Official Review: Please Hug Me--I'm an Office Monkey: The...
Posted: 30 Nov 2014, 14:46
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Please Hug Me--I'm an Office Monkey: The Only Guide You'll Ever Need to Survive Life in a Cubicle" by Jeff Michaels.]
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The Please Hug Me Series is a collection of faux self-help books that take a humorous approach to the soul-sucking aspects of modern living. In this latest installment, author Jeff Michaels endeavors to help the humble "office monkey"--that everyday worker toiling away in the dreary maze of corporate "Cubicleland" for a paycheck. Having spent quite some time as an office monkey, Michaels draws heavily upon his own personal experience to dispense tongue-in-cheek advice to monkeys everywhere who wish to survive the office jungle.
Being a former office monkey myself, I was intrigued by the title of this book. The office environment, with its inept bosses, annoying coworkers, and logic-defying constraints on the purchase of pens, is a goldmine of comedic material. I eagerly downloaded this book with the anticipation of enjoying a fun read, and while I did laugh at times, there were some aspects of the book that I found off-putting. I liken reading this book to watching an episode of Beavis and Butthead: I might laugh at some parts of the show, but at others I'm shaking my head and muttering "That's just wrong!" I'll explain below.
As I already stated, I did enjoy some of the humor within this book. I especially liked the title of "office monkey," as I distinctly recall feeling like a monkey in a drawn-out laboratory experiment in my former office job. I used to think that it was just me, but I now realize that I am in good company. I also laughed at the author's "advice" on how to earn free muffins, insert a veiled death threat in an e-mail to a superior, and turn the handicapped stall of the restroom into a private mid-afternoon getaway. These are scenarios that office monkeys everywhere wish they could get away with while still maintaining employment, and anyone who has ever worked in an office can appreciate the humor of these examples.
However, there was a lot of humor that targeted specific racial and ethnic groups, which I found offensive. Throughout the book, the author makes derogatory statements about Catholics, pokes fun at Jewish holidays, and makes three racial jokes involving Native Americans (I shared one of these with my husband, who is Native American, and he was not amused). There was also a chapter in which specific office workers were compared to types of donuts, which at first wasn't a problem, until the author made a statement about using chocolate donuts to represent the "minorities" in the company. Lastly, there's also quite a bit of sexist humor throughout the book. As a woman, I didn't find this humor to be over the top, but that doesn't mean that others won't.
Now, I don't believe that the author is a racist or meant to offend anyone, but he needs to realize that singling out certain groups can be hurtful. The office environment offers so much comedic material, and I don't understand why Jeff Michaels thought that it was necessary to include this type of humor.
I had high hopes when I downloaded this book, and I will not deny that the author is a talented writer. However, due to the offensive material, I cannot in good conscience give this book a higher rating that 2 out of 4 stars. If the questionable humor had not been present, I would have given this book a higher rating.
***
Buy "Please Hug Me--I'm an Office Monkey: The Only Guide You'll Ever Need to Survive Life in a Cubicle" on Amazon
Share This Review
Being a former office monkey myself, I was intrigued by the title of this book. The office environment, with its inept bosses, annoying coworkers, and logic-defying constraints on the purchase of pens, is a goldmine of comedic material. I eagerly downloaded this book with the anticipation of enjoying a fun read, and while I did laugh at times, there were some aspects of the book that I found off-putting. I liken reading this book to watching an episode of Beavis and Butthead: I might laugh at some parts of the show, but at others I'm shaking my head and muttering "That's just wrong!" I'll explain below.
As I already stated, I did enjoy some of the humor within this book. I especially liked the title of "office monkey," as I distinctly recall feeling like a monkey in a drawn-out laboratory experiment in my former office job. I used to think that it was just me, but I now realize that I am in good company. I also laughed at the author's "advice" on how to earn free muffins, insert a veiled death threat in an e-mail to a superior, and turn the handicapped stall of the restroom into a private mid-afternoon getaway. These are scenarios that office monkeys everywhere wish they could get away with while still maintaining employment, and anyone who has ever worked in an office can appreciate the humor of these examples.
However, there was a lot of humor that targeted specific racial and ethnic groups, which I found offensive. Throughout the book, the author makes derogatory statements about Catholics, pokes fun at Jewish holidays, and makes three racial jokes involving Native Americans (I shared one of these with my husband, who is Native American, and he was not amused). There was also a chapter in which specific office workers were compared to types of donuts, which at first wasn't a problem, until the author made a statement about using chocolate donuts to represent the "minorities" in the company. Lastly, there's also quite a bit of sexist humor throughout the book. As a woman, I didn't find this humor to be over the top, but that doesn't mean that others won't.
Now, I don't believe that the author is a racist or meant to offend anyone, but he needs to realize that singling out certain groups can be hurtful. The office environment offers so much comedic material, and I don't understand why Jeff Michaels thought that it was necessary to include this type of humor.
I had high hopes when I downloaded this book, and I will not deny that the author is a talented writer. However, due to the offensive material, I cannot in good conscience give this book a higher rating that 2 out of 4 stars. If the questionable humor had not been present, I would have given this book a higher rating.
***
Buy "Please Hug Me--I'm an Office Monkey: The Only Guide You'll Ever Need to Survive Life in a Cubicle" on Amazon