Paul Carpenter hasn’t succeeded at anything in his life, including job interviews, so he is surprised to be accepted for a position as a junior clerk. He decides soon after starting, that place is weird. He and Sophie, who starts at the same time, find there is a different receptionist every day, they aren’t allowed to start early or stay late, the long stapler always disappears and turns up in obscure places, and the photocopier... well it’s like bad-tempered photocopiers everywhere except this one responds to being listened to nicely. Paul, unlucky in love yet always falling in love, falls for Sophie, who treats him like something that just crawled out from under a rock. He tries to explain to himself why weirdness happens; tries to talk with Sophie without sounding stupid, and tries to figure out what the company actually does... and things only get weirder.

readers of fun fiction

The rich figures of speech, such as: “ grinning at Paul as if trying to make up his mind whether he’d taste better roasted or casseroled in red wine, with onions.” “...two bundles of typescript, certainly no thicker than The Bible or the omnibus edition of The Lord of the Rings.” “She gave him a look you could have sliced bacon with.” “...she’d gone before he had a chance to search down the back of his moral sofa for his mislaid courage.” “...another coppice-worth of printouts...”

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Created Sep 05, 2004 at 8:46pm • Submit your own review...