About this title: In an unnamed New York-based company, the employees are getting restless as everything around them unravels. Rich with Orwellian doublespeak, filled with sabotage and romance, this astonishing literary debut is at once a comic delight and a narrative tour de force.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780099520580ISBN:0099520583
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Jonathan Cape
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780224085496ISBN:0224085492
Description: New. Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. Uncorrected proof copy in brand new condition. "A scathingly funny look at a group of office workers who have no idea what the unnamed corporation they work for actually does. " read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780812978575ISBN:0812978579
Description: Fine. New books small to none shelf wear An appparently unread copy in perfect condition. Dust cover is intact pages are clean and not marked by notes or folds of any kind. This is suitable for presenting as a gift. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Only lightly used. Book has minimal wear to cover and binding. A few pages may have small creases and minimal underlining. Book selection as BIG as Texas. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780812978575ISBN:0812978579
Description: Acceptable. Most pages clean, just a few with light moisture crinkling, covers with some wear/creasing, First Printing 2008 (1M). read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: VINTAGE Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780099520580ISBN:0099520583
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 256 pages. Ever wondered what your boss does all day? or if there is a higher, perhaps an existential, significance to microsoft word malfunctions? this novel looks at a group of office workers who have no idea what the unnamed corporation they work for actually does. it is suitable for those who's ever worked in an office and wondered, 'where does life go? (Paperback) read more
Description: Very Good. Used-Very Good. May contain highlighting/underlining/notes/etc. May have used stickers on cover. Ships same or next day. Expedited shipping takes 2-3 business days; standard shipping takes 4-14 business days. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780812978575ISBN:0812978579
Description: Good. Clean inside and cover, tear to back cover Goodwillnyonline carries a wide range of quality new and used items at competitive prices. Goodwillnyonline is operated by Goodwill Industries of Greater New York & Northern New Jersey. A major provider of services for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Date Published: 2008-05-13
ISBN-13:9780812978575ISBN:0812978579
Description: New. New, unread, unused & in perfect condition with no damaged or missing pages. Pre-release book with plain cover and stickers. Great Copy. Ships Lightning Fast. read more
"I kept thinking, Is the author of Then We Came to the End suing Park? Personal Days, like TWCE, is told in plural first person. Personal Days, like TWCE, takes place in an office. Personal Days, like TWCE, is inhabited by characters who have no grounding in reality, who are deeply neurotic, sometimes psychotic. Personal Days, like TWCE, consists of the slow and mysterious departure of staff and the gradual dissolution of the company. Personal Days, like TWCE, is both funny and sad.
The similarities between the novels bothered me for the first few chapters, then I got enmeshed in the story and forgot about it through most of the read. I liked this book a lot. If I hadn't read TWCE first, I would have said I loved it and I would have raved about the startling originality of the writer. Nevertheless, despite my irritation at the imitation, I liked this book a lot. A lot.
(One more small irritation: Reading the one, long continuous sentence/e-mail that filled the last forty pages grew very, very tedious. Please, Mr. Park. We readers must breathe.)
Here's a quote that is representative of this book: "Most of us are in therapy. Occasionally one of us will quit for a while, laughably convinced we are better, before realizing there's no such thing as better. Haven't we learned that by now? Nothing will ever get better; nothing will ever be fixed. Fixing is not even the point. What is the point?""
"This novel about the alienation and pointlessness of office life which satirizes the existence of the corporate drone invites comparison with "Then We Came to the End" by Joshua Ferris which explores the same territory. The Ferris novel is far superior. Park's book is occasionally mildly amusing but the characters never come to life, as they do in the Ferris book. They are all just interchangeable names. He has a couple of sharp observations to make about the way office drones fill their days but the plot never developes a coherent storyline. In contrast, Ferris does manage to differentiate between his characters and treats them as real people. This book had already far outlived its welcome in my brain when it launched into a final section purporting to be a long, stream of consciousness letter from one worker to another that I found literally unreadable. Yes, we all know that office life can be silly and boring, that bosses are idiots, that computers crash, that IT guys are weird nerds, that HR people are heartless exponents of mumbo-jumbo etc etc. Saying these things does not a novel make."
"Funniest book I've read since the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - and I was like 10 years old. An LOLfest.
People in my bookgroup say its a decent portratyal of the corporate world. Really dead on for some people for their office. Which makes me happy. Very cheering.
Plus there are a bunch of individually hilarious stories and plot twists. Who's got the screen play rights? I'd recommend this to anyone."
"This is one of the best new novels I've read in years. I feel like none of the reviews I've read of it quite describe what it feels like to read it---yes, it's funny, and the word "savage" appears a fair amount, but it's more like, "Oh, someone has finally described what it is like to work now.""
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
