Xerox
Absurdist debut novel about a young woman’s relationship with her printer
In a European city, an unnamed customer service representative works for a start-up. Printing letters is her only responsibility. She grew up in an underprivileged environment, she has a life-threatening stress-induced allergy and she’s very lonely. Her closest relationship is with her printer. In the confines of her office, she talks to the machine about her fears, her past and her dreams.
FictionPrint
Original title
Xerox
Author
Fien Veldman
Year of publication
2023
Publisher
Atlas Contact
Page count
206 (54,000 words)
[object Object]
‘Xerox captures the zeitgeist, a whole society, perhaps even the weltschmerz of a whole generation. It is a story about class differences, social alienation and (not) coping with the present. Hidden in almost every sentence is an astute insight into our society, our modern cities, our working lives, and of course our relationships. For me, the magic of Xerox lies above all in its clear- sightedness and wit, in its subtle and engaging prose. It is a sublime work of literary fiction.’
Lena Däuker, who acquired the German translation rights for Hanser
‘You frequently wonder who is really the crazy one here – the protagonist or society.’
Het Parool
Fien Veldman
Fien Veldman (b. 1990) was the 2022 recipient of the Joost Zwagerman Essay Prize for her essay ‘Not really making it’, about growing up in a working-class neighbourhood in Leeuwarden.