The Office Girls: A Novel

He thinks the department store needs to clean house and get rid of corrupt senior management who are stuck in inefficient ways. To improve sales, Xin Ren suggests inviting her idol Yu Cheng Feng James Wen , a handsome and internationally-renown designer, to set up a counter in their store.

Despite Yu Cheng Feng having publicly stated that his designs would never be sold in department stores, Xin Ren with Zi Qi tagging along sets out to get him to accept their proposal. After a lot of hard work on Xin Ren's part, a business relationship is created between Yu and the department store. Kai Er suspects and later discovers Zi Qi's true identity. She tentatively agrees to date him but is increasingly jealous of the growing relationship between Zi Qi and Xin Ren. Kai Er tries to ruin the relationship between the two on a number of occasions.

Zi Qi and Xin Ren, despite their constant bickering, gradually realize they care for each other and begin dating. She tries to force Zi Qi's father to promote him to Executive Vice President but backs down when Zi Qi convinces her that his father is right to challenge him. He has become accustomed to his new life, drawing inspiration from Xin Ren's example. Zi Qi's mother initially disapproves of Xin Ren, who she feels is beneath Zi Qi, but comes to accept her. When Zi Qi's identity is revealed early during a heated argument, Xin Ren is upset that he lied to her and devastated by the resulting gossip.

She eventually forgives him after a cooling off period working with the Yu's in Paris. The series ends with Xin Ren and Zi Qi's wedding. It contains 18 tracks total. Cai Chang International Multimedia Inc. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Taiwan Television Sunday Trendy Drama. Love You Office Girls. View all 4 comments. Feb 13, Jessica rated it it was ok Shelves: I am not the right audience for this book. It's about an early twenties artist lady who makes bad romantic decision after bad romantic decision, then meets Jack, an early twenties artist fellow and they decide to be artistic together in their own way.

This summer, my boyfriend dragged me to a super-hipster concert at a hipster-favored bar. It was his birthday, it was a free show, and he'd been looking forward to it for a while so I was a good sport. I stood there and did my best to pretend I was I am not the right audience for this book. I stood there and did my best to pretend I was enjoying it. I mean, I hated it but I wanted him to have a good time so I wasn't going to tell him I hated it. Afterward, a friend asked me about the venue and my response was, "There was just so much ironic crochet. Odile, the main character with the impish name, is like the most extreme form of human being parodied by Parks and Rec 's April Ludgate: On the outside, at least, she hates everything except the things that she loves ironically.

I just don't get people like that at all. I mean, I am all for being unique and liking what you like and marching to the beat of whichever drum you want, but seriously: When Odile goes to an art show opening: That's how I felt reading this book. I wanted to drink, even on the bus at 7 AM. Alternatively, I debated writing a review about how this book is just bout the color of various objects.

Twice on the first page Meno referred to Odile's "gray skirt. If you like stuff like photos of topless Storm Troopers, you might like this book. I could barely make it through. I shoulda known by the hip, ironic san serif font. I hate myself for saying this, but Office Girl is maybe too precious. I mean it's sweet and angsty and hipstertastic and I did like it It's manic-pixie dreamgirl to the core. Sad boy whose life is going nowhere meets quirky girl who refuses to believe her life is going nowhere and they do a lot of "art terrorism" and ride their bikes and have sex and watch French movies and fuck with each o Oh no.

Sad boy whose life is going nowhere meets quirky girl who refuses to believe her life is going nowhere and they do a lot of "art terrorism" and ride their bikes and have sex and watch French movies and fuck with each other's emotions. They go to an "imaginary buildings" party where everyone has to dress as a building. They bike through the snow, back and forth and back and forth.

She tags things with a silver paint pen, he carries a tiny tape recorder and records the ambient city, sounds like a balloon floating away or snow falling or whatever. They are both lost and confused and searching, and they find each other and feed off each other's mania for a little while and then it ends and is sad.

