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glockers's review against another edition
2.0
Couldn't get in to it and gave up. Surprising as I have enjoyed his earlier books.
domino911's review against another edition
4.0
Pierre Lemaitre’s Inhuman Resources was originally published in France in 2010 just two years after the financial crash but its story, of a man driven to extreme measures by lack of work opportunity, resonates just as well today. Alain Delambre, a fifty-seven year old former Human Resources Manager, was made redundant four years previously and works in menial, part-time jobs to survive. When an altercation with his superior in a packing depot leads to his dismissal, Alain becomes increasingly desperate. So, when a potential opportunity with a huge company presents itself, Alain jumps at the chance to take part in the recruitment exercise, and looks for any advantage, fair or otherwise, which might bring the role his way.
The story is told in three sections, before, during, and after the recruitment exercise, a high pressure ‘role-playing’ hostage situation in which Alain and another HR professional will help choose from the candidates, none of whom know that they are role-playing, while simultaneously competing for the permanent HR role. The novel is satirical and full of implicit criticisms of Big Business, where people are ‘resources’ and senior management earn huge salaries and bonuses while low-paid workers are reduced to living in cars on Paris streets.
To be honest, while I initially sympathised with Alain, who narrates the first section, I became increasingly frustrated with him as a character. He constantly makes ‘wrong’ decisions, driven no doubt by his frantic search for work, but, despite his situation, he seems to believe still in the capitalism which has put him where he now is, constantly quoting management theories. His aim appears to be to get back his position in the system rather than to change it. His self-pity means that the latter chapters of this section start to drag. But then the book jumps into life.
The second and third sections of the novel are excellent. The book transforms into a high paced thriller, the narrative increasingly breathless and difficult to predict. I enjoyed it a lot - there are enough twists to keep the reader guessing, many echoes of the current unbalanced system and uncertain future especially in post-Brexit Europe. A worthwhile read.
The story is told in three sections, before, during, and after the recruitment exercise, a high pressure ‘role-playing’ hostage situation in which Alain and another HR professional will help choose from the candidates, none of whom know that they are role-playing, while simultaneously competing for the permanent HR role. The novel is satirical and full of implicit criticisms of Big Business, where people are ‘resources’ and senior management earn huge salaries and bonuses while low-paid workers are reduced to living in cars on Paris streets.
To be honest, while I initially sympathised with Alain, who narrates the first section, I became increasingly frustrated with him as a character. He constantly makes ‘wrong’ decisions, driven no doubt by his frantic search for work, but, despite his situation, he seems to believe still in the capitalism which has put him where he now is, constantly quoting management theories. His aim appears to be to get back his position in the system rather than to change it. His self-pity means that the latter chapters of this section start to drag. But then the book jumps into life.
The second and third sections of the novel are excellent. The book transforms into a high paced thriller, the narrative increasingly breathless and difficult to predict. I enjoyed it a lot - there are enough twists to keep the reader guessing, many echoes of the current unbalanced system and uncertain future especially in post-Brexit Europe. A worthwhile read.
jborst's review against another edition
4.0
Wow...kind of a crazy book about what happens when you lose your job, self-esteem, identify and grip. Great twists (at least for me...I didn't see them coming), that come along just when you're about to not give a rip anymore.
thoughtmantique's review against another edition
3.0
Me ha encantado como el libro ha tratado la temática del peso del trabajo en la sociedad, en como afecta al estado de ánimo, a las exigencias personales, a la vida personal y la salud mental. Ver el paulatino derrumbe de la vida de un hombre mientras intenta salir a flote de un pozo que está a punto de devorarlo me ha calado hondo, por la cercanía y la veracidad de una experiencia tan relevante, tan a roce de piel.
Es una lectura rápida, sencilla, con reflexiones interesantes y de peso que cualquiera que haya tenido que echar currículos y luchar por llegar a final de mes puede sentir cercanas. Sin embargo, creo que el desarrollo en si resulta algo a lo que cuesta llegar, para que en un par de capítulos desaparezca ese nudo que tanta expectativa generaron las páginas anteriores. No té el libro como una carrera en la que iba cogiendo velocidad, para al final acabar perdiendo fuelle y tener que acabar a pie.
