It's Too Late to Leave Early

Rebecca Cramer, Kirkus Media, LLC

Walling’s wild novel details the inner workings, corporate politics, government regulations and a potential hostile takeover creating turmoil at a large aerospace plant as it struggles to survive the vagaries of government funding and the underhanded machinations of a casino owner determined to take over the company. In his winning premise, the main characters’ various story lines parallel and intersect each other in the direction of a dark comedy. Characters of various ethnicities allow for some tongue-in-cheek stylistic choices, clunky phrases appear throughout. some tongue-in-cheek stylistic choices. Casino owner Alexander Kurile does not simply put on a pair of designer sunglasses; he slips “the horns over his dirigible ears.” Executive Blair Sorenson’s every step is counted in paces-per-minute, presumably to reinforce his military background. Walling's description of a secretary may best sum up a delightful, insightful comedy of errors in the unique setting of corporate engineering: “she picked it to pieces syllable by syllable in order to unearth the kernels of meaning nestled within the convoluted, elliptical phraseology.”