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The Employees: A workplace novel of the 22nd century Paperback – February 7, 2023

by Olga Ravn (Author), Martin Aitken (Translator)
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 583 ratings
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Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize, The Employees reshuffles a sci-fi voyage into a riotously original existential nightmare

Now in paperback, The Employees chronicles the fate of the interstellar Six-Thousand Ship. The human and humanoid crew members complain about their daily tasks in a series of staff reports and memos. When the ship takes on a number of strange objects from the planet New Discovery, the crew becomes strangely and deeply attached to them, even as tensions boil toward mutiny, especially among the humanoids.
Olga Ravn’s prose is chilling, crackling, exhilarating, and foreboding. The Employees probes into what makes us human, while delivering a hilariously stinging critique of life governed by the logic of productivity.
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    144 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    New Directions
  4. Publication date
    February 7, 2023
  5. Dimensions
    4.5 x 0.4 x 7.3 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0811234827
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0811234825
  8. See all details
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From the Publisher

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A deeply sensory book, suffused with aroma and alert to tactility... The Employees is not only a disconcertingly quotidian space opera; it’s also an audacious satire of corporate language and the late-capitalist workplace, and a winningly abstracted investigation into what it means to be human… This clever, endlessly thought-provoking novel catches something of our recursive search for the nature of consciousness; a question that answers itself, a voice in the darkness, an object moving through space."
― Justine Jordan, Guardian

"An alarmingly brilliant work of art"
― Max Porter

"Beautiful, sinister, gripping. A tantalizing puzzle you can never quite solve. All the reviews say that the novel is, ultimately, about what it means to be human. What makes it exceptional, however, is the way it explores the richness and strangeness of being non-human."
― Mark Haddon

"What might result if Ursula K. Le Guin and Nell Zink had a baby."
― Tank Magazine

"An achingly beautiful mosaic of fragile characters managing their longing, pain, and alienation. This gorgeous, evocative novel is well worth the effort."
― Publishers Weekly

"In brief numbered statements delivered by the human and nonhuman crew of the Six Thousand Ship to a shadowy committee, Ravn seeds her narrative with direct and allegorical reflections on transhumanism, disappearing nature, and the ambiguities of being embodied... The novel is by turns queasily exact about what is seen―skin pitted like pomegranate, an object’s furrows oozing some nameless balm―and willfully obscure. Ambiguity is everything: “I don’t know if I’m human anymore. Am I human? Does it say in your files what I am?”"
― Brian Dillon, 4columns

"The Employees asks important questions about what makes up human consciousness, and also, critiques corporate language that can make its way into our lives sometimes without us knowing. It's very funny. It's very interesting. I definitely recommend checking this one out."
― Corinne Segal, WNYC

"A book that strikes a rare balance between SF philosophy and workaday feeling all while whirling through space."
― Kirkus

"Few stories today are as sublimely strange and their own thing as Olga Ravn’s The Employees. This disorienting, mind-bending expanse recalls as much the poetry of Aase Berg as the workplace fiction of Thomas Ligotti. Something marvelously sui generis for the jaded."
― Jeff VanderMeer

"The most striking aspect of this weird, beautiful, and occasionally disgusting novel is not, as its subtitle implies, its portrayal of working life on the spaceship. What The Employees captures best is humanity’s ambivalence about life itself, its sticky messes and unappealing functions, the goo that connects us to everything that crawls and mindlessly self-propagates, not to mention that obliterating payoff at the end of it all."
― Laura Miller, New York Review of Books

About the Author

Olga Ravn (born 1986) is a Danish novelist and poet. In collaboration with the Danish publisher Gyldendal she edited a selection of Tove Ditlevsen’s writings that relaunched Ditlevsen readership worldwide. Her novel The Employees was shortlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize. SOPHIA HERSI SMITH and JENNIFER RUSSELL are translators living in Copenhagen. Together, they have translated fiction and poetry by Danish writers such as Tove Ditlevsen, Marianne Larsen, and Rakel Haslund-Gjerrild.

