Translated by Hester Velmans.
Published in paperback 5th June 2025 by Apollo.
From the cover of the book:
Spending long hours in her claustraphobic office cubicle, a customer service assistant is struggling. Isolated, frustrated and lonely, she finds comfort in only one thing: the office printer. As she confides in the printer about her hopes and dreams, her fears and her past, it becomes clear to her that he is listening. But to her employees, the blossoming relationship is a worrying cry for help.Diagnosed with burnout and placed on leave, she faces severance and – worse – separation from her beloved printer. But she's not about to give up on her only friend without a fight. And, it turns out, neither is he.
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A customer service representative spends long hours alone in her tiny office. Lonely and isolated from her colleagues she confides her hopes and dreams to the office printer, and he seems to be the only one that really listens.
When her odd behaviour results in her being sent home on leave to 'recover from being stressed and overworked', the separation from her beloved printer hits her hard. She is determined to find a way for them to be reunited.
This quirky little story of girl-meets-printer is one of those strange books that somehow works, despite its weird premise. The story unfurls through a mix of narratives, largely from the point of view of our unnamed customer service protagonist, who flips between detailing the grinding tedium of an office job that plays on her anxiety issues, and reminiscing about sinister episodes from her childhood which give intriguing insight into her alienation from the world at large. Veldman also throws in a few enlightening snippets from other office based characters later in the story, including from the printer himself, and a compelling mystery about an enigmatic parcel.
The story is surprisingly emotional. You find yourself rooting for the lonely young woman, and longing for the unlikely couple to find a way back to each other in the face of pretty weighty obstacles on the job and personal fronts. There are some lovely threads about how the change in her work situation gives her the courage to turn her world around, and Veldman incorporates entertaining pitch black humour to the piece.
Veldman also touches on fascinating subjects in parallel with the off-beat romance, through the musings of the characters: capitalism, poverty, coming of age, office and sexual politics, and of course, the problem of loneliness in modern society, are all explored in the most thought provoking ways.
Beautifully translated by Hester Velmans, I thoroughly enjoyed this strange, and satisfying story.
Hard Copy is available to buy now in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audio formats.
Thank you to Head of Zeus for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
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