Es una lectura rápida, sencilla, con reflexiones interesantes y de peso que cualquiera que haya tenido que echar currículos y luchar por llegar a final de mes puede sentir cercanas. Sin embargo, creo que el desarrollo en si resulta algo a lo que cuesta llegar, para que en un par de capítulos desaparezca ese nudo que tanta expectativa generaron las páginas anteriores. No té el libro como una carrera en la que iba cogiendo velocidad, para al final acabar perdiendo fuelle y tener que acabar a pie.
mgespi's review against another edition
3.0
Aunque tiene un giro muy chulo a mitad del libro, me he quedado con la sensación de historia floja. Es estretenido pero me parece que tiene demasiadas páginas para poca chicha.
A ratos parece escrito con desgana. Suelo ser muy fan del señor Lemaitre, pero en este caso no me ha fascinado como lo hace con otras novelas.
Merged review:
Aunque tiene un giro muy chulo a mitad del libro, me he quedado con la sensación de historia floja. Es estretenido pero me parece que tiene demasiadas páginas para poca chicha.
A ratos parece escrito con desgana. Suelo ser muy fan del señor Lemaitre, pero en este caso no me ha fascinado como lo hace con otras novelas.
A ratos parece escrito con desgana. Suelo ser muy fan del señor Lemaitre, pero en este caso no me ha fascinado como lo hace con otras novelas.
Merged review:
Aunque tiene un giro muy chulo a mitad del libro, me he quedado con la sensación de historia floja. Es estretenido pero me parece que tiene demasiadas páginas para poca chicha.
A ratos parece escrito con desgana. Suelo ser muy fan del señor Lemaitre, pero en este caso no me ha fascinado como lo hace con otras novelas.
mika_huo's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
4.0
chillandreadblog's review against another edition
3.0
More on Chill and read
The past few years, unemployment has become a huge issue in every country in this world, not only the poor ones. It is more so, that people of age are the ones to be fired first, because of all those years they have been working and the relatively large paycheck they may have. Younger employees tend to be cheaper for the companies.
One of those laid off people of age is Alain Delambre, a 57 year old man, former HR executive in a big company. It has been now four years in the unemployment state and it is geting worse by the minute. He is trying to find something, anything to occupy himself, but who would possibly hire someone of his age? He does find some low-level part time positions, but they are not enough to keep him going. He still needs to pay for the mortgage of his house. Thankfully his wife Nicole, still has a job, but it is not enough.
When a recruitment company finally invites him for a test and then an interview, Alain is determined to make this work. To use his experience in the Human Resources field and get this job. He will do whatever it take to be the first in the finish line of this somewhat peculiar interview. Because, the whole interview thing is going to be a role play game of a hostage taking situation and Alain and the other candidates are going to make the interrogations. Alain is determined to go beyond himself to get this job. He won’t deviate from his course. He will deceive his own family, only to take what he needs, what will help him reach his target. He will become estrange to his own wife and daughters, but he is only trying to make things better for all of them. How can they not see it?
The author creates true, authentic and relatable characters. People that could be your next door neighbors, people that suffered and then it all get’s so much different and so much crazy. From some point on, I could not understand why Alain was behaving in that specific way. What did he have to gain by hurting his own family. How could a job like that make everything be normal again. I understand that he felt humiliated from an incident in his part time job and he was so desperate to get a real job again, one that would make him once more the person he used to be. But he just crossed a line, I would not see possible for a normal person to cross. But then again he was so desperate, he was not thinking clearly.
That being said, the pacing of the story was fairly good for me. It would give both the psychological aspect the main character was on, as well as how his actions would affect his environment and first and foremost his relationship with his wife and daughters. Ever since he lost his job he is a different man and this is very clear from the narration. This is what he tries to recover. His own self.
I received a complimentary ecopy from the publisher via NetGalley. The views expressed are my personal and honest opinion.
The past few years, unemployment has become a huge issue in every country in this world, not only the poor ones. It is more so, that people of age are the ones to be fired first, because of all those years they have been working and the relatively large paycheck they may have. Younger employees tend to be cheaper for the companies.
One of those laid off people of age is Alain Delambre, a 57 year old man, former HR executive in a big company. It has been now four years in the unemployment state and it is geting worse by the minute. He is trying to find something, anything to occupy himself, but who would possibly hire someone of his age? He does find some low-level part time positions, but they are not enough to keep him going. He still needs to pay for the mortgage of his house. Thankfully his wife Nicole, still has a job, but it is not enough.
