Vincent and Alice and Alice

by Shane Jones

From the visionary author of Light Boxes, a mind-bending office comedy, and a touching modern love story set against the backdrop of an ever-increasingly disorienting America.

Being home all the time is depressing, so I tell my boss “I’m ready for anything” in the strongest conference call voice in the world while driving my hand into a family-sized bag of tortilla chips. Without a future, no Alice, I’m ready for an adventure.

Meet Vincent. After his divorce from Alice he’s lost his way, and is mindlessly working for the State, counting down the days till retirement. When his boss tells him to participate in a program that promises not only to increase productivity, but show him his “ideal life” he thinks: what’s the harm? Others have seen new marked improvements in productivity and personal happiness. Willing to try anything to move away from the heartbreak of Alice, Vincent reluctantly complies.

But what the program shows him, is that his ideal life is simply Alice. She’s back. Is she real? A clone? A hologram? Despite the lingering questions, Vincent eases back into love and begins to live his life again with Alice, that is, until the real Alice returns.

A novel about work, love, and how to live in the present moment, Vincent and Alice and Alice flings us through a shockingly funny and tender-hearted world just a few degrees different from our own, one that introduces us to a wild cast of characters, including the enigmatic CEO of PER, Dorian Blood, a mysterious under-cover cop, and the acid-tongued Elderly, a man living in his car who may be the only one who understands how to live in reality.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Novels

230 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 9, 2019

About the author

Shane Jones is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet.

Reviews

[xTx xTx · Rating 3 out of 5]

thought there's be more threesomes

[Ellis ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recensione apparsa su Leggere Distopico e Fantascienza Oggi!

Pidgin Edizioni fa fede a quanto afferma nei suoi intenti e ha portato in Italia un libro a dir poco straniante: “Vincent e Alice e Alice” di Shane Jones e su traduzione di Stefano Pirone.

A seguito della dolorosa separazione dalla moglie, Alice, che un giorno ha fatto i bagagli ed è andata incontro a una vita più ricca di stimoli, Vincent è ancora ossessionato dal ricordo di lei e questo sta mettendo a dura prova il suo rendimento impiegatizio. La svolta arriva dopo il colloquio con Dorian Blood che come un diavolo tentatore attrae Vincent con una proposta davvero allettante: dovrà fidarsi ciecamente del programma PRQ (pattuglia per la ripetizione quotidiana) costituito da tutta una serie di dettami che il protagonista dovrà seguire alla lettera, il cui scopo ultimo è aumentare la produttività sul lavoro ma garantendo la felicità dell’impiegato. L’uomo, come un moderno Faust, si abbandona a quest’opportunità accettando di partecipare all’esperimento pur di superare il senso d’insofferenza nei confronti della vita che negli ultimi mesi lo attanaglia.
Quando - dopo aver completato le fasi preparatorie del processo - tornato a casa, Vincent trova ad aspettarlo “Alice” e insieme torneranno alla routine di tutti i giorni seguendo l’iter del PRQ, tuttavia le cose si complicheranno quando la vera Alice tornerà in città e sarà da lì che le paturnie mentali del povero impiegato si moltiplicheranno. È preferibile quest’Alice fittizia ma comunque tangibile all’Alice che l’ha fatto soffrire e l’ha abbandonato?
Il protagonista comincerà ad arrovellarsi su ogni singola circostanza e a vagare nel limbo tra sanità mentale e pazzia.

Il mio futuro sta venendo a prendermi? Il mio futuro è mio?