As with most MPDG plotlines, the boy is nowhere near a match for the girl. I got pretty tired of him following along behind her like a puppy and basically going "What? We're really doing this? And she is kind of a bitch much of the time, and pretty self-absorbed. Basically they are both early-twenties art-school dropouts, which, I don't know, is territory ripe for plumbing, but is also always right on the line between scintillating and twee.

Liked but didn't love. Hurry up and write something else, Joe! View all 15 comments. Jul 17, Fuzzy Gerdes rated it it was amazing. Well, I thought, even if it sucks, at least I'll have a signed copy, so I bought it and sat down with a cup of coffee. When Erica called to say she was done with her haircut, I was a third of the way through the book. We went home and I read the rest in one long session on the couch.

Well, wait, that's not strictly true, because as I approached the end of the book I kept taking breaks because I knew that once I finished I wasn't going to be reading the book anymore and I wanted to put off that moment. Do you know what I mean? The book is set in Chicago in the winter of and follows a young man and a young woman, who we meet separately and then together as they begin to go out.

Both are former art school students graduate and drop-out, respectively now working terrible office jobs. I moved to Chicago in , so that winter was my first winter here, but the book didn't resonate with me necessarily because that was my life or anything--I was 30 by the time I moved here, with a computer science degree and a pretty good job. It's just a really good book, about like people and a bit about art, and about just making decisions and stuff. Nov 12, Michelle rated it did not like it Shelves: I hate-finished this book.

Have you ever disliked a book and finished it only because you wanted to have a clear and precise explanation of what was wrong with the book?

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I also finished it because I hoped the ending would salvage the rest of the book. It's and two something slackers make art and love in Chicago. The plot is so thin it could start a high-fashion modelling career. The writing can be pretty darn good. The illustrations and photos are unobtrusive I hate-finished this book.

The illustrations and photos are unobtrusive but don't add much to the text. The office girl of the title is a Manic Pixie Dream Girl who is there to save the male author, I mean, protagonist. It's not like he's a paper-thin expy of the author. The author loves giving female characters pretentious French names Odile, Isobel, Elise. It's a bit exhausting and sad. Someone must have told the author that Odile was a MPDG because he writes the first few chapters from her p.

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She never feels like a real character despite having a family back in Minnesota and a roommate and it's annoying. She also doesn't take any sort of responsibility for her actions. She acts like everything just happens to her and you get a feel that a lot of her dialogue was probably cribbed from some of the author's ex-girlfriends. Also, in a very s way, nothing happens.

They're slackers and they're so unmotivated that it drives me nuts. Seriously, they have no motivation except these half-thought out hazy ambitions. I can't believe he teaches fiction writing. Wait, beautiful prose and almost no plot. Yeah, but I still feel sorry for his students. May 29, Jason Pettus rated it it was amazing Shelves: Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.

Excerpt of Office Girl, by Joe Meno |

I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally. Regular readers know that I am a longtime fan of Chicago contemporary lit legend Joe Meno, one of only a handful of local authors here right now to have broken through into national-scale reputation, media attention and resulting sales; and there have been projects of his in the past that I've really loved Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.

Regular readers know that I am a longtime fan of Chicago contemporary lit legend Joe Meno, one of only a handful of local authors here right now to have broken through into national-scale reputation, media attention and resulting sales; and there have been projects of his in the past that I've really loved, and ones I found only so-so, and ones I thought…er, not so so-so, so I'm never exactly sure what I'm going to get when I dive into a new one.

But this latest, from our friends at the great Akashic Books and being released just this week, is a different thing altogether from anything else in this shapeshifter's career -- deliberately small and intimate, and easy to dismiss at first as the meaningless musings of hipster douchebags, by the end it manages to be rather wistful, heartbreaking and melancholy, a sneakily tight manuscript that gets better and better the farther you read. Essentially the full beginning-to-end tale of one of those torrid three-week romantic relationships that litter so many of our pasts, and set among good-looking twentysomething art-school dropouts because, hey, why not, Meno's point here is to look at one of these people who sometimes just randomly blows into our lives for a bit, changes it profoundly, then just as randomly leaves again for the entire rest of your life; and by following it in its full messy glory, Meno's bigger point is to remind us of why these experiences are so important, why we remember them so nostalgically and positively for nearly the rest of our lives.

