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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Listen I know some people didn’t like this but I found it so charming, quirky, and hella relatable (well, not the falling in love with a printer part but, y’know, who knows?).
It was a short read that didn’t have a lot of action but the panic attacks, depression, and social anxiety were so relatable I still loved it.
Honestly it has a lot of the things that made me love Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. So if you liked that, maybe give this a try…with an open mind!
It was a short read that didn’t have a lot of action but the panic attacks, depression, and social anxiety were so relatable I still loved it.
Honestly it has a lot of the things that made me love Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. So if you liked that, maybe give this a try…with an open mind!
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
As other people have said, this book was misrepresented. The language is intriguing and I enjoyed the style of this, but I went in expecting something very different than I received. There’s lots of fun and relatable analysis of workplace culture. Our main character is certainly peculiar but she’s not StrangeTM in the way I was hoping. This is much less “girl falls in love with a printer” and way more “anxious woman navigates her own existence”. The story itself doesn’t dive into anything that seems particularly compelling; which is a disappointment considering how good of a job it does at setting up the perfect setting for introspection. The beginning is fun and then it goes downhill from there.
We all have our favorite office supplies – the favorite pen, the just right stapler, the perfect pair of scissors – but typically a positive connection never develops with the office printer. Veldman's writing is spot on about office dynamics (where everyone is referred to not by name but by job position), the best office space is coveted (private, well lit), and the understanding that no one truly knows their colleagues. 'Hard Copy' is more than a workplace narrative, it centers around loneliness and isolation, but moreso the desire for connection (whether that be to our best friend or to our favorite inanimate object). For fans of workplace narratives, the movie 'Office Space,' and for our favorite choice of office supply.
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i am glad dutch is my mother tongue because i feel like her writing style would not translate as well to other languages. neurotic and rather unhinged but also funny, emotional and at times weirdly relatable. i wish we got some more clarity on the event™ in her childhood that was alluded to so often. it felt a bit incomplete because several things never really got resolved. still an entertaining read.
3.5 rounded up - loved the perspective in part 3 and enjoyed the writing but I feel like there were a lot of Themes alluded to but not fleshed out
Hard Copy has been on my radar for a while; since I heard it’s a translated novel about a woman who falls in love with her printer. That’s all I needed to know. However, it’s definitely not as weird as it appeared from the get go. It’s mostly the inner musings of a very relatable office worker who struggles with existing on the day to day, with loneliness, social anxiety and unresolved trauma from her past. There were parts of the story that was so darkly comical and dry, I found the man character so relatable, as someone who works in an office doing customer service myself. However, I loved the first 2 chapters but I think things dwindled after that and the weirdness of the concept was quite diluted. The snippets of childhood trauma also seemed incomplete and I’m still not sure what really happened there… My rating is generous due to some humorous moments and a very likeable (in my opinion) protagonist. 3/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️