There's a hint of a great novel in The Intern's Handbook. The first two-thirds of the novel are joyfully chaotic, strangely reminiscent in tone of something like John Dies At The End. Unfortunately, Kuhn's novel falls upon some hard times in its last act, reverting to a bizarre and unnecessary sentimentality as well as some eye-rolling twists and turns that end up derailing the best parts of the novel.While the novel purports to be a beginner's guide to assassinations, it's really about the last job of a young (but highly experienced) assassin working for a shadowy organization called HR, Inc. The story breaks between a rambling, semi-coherent telling of the mission and tips for the novice assassin at HR based upon our protagonist John's experiences. It's a terrific format, told in the first person, and it leads to a lot of fun, off-the-cuff stories that help develop both this gleefully violent world as well as establishing John as an old pro.These initial two-thirds show tons of promise. Perhaps I hoped for too much. I thought the novel might wind up delving deeper into its satirical look at the lowly peons of the working class world and the disconnect of the classes, even within the same business ecosystem. Perhaps I should have never made that mental connection to John Dies At The End, because it never quite skillfully defies preconceived notions about what the novel should become while still telling an entertaining, well-structured story. In any case, I feel like part of the failure of the latter third of the novel falls on me, for simply expecting too much out of Kuhn.But regardless of my own expectations, that latter third fizzles out completely. Here there be SPOILERS. You have been warned.The novel reaches its best moments when John finds his girlfriend/asset in the field Alice dead in her apartment. This should have been a great motivator for the rest of the novel, and in fact, the scene itself and the handful of pages afterwards are terrific. But this scene - and really, the rest of the novel - is rendered ultimately moot the moment the author decides to pursue an emotional, crowd-pleasing ending rather than something of substance and style.The novel's weakly written subplot, wherein John is aided in his search for his hitherto missing biological father by Alice, ends up being the focus in the last few chapters, as John renounces his role in HR and heads out to find his dad. It sounds fine on paper, but up until this point, we've had a fun, jaded, broken bastard of a hero, and suddenly, he becomes an emotionally needy two-dimensional cardboard cutout. It's a bizarre, sudden tonal shift and breaks the speed and energy of the novel completely. The bloody fun promise of the novel becomes something touchy-feely, and frankly, it reeks of someone trying to write a "Hollywood" ending rather than something unique.The ending is further complicated unnecessarily by the reveal that Alice has been working for HR all along and that John's boss at HR has orchestrated John's reunion with his father. Sigh. Not only are these twists unnecessary, they riddle the novel's pretty tight plot full of holes. Again, this feels like pandering to an audience to whom Kuhn has spent no appreciable time writing to in the rest of the novel. It's extraordinarily bad writing after a novel chock-full of great structure and heart.The shootout and conclusion is followed still by one more scene, as John tracks down Alice and - yep - tells her he still loves her and she should kill him if she doesn't feel the same way. If your eyeballs just hit the back of your head from rolling so hard, I'm with you. It's the ultimate cliche in a novel that deserved better. Kuhn doesn't so much finish strong by sprinting through the finish line, but by gasping weakly, supremely exhausted and collapsing just within view of completion.It's a disappointing ending, but my God, is the rest of the book good. Here's hoping whatever Kuhn writes next falls less upon cliche and more upon creating something his own. He certainly has the talent. Now let's see what he can do with it. Not the worst book I've ever read, but probably among the most preposterous. If you are looking for something that requires you to really suspend your disbelief, this book is for you. It felt like more a beach read to me. The narration reminded me a little bit of that tv show Burn Notice, which in some ways got a little bit annoying, but I suppose was necessary, as there just wasn't enough plot for a full-length book otherwise.
What do You think about Kill Your Boss (2014)?
Three and a half stars rounded down. Too many plot twists thrown in near the end.
—kikibombay
this book desperately wants to be Fight Club, but it's just not working.
—cheerleader233
Fun. Surprising. Silly. Twisted. Exciting.Good, good stuff.
—katnissmellark