MARTIN AITKEN has translated numerous novels from Danish and Norwegian, including works by Karl Ove Knausgaard, Peter Hoeg, Ida Jessen, and Kim Leine. He won the PEN Translation Prize for his translation of Hanne Orstavik’s Love.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ New Directions; First Edition (February 7, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0811234827
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0811234825
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.5 x 0.4 x 7.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 583 ratings

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Olga Ravn

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Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
3.8 out of 5
583 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the storyline intriguing, hypnotic, and philosophical. They also say it's worth the read and a super short, fun read. Opinions are mixed on the writing quality, with some finding it well-written and others saying it'd be better if it was translated better.

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StorylineReadabilityLengthWriting quality
7 customers mention "Storyline"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the storyline intriguing, hypnotic, and fragmentary. They also love the concept, and say the narratives have a dream-like quality. Customers say the effects are rewarding.

"...But if you’re looking for a quiet, clever, quick read that is thought-provoking but leaves heaps of questions unanswered at the end, you may have..." Read more

"...This is an engaging read: intriguing, hypnotic, fragmentary, philosophical, overall an outstanding work...." Read more

"The way this book is set up is unique, intriguing, and refreshingly different! I read it in two short sit downs and enjoyed every second...." Read more

"...The novel is inventive and beautifully written." Read more

4 customers mention "Readability"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book worth the reading, and a quick read that is thought-provoking.

"...But if you’re looking for a quiet, clever, quick read that is thought-provoking but leaves heaps of questions unanswered at the end, you may have..." Read more

"...This is an engaging read: intriguing, hypnotic, fragmentary, philosophical, overall an outstanding work...." Read more

"...Super short, fun read!" Read more

"...Well worth the reading, especially if you like to scratch your head and think about what you just read." Read more

3 customers mention "Length"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book super short and fun to read.

"...The Employees, like Oyamada's The Factory and The Hole, is a relatively short read. But the beauty and depth of the prose will grip you and keep you." Read more

"...Super short, fun read!" Read more

"A great, short read (if you enjoy slow-paced plots and plenty of ambiguity)..." Read more

6 customers mention "Writing quality"3 positive3 negative

Customers are mixed about the writing quality. Some mention that it's written well, while others say that some of the writing is nonsensical and borderline unreadable. They also mention that each chapter is a couple of paragraphs with no context.

"...This is a peculiar book, but it's written well...." Read more

"...Each chapter (?) is a couple of paragraphs with no context, really. There’s no setup or establishing characters. I was confused...." Read more

"...The novel is inventive and beautifully written." Read more

"This book was recommended to me and to be honest was a hard read...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

That one guy
4.0 out of 5 stars A great, short read (if you enjoy slow-paced plots and plenty of ambiguity)
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2023
Verified Purchase
I forget how I came to this book—likely it was via a random “top ten must-read” list I stumbled across in my morning news feed. I can’t say that I loved The Employees as much as some reviewers in the press, but it was definitely worth a read, and I have a feeling that it will stick with me for a while.

The Employees is written like an epistolary novel, but instead of letters from one person to another or diary entries, the text here is from interviews (some might say “confessions”) of crew members aboard a spaceship. What I enjoy about these sorts of novels (Dangerous Liaisons, Griffin & Sabine, etc.) is that the story and the characters often unfold bit by bit. It’s not just the engrossing plot that keeps you reading, it’s the act of uncovering that story in stages. Movies like Memento have a similar effect and often make me want to start over the second I’ve finished them, so I can pick up on the clues I missed the first time around.

That said, this style isn’t for everyone. If you hate ambiguity, if you need everything spelled out, if you want an author to connect all the dots, you may struggle with this book. If you want a book with loads of action, full of petty disagreements and soap operas-level plot twists, you will almost certainly be disappointed.