Shane Jones con questo romanzo mette insieme un carosello di assurdità proiettandoci in un mondo bidimensionale, infatti, più che un distopico puro leggiamo di un presente alternativo.
L’aggettivo bidimensionale è voluto, l’autore ci mette dinanzi a due realtà speculari: la prima in cui presenta la vita insoddisfacente di Vincent dov’è ammorbato dalla routine, la seconda dal momento in cui (perdonate il gioco di parole) si ritroverà a vivere una vita cucita su misura per lui. Vincent e il suo andirivieni tra la realtà e il programma simboleggiano un capovolgimento strutturale di quella che lui crede essere un’esistenza inamovibile.
L’introspezione psicologica fatta su Vincent è ottimale, emerge appieno tutta la sua profonda umanità e imperfezione. Un vecchio aforisma recita così: meglio una brutta verità di una bella bugia. Il nostro protagonista si troverà nella spinosa situazione di dover scegliere da che parte stare: crogiolarsi in un’esistenza mendace e costruita ad hoc o accontentarsi della vita che davvero gli spetta?
Il libro è narrato in prima persona, seguendo un ordine cronologico, e viene proposto un linguaggio semplice ma comunque efficace per giocare - in maniera caustica - con le convinzioni più comuni.
Contesto quotidiano e scorci dell'ambiente impiegatizio vengono portati all’esasperazione parodiando luoghi comuni, più o meno noti, anche attraverso battute sagaci.
Temi portanti sono certamente l’alienazione sul posto di lavoro e quanto lo stress, scaturito dalla situazione lavorativa, si ripercuota inevitabilmente sulle persone a noi care, la complessità del matrimonio, la piena coscienza dei propri limiti e dei fallimenti che, talvolta, ostacolano il raggiungimento degli obiettivi.
I punti di contatto con il celeberrimo e intramontabile classico di Lewis Carroll sono diversi; ne condivide l’essere trasportati in un mondo illogico e la spensieratezza (ma non puerilità) della sua omonima, tuttavia Alice che, nel romanzo di Carroll, simboleggiava la realtà qui ne diventa l'opposto, è una chimera, una bambola di carta che dimostra comunque una grande forza di volontà, aggrappandosi con tutta se stessa all’identità che le è stata assegnata.

Sperimentazione e bizzarro allegorico sono le solide basi questo libro. Già dalle prime pagine ci si ritrova confusi e quasi destabilizzati e questa confusione aumenta in maniera esponenziale andando avanti, eppure, giunti all’epilogo si rimane comunque soddisfatti di quanto letto.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

very funny and very sad and very strange. gets at what is so beautiful and so sad about daily failings in a marriage, the daily slights, and how outsized the impact can be by ignoring each other’s strange attempts at communicating. this is both a very grounded and completely untethered book.

[Liv Noble · Rating 5 out of 5]

really really good!! read if you like “present tense machine” or “be here to love me at the end of the world” or “severance”

[Janet | purrfectpages · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a strange book that although it had a lot of potential, somehow fell short of what it was trying to achieve. Equal parts sad and humorous, this story read like a sci fi version of Office Space. What if you had the chance to live your perfect life all the while really living in the mundane? With many great one liners and insights sprinkled throughout I held out hoping the story would pan out, but instead it fell flat for me.

[Jacopo Rizzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

sempre tosto leggere di storie che ci vanno giù pesante con il lavoro impiegatizio, perché è il mio e inevitabilmente mi ci rivedo.
la scrittura in alcuni momenti è astratta e onirica (sposandosi bene con lo stato mentale del protagonista) e altre un po' altezzosa e in cerca della catch phrases a tutti i costi.
non ci sono riferimenti (almeno palesi) ad Alice nel paese delle meraviglie, aspetto che apprezzo molto

[Stefano P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply beautiful.

[Matt Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the review here: https://bit.ly/35oQ49u

[J.A.]

Review and Interview @ Craft: https://www.craftliterary.com/2019/10...

[Rebecca H.]

Vincent is a state worker waiting out his years until retirement. That retirement will be incredibly generous, so of course he has to stick with it, but the job is meaningless and is making him miserable. So is the fact that he and his wife Alice are divorcing. Into this sad situation comes Dorian Blood, a man with a proposal to change Vincent’s life: Vincent will get to live his ideal life while becoming wildly productive at this job. All he has to do is go through a training and let Dorian and his mysterious PER program take over his reality. What could go wrong? This novel is wonderful at capturing office life, even if your office life isn’t as dire as Vincent’s. It also captures a world slightly worse than ours, but one that is still recognizable and scary. It’s an entertaining, funny, provoking read about the nature of reality and the meaning of life.
https://bookriot.com/2019/07/05/july-...

