40 Hour Man

by Stephen Beaupre

Is it a career or just a series of lame jobs? It's all here -- from doing time as a miniature golf lackey, to going bust in the internet boom. Stephen Beaupre recounts skirmishes with bad bosses, crazy co-workers, sex, drugs and polyester uniforms as he delineates his quest to find and hang onto a job he can live with.

Genres: Memoir, Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels Comics

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 5, 2006

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Beaupre takes us on the 30 year history of his work life. He introduces us to a parade of co-workers and bosses; the dysfunctional individuals who have to try to put differences aside to become productive team members. Very relatable if you have ever worked a low paying job that did not appreciate you efforts.

[Christopher Stockwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

How did I not write this book? I've been fired from at least fifty low wage jobs, mostly service-sector jobs. This book gives a detailed history of one man's journey through employment mediocrity. This book is a battle cry to every person who has ever thought human existence should be something more than toiling away your days doing things you don't like for people you don't care about.

[J. Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Beaupre hilariously chronicles his employment history, from fast-food drone to "technical writer" during the dot-com boom, with every imaginable awful job along the way. It's a fascinating look at the weird cultures that seem to spring up in every work environment, and the sad, broken people shuffling from one soul-crushing job to another. Beaupre depicts his younger self as alternately conniving and clueless, as he tries to navigate these strange waters while doing as little actual "work" as possible. You'll either nod your head in recognition, or be relieved that the weirder stuff happened to Stephen and not you. The illustrations by Steve Lafler are the icing on the cake, depicting both the absurdity and the existential horror of the 40-hour grind in broad, cartoon strokes (Lafler also appears as a character, as he and Beaupre are old pals). The book is funny, insightful, and a devastating critique of the reality of our 9-to-5 lives.

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stephen Beaupre, 40 Hour Man (Manx Media, 2006)

I have no idea how this got into my head, but from the thumbnail on Amazon's site and some weird logical leaps in my skull, I'd gotten the idea that this was a book about a cat burglar. (Second-story man, forty-hour man, see how I got there?) What it actually is is a memoir about Stephen Beaupre's working life, half prose, half graphic novel. And I will admit right up front that in general I loathe memoirs, and so you should probably add another half-star or so in your head to the rating at the bottom of this review in consequence. I say this because 40 Hour Man isn't a bad book, really, though the concept does invite repetition and boredom. Basically, Beaupre and longtime friend/co-worker/illustrator Steve Lafler wrote the story of Beaupre's career. Every job, no matter how trivial. (And most of them are, especially when you get into the dot-com boom.) What saves it from the quicksand of its own concept is Beaupre's aggressively self-deprecating humor, though that's not enough to make it stand out from the memoir glut we've been experiencing over the past decade. Lafler's art has that same kind of self-deprecating feel about it, seeming almost too naïve for its own good, if you get my drift. (Look at the crudeness of the figure on the front cover for an example of what I'm talking about.) Still, if you, like Maureen Corrigan (in Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading), lament the days when people wrote books about actual, honest-to-pete work, then 40 Hour Man is definitely one for you. ** ½

[Ben]

It's true that I am horribly biased here. I am a lover of all things Lafler - have you read the Bughouse series, it rocks - and way back when, Steve did most generously publish my book Lucky Man on his Manx Media imprint, but all that said, this book is much fun, and if you've never had the opportunity to host the Village People at your local record store (or even if you've had), it's a must read.

[HeavyReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was the really great story of one man and the shit jobs he has worked. Each page has one paragraph and a cool and funny drawing to go with it. It was an easy and fun read, and I laughed out loud. A must-read for anyone who has ever worked a hated shit job.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny look at work told as a graphic novel.

[Socki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fuking phenomenal. This is the best graphic novel i have ever seen/read.