But if you’re looking for a quiet, clever, quick read that is thought-provoking but leaves heaps of questions unanswered at the end, you may have found your happy place.
3 people found this helpful
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Kaitlin Magee
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and Powerful Sci-Fi Novel
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2024
Verified Purchase
The Employees takes place onboard a spaceship with a crew of human and humanoid employees. The novel is presented in the form of statements obtained from interviews with the crew members. Over the course of the novel, we come to learn about life on the ship, how the humans and humanoids view their work and roles, and the influence of strange objects that were brought onto the ship from a planet.

This is a peculiar book, but it's written well. This translation seems pretty good; I noticed a few small errors that will likely be corrected in subsequent printings. Nothing that would diminish one's enjoyment of the book. I am coming to enjoy this New Directions publisher, after liking the Hiroko Oyamada novels. The Employees, like Oyamada's The Factory and The Hole, is a relatively short read. But the beauty and depth of the prose will grip you and keep you.
One person found this helpful
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Bort
3.0 out of 5 stars Like from a video game (but not as fun)
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2023
Verified Purchase
You know when you’re exploring in a video game and you might find little recordings or old journal entries? Messages from whoever was in that area before that, over time, might tell a “story.” That’s this book. The least fun part of a video game.

I knew what I was getting into with this and I knew I wouldn’t like it. I have no idea why I read it. I don’t like short stories and so of course I wouldn’t like whatever this is supposed to be called. Each chapter (?) is a couple of paragraphs with no context, really. There’s no setup or establishing characters. I was confused.

But my guess is that is the point. The author stripped out all the meat of a book just to leave you with the emotions? To let you go through the process of filling in the blanks. Which, hey, it’s certainly unique. And it seems plenty of people enjoyed that.

I, however, think I really would have enjoyed this book if it had been more traditional. It seems like a cool story.

Instead it’s made up of the stuff I almost always skip in a video game. Game over, man.
3 people found this helpful
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MoMadison
4.0 out of 5 stars A great experiment gone awry
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2023
Verified Purchase
This had me g guessing until the last page. I will be chewing on what I read for some, and might come back to amend my short statement.
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Santiago Herrera
5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshingly Original in Style and Very Engaging Plot
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2022
Verified Purchase
Unlike anything I've read in recent years (and I am always trying different styles of experimental literature, e.g., The Eater of Darkness, Burnt Tongues, Oulipo, Borges, which are surely justified but often miss the mark... not this one). This is an engaging read: intriguing, hypnotic, fragmentary, philosophical, overall an outstanding work. I did not know this author was a poet (I think she is) but the cadence, the imagery, the sheer beauty of some of the brief, unexpected sentences here, hinted at someone of a poetical bent. There is something odd, quirky, truly otherworldly about this work. I am always looking for this type of experiences (Arrival in film, Sigur Ros in music, etc.), where one feels genuine otherness, something foreign, something not from around (this place, this time), and this is surely a very good one if you are into unusual aesthetic experiences. Highly recommend and hope she writes more!
7 people found this helpful
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Marley
3.0 out of 5 stars The employee
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2023
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This book was recommended to me and to be honest was a hard read. It was confusing at the beginning until I got used to what was happening in the story.
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John T. Clapacs
2.0 out of 5 stars What was that?
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2022
Verified Purchase
Would just a little exposition have been so bad? So there is a spaceship. And the crew are some humans and some “humanoids” who evidently have biologically grown bodies but programmable software. They go to a planet for some unclear reason. At some point they collect some “objects” from the planet whose nature is altogether unclear. Are they organisms? Unclear. But somehow they can induce feelings or reactions in some of the crew members. Also there are things called biomembranes whose purpose and nature are totally unclear. Also sometimes there is talk of scents. For reasons never stated there is some sort of conflict among the crew. Somebody gets killed. Maybe some go into hiding on the planet? All of this is being investigated by representatives of the ship company. To uncertain ends. Then they all die. Maybe there are morals to be learned or thoughts to be had but you’d never know it because we are left to guess at all of that by the lack of context. At least it was short.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Rita Hudson
5.0 out of 5 stars .
Reviewed in Australia on March 30, 2024
Verified Purchase
As I personally works in HR, I found this book particularly funny. I burn through the whole book in about three hours because I was desperate to know what happened.
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