I've never watched either version of The Office. I have worked a generic cubicle job during a downsizing. I bought this before most of the reviews came out. Put all that together, and I was very satisfied with the book.

I found the characters and their antics perfectly credible. They were a bit more extreme than in my own workplace, but still in the same family, and you (I) want a novel to be an enhanced (over-saturated?) version of real life anyway.

The first person plural worked well; it was like someone coming home and telling you about their day. Of course, it's when most people don't have anyone at home that their work and personal lives can mesh so unhealthily. Again, familiar and realistic.

I certainly wouldn't want to work with those people. I wouldn't want to work in the corporate environment again in general. And maybe that helped me enjoy it -- knowing I'd recently escaped that world. ( )

Not funny. Why do book reviewers think anything featuring office cubicles is automatically humorous? ( )

This is probably the first book I’ve ever read that uses the first-person plural voice, and it works, primarily because of the last line, but also because of the theme. This is a story about a shared experience: working in an office at a pointless job in modern America. Most of us can relate. There are several parts in the book that are laugh-out-loud funny. The main thing that I think mars the novel and keeps it from being really good is an overlong middle passage, regarding the boss’s battle with cancer, in which point of view is broken. Also, the wrap-up ending-aside from the great last line-is a little too neat and obvious. Overall, this is a moderately fun read that I wish had lived up to my expectations a little better.This is probably the first book I’ve ever read that uses the first-person plural voice, and it works, primarily because of the last line, but also because of the theme. This is a story about a shared experience: working in an office at a pointless job in modern America. Most of us can relate. There are several parts in the book that are laugh-out-loud funny. The main thing that I think mars the novel and keeps it from being really good is an overlong middle passage, regarding the boss’s battle with cancer, in which point of view is broken. Also, the wrap-up ending-aside from the great last line-is a little too neat and obvious. Overall, this is a moderately fun read that I wish had lived up to my expectations a little better. ( )

Not really a review, but a book that starts like this....

"We were fractious an overpaid. Our mornings lacked promise. At least those of us who
smoked had something to look forward to at ten-fifteen."

is a pretty good way to start a book, unless your personal view of modern life is
considerably more rosy than mine. ( )

I kept thinking about the tv program The Office while I was reading this daffy portrayal of office workers, with their secret loves and ghastly secrets. Really enjoyed its hilarity and heart. ( )