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. In 2018 she won the Elise Mathilde Essay Award for her essay ‘Borders, doors and eyes open’. From 2010 until 2016, she worked as a theatre critic. And, of course, she has also worked in customer service.
(Atlas Contact, 2023, 206 pagina's)
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.
