My Work Is Not Yet Done by Thomas Ligotti

 


Corporate small-mindedness, corporate politics, corporate backstabbing - the chap above appears to have been on the receiving end of such swinish behavior.

What will he do now? Go postal, get himself a gun and return to his office on a murderous rampage? Or, much more likely, just think about extracting revenge but simply leave the building and move on to his next job.

In My Work Is Not Yet Done, master of horror fiction Thomas Ligotti has Frank Dominio deal with such corporate swinishness by taking matters to the extreme of extreme.

It all started when Frank presented a plan to Richard, his boss, and six other division supervisors under Richard at their weekly meeting. All can see Frank's plan contains innovation and creativity and could, if implemented, work to the great benefit of the corporation.

And the reaction of these corporate types, especially Richard, whose first and foremost priority is making sure he himself receives credit for any positive change in the company? Predictably, rebuttals abound, some subtle and others not subtle, and the meeting moves on to the next item on the agenda.

Equally predictable, after the meeting Richard stops by Frank's cubical and wants a copy of Frank's plan both in synopsis and in detail, to present to the higher-ups. Richard, swine that he is (keeping to Frank's language), gives Frank the usual blather about conditions and qualifications to make sure Frank knows his place as subordinate.

Over the next three days, Frank has the definite feeling he's been sabotaged by each of his six fellow supervisors in attendance at that meeting. At this point the plot both thickens and accelerates.

By my reckoning, My Work Is Not Yet Done counts as a minor masterpiece of corporate fiction. Thomas Ligotti structures his novella in three parts: Part 1 is entirely realistic, in many ways similar to the movie Office Space and the TV series The Office. The second and third parts are signature Thomas Ligotti, that is, horror. Even for seasoned fans of the author, what transpires will shock. It certainly shocked me!

I'll leave the shock (actually, vintage Ligotti, a series of shocks) to each reader and return to Part 1 to note a few highlights -

The Corporate Mindset - Although Frank acknowledges the corporation detests nonconformity and turns men and women into swinish conformists who try their best to equate personal values with corporate values, Frank himself scoffs at and mocks Perry, one of the six supervisors, who cultivates a cool 1950s jazz persona with his talk about the latest jazz CD, his 1950s thick-framed, hip, sporty glasses and his occasional playing jazz on the grand piano out in the company reception area.

Familiar Faces - Anybody who has ever worked in a corporation or large company will instantly recognize the types in Frank's rundown of his fellow department heads, including Mary, with "all the sartorial and cosmetic armor that was possible for one woman to bear," and Barry, a fast-talking, fast-walking blustering buffoon. Much of the novella's charm and appeal resides in the undeniable fact his corporation could be any corporation. And, of course, every corporation, every fucking one of them, makes claim to its own uniqueness and singularity. What a joke; what a pathetic irony.

Playing Games - Again, anybody with a company background will recall all the superficial, silly, manipulative gameplaying constantly afoot. Frank gives us two clear examples: Richard the boss refers to him as 'Domino' instead of his correct name, a common practice of manager-types: degrade people by debasing their names and cutting them off mid-sentence. Secondly, Frank catches Sherry watching him in a hand mirror as he stares at her close-fitting dress rising higher and higher toward her well-sculpted ass. In the land of corporations, sex will constantly be used as a weapon to gain power. Think of all the many employer-employee based cases of sexual harassment that have been filed.

I can't recommend this Thomas Ligotti novella highly enough. Added bonus: along with My Work Is Not Yet Done, there are two short-stories of corporate horror included in the Virgin Books publication. I plan to post a separate review on each.