Set during the Great Chicago Blizzard of , the entire book has a muted and closed-in tone that serves its Before Sunrise feel well; and although Meno occasionally leans on the Manic Pixie Dream Girl tropes a bit too much she has doe eyes and a thrift-store coat! She bicycles in the snow! She does impromptu absurdist performance art on the el! A novel just begging to get adapted into the quirky movie debut of the next big national indie-film darling, it comes strongly recommended to existing fans of Garden State and Days of Summer ; and don't forget that I recently had a chance to sit down and talk with Meno here in Chicago for nearly an hour almost exclusively just about this book for the CCLaP Podcast, so I hope you'll get a chance to check that out as well when it's available next week.

Feb 09, Toby rated it it was ok Shelves: Allow me to sum up my feelings for this book through song. View all 3 comments. Dec 06, Carolee Wheeler rated it really liked it. You could probably criticize this author for writing shallow characters, or for just inventing the messed-up, Manic Pixie Dream Girl he really wants to date, or call the whole story facile or something, but it was the book version of a movie like Say Anything, where you really enjoy it if you don't think about the whole thing too much.

I loved the idea of Odile the twee art terrorist, and I thought her impulses were right-on, as far as railing against the status quo was concerned. Apr 28, Brian rated it really liked it Shelves: Jul 10, Tracy marked it as to-read. I've been following Akashic Press on Twitter, finally I know one book they publish. I miss the 90s. I hate how no one is angsty anymore. No one has time for angst. Because we have to be super achievers now. Jul 17, Larry H rated it liked it. Odile is a something art school dropout working in a series of boring office jobs and dreaming of creating something special, of making people take notice.

She finds herself falling into inappropriate relationship after inappropriate relationship, all because she's afraid of not being liked. When "What do you do with the rest of your life when you realize you don't like anything? When she meets Jack, an amateur sound artist whose marriage has ended and who doesn't know what to do with his life, the two forge an immediate connection while trying not to fall into their regular behavior patterns.

Odile and Jack start an art revolution, which combines performance art spontaneously breaking into a scene from a movie while on the subway , graffiti, and creating an imaginary persona, Alphonse F. And with love often comes self-discovery and the ability to make changes in your life, even if they may not be the right ones. Joe Meno is at his best when he's capturing the angst, insecurity, and eccentricities of somethings or even high school students, as he did in his terrific Hairstyles of the Damned.

The book honestly feels like an aggregation of every quirky independent movie about a couple ever made. You can totally see this book as a movie, and in fact, I think these characters might even be more vivid on the screen than they were on the page. This was a tremendously quick read, and was light and enjoyable. Jul 17, Robin rated it did not like it Shelves: This book is ripe with conversations people have when they don't know what they're doing with their lives and are too afraid to figure it out.

Office Girl was nothing but a disappointment for me. Imagine reading nearly pages much like this excerpt: I really don't have any. Aug 25, Scott Wilson rated it did not like it. Just noticed the "hide entire review because of spoilers" option. This book pretty much sucks, and so I wouldn't read it again. I knew from the moment I saw the cover and read the synopsis and flipped through it quickly that it was exactly my " I knew from the moment I saw the cover and read the synopsis and flipped through it quickly that it was exactly my kind of book, and I'm so happy I found it on the Waterstones buy one get one free table.

Office Girl tells the story of two people, 23 year old art school dropout Odile, and 25 year old master of the cassette recorder Jack, both living in Chicago in Both have complicated lives, and both experience a constant feeling that they need to make their mark on the world, and are meant for big things. Yet they both work the same, dull, dead-end call centre job. All they have that is extraordinary is each other and their own avant-garde art movement. This book will clearly not be for everyone.

