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|
The
2004 Award
|
|
The
Scheme For Full Employment by
Magnus Mills |
Nominated by:
Publisher
of Nominated Edition:
|
| the complete A-Z listing of nominated authors |
|
ABOUT
THE BOOK
|
| The
whole concept is so simple yet so perfect: men drive to and from strategically
paced warehouses in Univans - identical and very serviceable vehicles -
transporting replacement parts for ….Univans. Gloriously self-perpetuating,
the Scheme for Full Employment (or "Scheme" for short) is more
than social engineering: it is the unified field theory of the modern working
world. And what greater good can there be than honest wages for honest labour? Or so thinks our hero, a five-year veteran of the Scheme, and a contented man. The joy of work lies in just the right balance of routine and surprise. This balance, however, turns out to be more fragile than he could have imagined. A woman arrives on the scene. Some colleagues develop delivery sidelines for extra income. And, most disturbing of all, trouble is beginning to brew between those who believe the Scheme's eight-hour shift sacrosanct and inviolable, and those who fancy being let off a little early now and again (where's the harm?). Disagreement turns to argument, argument to debate, debate to outright schism. Can the Scheme survive? A novel of comic genius, the only guide you need to the true story of capitalism. |
| ABOUT THE AUTHOR |
| Magnus Mills is the author of The Restraint of Beasts, short listed for the Booker Prize, All Quiet on the Orient Express, and Three to See the King. He lives outside London with his wife. |
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