Not just any day, but Valentine’s, which has
varied connotations for Sophie, Calum, Nathan, Mark and Julie who all work at Seek
Software’s office in Soho.
All but Nathan have hopes and plans for
romance, half-formed in some cases, half-baked in others, and with unsigned
Valentine cards left on desks there is much scope for confusion and
misunderstood messages.
As for Nathan, once bitten (or savaged)
twice shy (or monastic); he organises an annual Anti-Valentine night out to
provide the singletons in the office an antidote to the unwelcome reminder of
their status. Sophie, Mark and Julie agree to go, but Calum has an internet
induced blind date.
Matt Dunn takes us through their day,
hopping from character to character, from the morning commute, through coffee
and lunch breaks, taking in hushed conversations in corridors and smoking
shelters, and culminating in the after-work activities (some planned and some
unexpected). He does it with wit and style, capturing the goldfish bowl nature
of life, work, banter and gossip in a small workplace.
The plot lines are cleverly interwoven, as
complicated as needed to provide his characters with rising levels of anxiety,
self-doubt, jealousy, hope and eventually (no spoiler here) some redemption.
The humour is good, even old chestnuts are
well delivered, and by the end I did care how Sophie’s, Calum’s, Nathan’s, Mark’s
and Julie’s day at the office concluded.
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