I've said before that even before reading this book, it reminded me of the movies of Wes Anderson and those other kind of quirky American independent films. I really feel I was bang on the money with that assertion. I loved that they rode bicycles everywhere and were pretty messed up, and liked unusual things, and took risks, and were pure in their love for each other however brief. I also loved the fact that it was set during the winter time. It made me long for snow and thick parka jackets and snow boots and cold flushed cheeks and darkness. And of course I must give a mention to the layout of the book.

It isn't printed in your traditional Times New Roman font, but in something else - I'm not sure what it is but I love it so if anyone reads this book and knows, please tell me! There are also drawings and photographs scattered about that tie in with various events and moments within the book, and they are beautiful and effortless. They really enhanced my enjoyment and engagement with this book. If you like any of the things I have mentioned above, then I implore you to pick up this book.

Also, I finished it in less than a day. If that's not enough to make you want to pick this up, then I don't know what is. I adored it, and I hope you do too. Jun 28, Michael Seidlinger rated it really liked it. Taut and laid-back, Meno captures a sense of humanity that is so familiar its refreshing. Jul 17, Megan rated it liked it Shelves: After disappointments, setbacks and heartaches, Chicago hipsters Odile and Jack embark on a friendship and romance that ends as quick as it begins.

Set in the winter of , Joe Meno's Office Girl explores what it means to grow up, find your place, keep your originality and make something of worth even if others don't see or understand it. As a fan of Joe Meno, and considering Hairstyles of the Damned to be one of my favorite books of all time, I was excited to read Office Girl and everything After disappointments, setbacks and heartaches, Chicago hipsters Odile and Jack embark on a friendship and romance that ends as quick as it begins.

As a fan of Joe Meno, and considering Hairstyles of the Damned to be one of my favorite books of all time, I was excited to read Office Girl and everything it had to offer. Unfortunately, I found this book to be bland, boring, and, frankly, pretentious and too hipster-ish for my tastes. One of the reviews on the back of the book exclaimed that this novel captures the essence of the first twenty five years of life, or something to that effect. As a twenty five year old myself, I can say that I have never experienced anything like the lives and relationships of Odile and Jack.

I'm not even sure what I think this novel captures as both main characters are so incredibly messed up and are really two pretty crappy human beings. I'm sorry, but it becomes extremely hard for me to empathize with a character when one of your first encounters with him is being a complete creeper to his soon-to-be ex-wife and kicking their cat because he can't figure out a more adult way to cope. On top of that, Odile is a pretentious, self-absorbed, scared little girl with self-esteem and commitment issues of the worst kind. She's twee and far too "manic pixie dream girl" for me to really get behind her.

Especially when Jack actually does start shaping up and getting his act together, and she just gets upset because he doesn't want to help her vandalize the car of an art professor who didn't like her work. I want characters I can root for or see myself in, not characters that are constantly making me roll my eyes and grate on my nerves. The real standout of this novel is the formatting. I loved the addition of sketches, photographs, walls full of text without punctuation and colored pages.

It made the book itself, and not really the story, a work of art in its own right. In the end, I felt that this was a sub-par work by an author who seriously, in my mind, has the potential to write a great American novel one day. As I said earlier, Hairstyles of the Damned is such a fantastic book, and I constantly recommend it to everyone who will listen. Office Girl isn't even on the same level, and that pains me to say. I might would rank it a step above The Boy Detective Fails , but only by a bit. For serious Joe Meno fans, I think you have to read it just to keep current on his body of work.

Otherwise, I think this is a novel that would be easy to skip. Jun 21, Jane added it Shelves: I want to not be so mean and snarky in writing this, but I just don't think that it's possible. This book, while reading it, represented everything I hate about contemporary literature.

From the very first page, when Odile is described including her underwear, I just knew. Odile is very much a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, although the book starts from her perspective. I really wanted to empathize with her, but she never onc TW: I really wanted to empathize with her, but she never once felt like a real person to me.

I don't know if the backstory about her molestation was supposed to act as a stand-in for Meno actually writing A PERSON, but that failed to move me as well. Rather, I felt more rage at the author for throwing that in so suddenly and for not any kind of purpose. I mean, the purpose was to make us feel for Odile, but I can only see it as a very conscious decision from the author.

