The Employees

Absolutely devoured this weird little sci-fi novel(la?) that satires work culture while examining broader philosophical questions about humanity, life and death.
Through a series of staff reports from the crew of an interstellar ship, composed of humans and humanoids, we see how the discovery of weird objects on a remote planet will affect them. 

Sometimes confusing, sometimes not delving enough, it  reminded me of a crossover between The Office, Blade Runner and 2001 Space Odyssey. Definitely an interesting quirky little book to read in one setting. 

A poetic and subtle reflection on what it means to be human. Because of the strict format/concept it sometimes gets a bit repetitive, but as it is so short that didn't really bother me. 

Super short. Super fast. Almost certainly would have jumped ship pretty early if the end weren't always just in sight.

Maybe it was because it is the second book in a row that was written by a poet and employed a avant garde storytelling form, but this was just also not really for me. I guess I am somewhat plebian when it comes to fiction. I like a protagonist (even if flawed). I like them to have a name. So boring of me.

That said, I really got a good image of “the objects”, and I couldn't help imagining this as a Netflix mini series. Would be shocked if someone out there isn't trying to flesh out this little sci-fi dystopia.

Content-warning: Lots and lots of trypophobia imagery. If this is at all an issue for you, SKIP this book.