. Was it in a large office tower or a smaller, more “startup-like” space? That’s up to the reader to decide.
Because the format was so unique, it took a few pages to really get into the book. Some novels draw you into the story in the first or second paragraph – this novel took a few pages to figure out what was going on with the main character. Also, the entire story arc was present, but it felt like the ending was rushed. The author spent so much time on the secondary story lines that it felt like the resolution for the main character was a bit of a throwaway. Granted, the entire predicament of the main character was a bit fanciful.
This was probably one of the quickest reads I’ve had in the last few years – I knocked this novel out in about 2 hours one evening before I settled in for the night. Because of the Slack chat format, there aren’t really any paragraphs besides a monologue from one of the characters halfway through the book. This makes for an exceptionally quick read – fun, but quick.
Beyond the fun of the story, it almost seemed like there was a deeper meeting in the story regarding our society’s attachment to technology. Are we too connected to our devices? Many of the characters needed to work for home but were constantly “available” through Slack. Personally, I only open Slack a couple of times a week because I don’t want to be connected constantly. Unlike these people, I don’t work on a team where I’m needed constantly – email and phone are my tools, and I really like it that way. However, many white-collar employees don’t have this luxury, and have to be available all the time.
Overall, 9/10, would highly recommend to those who want a lightning-fast read in a very uncommon format. This was a nice break from all of the heavy non-fiction, business-related material I’ve been reading over the past few months. As the weather continues to get colder and we move into the holiday season, I love curling up with good books to relax. The heavier stuff that I tend to read and review in this series sometimes fits the bill, but books like Several People are Typing are great for a quick evening read. Definitely consider checking out this book if you have a free evening!