There wasn't any kind of exploration on the sexualization of young girls, of women being seen as a commodity, or anything at all. It just happened and then it was over and that's why Odile is like this. Outside of that, Odile was a very frustrating character to read. From the small snippets we get of what her family is like, she has good, loving parents, a lot of brothers some of whom are fucked up, but that happens , and But she rages against the thought of going home, she rages against the shitty men she involves herself with and takes it out by vandalizing advertisements with boobs and penises.

This outlet of hers bothered me for a few reasons. First, most of her problems are her own making. She is very privileged. She doesn't have a lot of money and is living with weird, shitty roommates, but that's usually what happens when you move out on your own the first time. Third, why boobs and penises? If she's super into weird, outrageous art, why the immature body parts? For someone who rages against the unoriginality of EVERYONE, drawing boobs and dicks and hairy testicles isn't exactly an example of out of the box thinking. And her opinions on art!

She just hates everything that's popular. If it's popular, she hates it. Except, of course, The Velvet Underground. Like, I'm sorry, but what kind of world are you living in? And, this book is set in It makes me think of how disregarded Beyonce is considered by people who are like, "She doesn't write her own music! Because for some stories to be told, they don't have the luxury to be unpopular or underground. This was actually an argument I wanted to use in one of my classes spring semester but didn't get the chance, so here it is!

If art is popular, it doesn't automatically mean that it is stupid or unoriginal. I want to bring up privilege and race because this book is hella weird about it. Or, maybe not weird, but it certainly doesn't age as well as others. What I'm really saying is that white is the default here. Like, very much, so much so that when background characters are described as black, it sticks out uncomfortably. That discomfort isn't because they are there, of course, but because white is the default. And it feels like such an afterthought. I'm not going to explain this very well, but one of the posters she vandalizes, in the beginning, is for a rap artist.

Compared to her first act of vandalism that we as the reader witness it goes into just a little more detail about her drawing 'saggy breasts,' and a 'hairy vagina' and something else I don't even remember. I only remember thinking, why is there just a liiiitle more description of what she's doing to this poster? The way the poster is described is just with this subtle air of condescension that is very uncomfortable, but especially so when the novel assumes white is the default.

The book itself is set in , but it was published in so "the time" isn't really a great or even generous reading of this Man, I haven't even gotten to Jack! Jack is the typical white male who feels a lot of existential pain about his own life and ordinariness. Through meeting Odile, he learns, finally, to do something on his own I think, I really just skimmed the last chunk of the book.

He records the sounds of things on tapes that he keeps in neatly labeled and organized shoeboxes, so he's quirky. He's going through a divorce. He does not understand why this is not okay.

Office Girl

He uses vacuum cleaners when he masturbates and has since he first started masturbating. He's working on a screenplay. Odile immediately tells Jack about how she's sleeping with a married man, gave someone a handjob because they asked nothing about consent or coercion is even hinted at; it's just, very shallowly referred to as Odile needs everyone to like her. Jack still wants to be with Odile even though she says it won't happen. It does happen, but he's frustrated by how long it takes. And then he's frustrated when she breaks it off again. And I think they still end up together, but again, I skimmed the last chunk.

By the time Jack calls Odile out on her pretentious art snobbery, it's too little, too late for the narrative to begin critically examining Jack and Odile's bullshit. Both Jack and Odile are shallow, one-dimensional characters. Their dialogue is agonizing to read. It's just very basic and feels so meaningless.

That's a lot like how reading the whole book felt.

The Office Girls

Every bit of the dialogue is awkward because nothing is left out. Rather than feeling realistic or hilariously awkward, it just drags to the point of "why had this not been cut in the revision process? At one point, Odile tells Jack, "you're so gay. The language doesn't add any kind of authenticity to the time period. It only serves to make me hate both characters as insensitive, counter-culture wannabes. The short version is, I really despised a lot about this book. That said, I enjoyed how it worked my brain into pinning down exactly what I didn't like, and why.

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