Hard Copy

Already purchased

Click to open directly in the xigxag app.

Standard price shown. Sign in for personalised pricing.

Send as a gift Get in the xigxag app

Added to cart

Continue shopping or head to checkout

View cart
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

Bloomsbury presents Hard Copy by Fien Veldman, read by Sarah Slimani and James Faulkner.

'A talented new voice worth paying attention to.' Irish Times
'Equal parts searing intelligence and madcap sweetness. Simply brilliant.' Jenny Mustard
'Many astute observations... very funny on the tedium of office life.' Irish Independent

This is a story of girl meets printer.

A customer service assistant spends her long workdays printing letters. Her one friend is the printer and, in the dark confines of her office, she begins to open up to him, talking about her fears, her past, her hopes and dreams.

To her, it seems like a beautiful friendship is blossoming. To her boss, it seems like she’s losing her mind.

Diagnosed with burnout and placed on leave, she faces severance and – worse – separation from her beloved printer. But she’s not about to give up on her only friend without a fight. And, it turns out, neither is he…

Weird, incisive and unforgettable, Hard Copy is perfect for fans of Sayaka Murata and Halle Butler.

Critics Review

Despite its whimsical premise, Hard Copy is at its heart a joyful, tender, and strangely relatable novel. With sharp, playful prose Veldman tells a story in equal parts searing intelligence and madcap sweetness. Simply brilliant.
Jenny Mustard, author of Okay Days
This novel has it all. It's smart, captivating, poignant, absurd, moving, and terribly funny.
Jente Posthuma, author of What I'd Rather Not Think About
Intimate and surprising at every turn, Hard Copy's distinct narrative voice took me right in from page one. A truly one-of-a-kind novel: I loved it.
Sarah Maria Griffin, author of Other Words for Smoke
Rounded with sharp observations and surprising humour, Hard Copy is an incisive commentary on social isolation – a young woman’s desperate search for connection in these late-capitalist times.
Anindita Ghose, author of The Illuminated
'Many astute observations about loneliness [and] class attitudes... very funny on the tedium of office life.'
Irish Independent
A talented new voice worth paying attention to.
Irish Times
Dryly comic... You regularly wonder who is more disturbed here, the protagonist or society.
Het Parool
A weird, understated and very well written book about a millennial meltdown
Havermelkelite
A beautiful, at times absurdist and moving debut
Boekblad
In clear, bright language, Fien Veldman accurately depicts a world, a social background, that eats its way through the individual... A novel like an autopsy.
Manon Uphoff
Absurdist and inventive. Fien Veldman knows how to deal with contemporary cultural phenomena, and she always approaches them astutely and surprisingly'
Tzum
Wondrous
Noordhollands Dagblad
A beautiful book
Friesch Dagblad
Hard Copy is a wonderfully entertaining novel about the struggle to build relationships when one’s formative years have already warped their foundation. In a world where machines steadily replace human labour, Veldman explores the search for connections that may not exist and a new, hopefully better reality... bizarre yet poignant'
Daily Dispatch

About xigxag

Experience the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed for seamless discovery, purchase, and enjoyment of your favorite titles. Our flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less, providing affordable prices and the best audiobook deals without requiring a subscription. Perfect for gifting, xigxag also features convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

 

Beyond the listening experience, xigxag stands as an exciting alternative to big tech, embodying a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we ensure a guilt-free listening experience from a leader in audiobook innovation.

 

Effortlessly search audiobooks, access honest audiobook reviews that evaluate both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. Whether you prefer to download or stream top audiobook titles, xigxag provides the best possible listening experience anytime, anywhere, on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Discover the future of audiobooks today.