[Margie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 This satirical story set in an altered present day didn't quite come together for me but the sharp observations about life, especially office life, were very funny.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quirky book in every sense of the word - I felt a little off-balance while reading it. It is the story of Vincent, stuck in a mind-numbing, soul-crushing "office" job (working for the State) and the author included every archetypal office character known to humankind in this book. In an attempt to break his boredom, but not risk his generous retirement package, Vincent participates in PER, and experiment to boost productivity while providing images of life happiness all around him (some real, some not). When reality and unreality converge things get tricky. It was an enjoyable read and yes, a good read, but alas, not a great read.

[Donald Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and half stars, a more interesting take on the pretentious subtle-dystopia than Dave Eggers.

Might call it Dave Eggers illustrates Dilbert-- not triply enough to relate much to Alice in Wonderland, but it does satirize how much mysterious corporate bullspeak saturates it's way into our lives, written more like an artifact of the society that is filled with it rather than a direct attack.

Not funny enough to be calling Dave Eggers doing Office Space with a dystopian bent, and far too little trippness to be be related to Alice in Wonderland.

Maybe a bit a very mundane take on Serial Experiments Lain, in terms of how the weird technology metaphor fills it.

[Donald Lands · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and half stars, a more interesting take on the pretentious subtle-dystopia than Dave Eggers.

Might call it Dave Eggers illustrates Dilbert-- not triply enough to relate much to Alice in Wonderland, but it does satirize how much mysterious corporate bullspeak saturates it's way into our lives, written more like an artifact of the society that is filled with it rather than a direct attack.

Not funny enough to be calling Dave Eggers doing Office Space with a dystopian bent, and far too little trippness to be be related to Alice in Wonderland.

Maybe a bit a very mundane take on Serial Experiments Lain, in terms of how the weird technology metaphor fills it.

[Frank Key · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh wow. I don't how to begin for this lovely little genre and mind bending work. Cheshire Cat said, "Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality" a quote that applies here.
It's The Office + Office Space + Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Officeland?
Yes, I enjoyed reading it. Easily finished on Kindle in a long evening.
Yes, I was thoroughly entertained.
Yes, I became confused several times, to the point of rereading passages.
Yes, to both charmed and pissed off.
Just a fun book to spend some time with.

17 July 2019

[Cheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. I made it to page 29 and I was so bored. I didn’t get what this book is supposed to be about other than a boring office job and failed marriage neither of which was interesting enough to keep reading and definitely was not funny (which this book claimed to be). So I skimmed and saw some pages only had one or two sentences and then thought I’m glad I got this book from the library because I would have been disappointed if I paid for it.

[Sabs · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the concept and the style of this book, but ultimately it fell flat for me. Too many half spun ideas and subplots made it hard to stay engrossed. I like the writing style though and wanted more from both the Rudy and elderly plot lines. Probably closer to three stars.

[Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accurately and humorously depicted a soul-sucking office job. The wish fulfillment/light scifi aspect of the book was interesting if not completely successful. I was slightly confused by the first page.

[Franco Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is so unsettling in the way it quietly portrays a future America that feels no different from the America of today. Its final chapter brings the narrative to a perspective that is genuinely surprising and really kind of brilliant.

[Nicole Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

An overall wonderful book, very imaginative and contains a depth that really draws the reader in. Offers a truthful look into the complexities of marriage and relationships. I would recommend it to everyone because it is a fresh and unique read.

[Matthew Burris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky and sad and very funny. I enjoyed it a lot.

[Gabriel Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is great, light but brutal, very funny, very clever, very sad

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure this is a fable about the members of Quasi.

[Brooks Sterritt · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The man with the blood-red suspenders, Caesar Salad, is here again, holding, what else, a Caesar salad."

[Lisa Weldy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Randomly picked this up and the library... a strange little book about office life and figuring out love issues. I liked the first half more than the second.

[Courtney Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The strangest love story, makes us question whence found love, is it the real thing? and does it even matter if it’s not?

[Zooey Glass · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Wendy B · Rating 1 out of 5]

That was the absolutely worst book I’ve ever read. So discombobulated I have no idea what just happened.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Caroline Sarpy · Rating 4 out of 5]

If “severance” was a novel and like slightly less sad but actually this book is still pretty sad