When a recruitment company finally invites him for a test and then an interview, Alain is determined to make this work. To use his experience in the Human Resources field and get this job. He will do whatever it take to be the first in the finish line of this somewhat peculiar interview. Because, the whole interview thing is going to be a role play game of a hostage taking situation and Alain and the other candidates are going to make the interrogations. Alain is determined to go beyond himself to get this job. He won’t deviate from his course. He will deceive his own family, only to take what he needs, what will help him reach his target. He will become estrange to his own wife and daughters, but he is only trying to make things better for all of them. How can they not see it?
The author creates true, authentic and relatable characters. People that could be your next door neighbors, people that suffered and then it all get’s so much different and so much crazy. From some point on, I could not understand why Alain was behaving in that specific way. What did he have to gain by hurting his own family. How could a job like that make everything be normal again. I understand that he felt humiliated from an incident in his part time job and he was so desperate to get a real job again, one that would make him once more the person he used to be. But he just crossed a line, I would not see possible for a normal person to cross. But then again he was so desperate, he was not thinking clearly.
That being said, the pacing of the story was fairly good for me. It would give both the psychological aspect the main character was on, as well as how his actions would affect his environment and first and foremost his relationship with his wife and daughters. Ever since he lost his job he is a different man and this is very clear from the narration. This is what he tries to recover. His own self.
I received a complimentary ecopy from the publisher via NetGalley. The views expressed are my personal and honest opinion.
librosprestados's review against another edition
4.0
Cuánto te odio y te quiero, Pierre Lemaitre. No puedes hacer que pase tan buen rato pasándolo mal.
Es extraño, porque esta historia es, al final, un relato moral. Incluso puede que tenga algo de moralina. No es que a mí me haya importado lo más mínimo, pero si me ha sorprendido porque normalmente Lemaitre es más gris.
A ver, sigue siendo moviéndose en tonos de gris (el protagonista es alguien a quien llegas a despreciar un poco aunque al mismo tiempo quieres que gane), pero hay moraleja final. De hecho, es muy posible que como es tan obvia desde el principio, sea un giro narrativo más, porque esperas que el protagonista se dé cuenta.
Y hablando de giros, ¿hay uno en "Recursos inhumanos"? Por supuesto que lo hay, es una novela de Pierre Lemaitre. Aunque dudo en si llamarlo realmente giro, porque funciona más bien como un desarrollo de la historia (y en cierto punto del relato te lo esperas). "Recursos inhumanos" no se basa en el recurso del giro sorprendente. Gira en torno a algo tan sencillo como si el protagonista conseguirá lo que quiere. ¿Pero qué es lo que realmente quiere? Y es más, ¿lo que quiere es lo que necesita? Es esta pregunta la que principalmente se encarga de responder la novela.
Como otros libros del autor me ha parecido un buen thriller, que mantiene bien la tensión y tan fácil de leer que resulta casi insultante.
Es extraño, porque esta historia es, al final, un relato moral. Incluso puede que tenga algo de moralina. No es que a mí me haya importado lo más mínimo, pero si me ha sorprendido porque normalmente Lemaitre es más gris.
A ver, sigue siendo moviéndose en tonos de gris (el protagonista es alguien a quien llegas a despreciar un poco aunque al mismo tiempo quieres que gane), pero hay moraleja final. De hecho, es muy posible que como es tan obvia desde el principio, sea un giro narrativo más, porque esperas que el protagonista se dé cuenta.
Y hablando de giros, ¿hay uno en "Recursos inhumanos"? Por supuesto que lo hay, es una novela de Pierre Lemaitre. Aunque dudo en si llamarlo realmente giro, porque funciona más bien como un desarrollo de la historia (y en cierto punto del relato te lo esperas). "Recursos inhumanos" no se basa en el recurso del giro sorprendente. Gira en torno a algo tan sencillo como si el protagonista conseguirá lo que quiere. ¿Pero qué es lo que realmente quiere? Y es más, ¿lo que quiere es lo que necesita? Es esta pregunta la que principalmente se encarga de responder la novela.
Como otros libros del autor me ha parecido un buen thriller, que mantiene bien la tensión y tan fácil de leer que resulta casi insultante.