Marta Abromaityte reviews My Work Is Not Yet Done by Thomas Ligotti…
Three tales of corporate horror by Thomas Ligotti convey hapless stories of disgruntlement and woe in a setting so utterly oppressive that it will satisfy anyone with an appetite for the dark underbelly of seemingly mundane, every day life. In this strange but effective book, Ligotti demonstrates skilfully his concepts of a twisted humanity, a world where anything is possible but at the same time he strays away from clichés and mediocre plot lines that so many other writers of horror seem unable to escape from. Whilst Ligotti utilizes the supernatural in his fiction, his work is never too far removed from reality. For him, the supernatural is merely an allegorical tool, employed to expose the truth of society, and of mankind – it’s brutality and savagery.
The title story being the longest is depicted through the hopeless and overworked Frank Dominio. The narrative is centred on his brutal revenge on his co-workers and his superior, eerily nicknamed ‘The Doctor’ after Frank is unfairly dismissed from the dismal company. His vengeance escalates with each chapter as he becomes increasingly detached from reality operating with malevolent powers he strangely acquires. Ligotti’s narrative is suffocating, encompassed with a feeling of utter dread that is inescapable not only for Dominio but for the reader too. The self-destructive theme fiercely flows through the novella with Frank Dominio at the epicentre and each of his ‘Seven Dwarfs’ meeting a more unpleasant end than the last. Ligotti’s prose is littered with matters easily comparable to that of Edgar Allan Poe and George Orwell – Ligotti couples the steadily atmospheric and dark language of Poe’s work and the debilitating and tormenting language of Orwell.
Corporate horror is a burgeoning sub-genre that juxtaposes the sterility, monotony and predictability of the office environment with elements of horror, violence and surrealism. It subverts our expectations of the dreary and invariable atmosphere of the generic office environment, where Ligotti describes the modern workplace bursting with the overachieving and the under-appreciated. Ligotti enforces the monotony with dull office jargon that highlights the idea that the office environment is a sinister and obscure presence that is to be feared and if possible, avoided.
The remaining two short narratives are not as chilling as the main segment, lacking the disconsolate atmosphere with which Ligotti so successfully portrayed his philosophy of the unremarkable. However the stories still manage to hurl the reader deep into a cavernous realm of dark satire and dismay with added surrealism.
As a writer, Thomas Ligotti is unfortunately somewhat underrated, with his work not receiving the attention that it deserves. Whilst Thomas Ligotti has acquired many awards over the enormity that is his career, he has remained somewhat reclusive, with his notoriety known on a much lesser scale compared to other writers of a similar genre. Horror is a demanding genre; one that is difficult to execute well but Thomas Ligotti achieves what so many modern horror authors fail to. Subtlety heavily litters his writing, particularly in My Work is Not Yet Done, a story that is impressively crafted. Ligotti portrays the idea of ‘work’ as being something so mind numbingly boring that maybe some of us fantasize about breaking the monotony with violence and horror.
Marta Abromaityte
Originally published December 30, 2015. Updated April 15, 2018.
