Home
/
Fiction
/
How To Survive From Nine To Five
How To Survive From Nine To Five
Jul 4, 2025 5:20 PM

Author:Jilly Cooper

How To Survive From Nine To Five

Jilly Cooper's witty thumbnail sketch of office life - part valentine, part poison pen letter - offers a vivid evocation of the world in which many of us spend a large part of our lives. There will be few office workers, whether they are bosses, sekketries or office crones, who do not recognize the Machiavellian politics and the lunacies she describes. The topics covered by this survival guide range from 'The Hierarchy' and 'Office Happenings' to 'Extra-mural Activities' and 'The Firing Squad'. Early in her career the author worked in an office and she has many friends, including a husband, who still do: but it will come as no surprise to readers of this classic volume to learn that since its publication she has been self-employed.

Reviews

Great skill is shown, and affection.

—— P.J. Kavanagh, The Spectator

a work of immense sympathy

—— Margaret Cook, New Statesman

Not only does Lodge capture the kindliness and humour of the Master, but his novel is a rare portrait of friendship between men It enlarges the spirit as well as entertaining the heart and is a really fine novel.

—— Amanda Craig, New Statesman

perceptive and moving marvellously illuminating

—— Peregrine Worsthorne, New Statesman

Stylistically genial and socially panoramic

—— Boyd Tonkin, Independent

In the world of Flagg, plots, situations and outcomes that would normally make you fling a book across the room, here just have you reading on, smiling and hoping

—— Julie Myerson , Guardian

Lodge's vignettes of army life are spiced with a wit that is both droll and mordant, and his characters are deftly rendered...Lodge's novel is a moving glimpse of a world on the cusp of a change: Janus-faced, profound above all in its uncertainties.

—— Lettie Ransley , Observer

An engrossing novel

—— Image Magazine

She represents historical research as exciting, romantic and as offering personal catharsis.

—— History Today

Maxwell's achievement is to show how human relationships work in spite of the confines of history, language and nationality

—— Daily Telegraph

Stylishly, subtly, the enjoyment of getting to know another country is conveyed with authority and a perceptions that's rare in our careless times

—— The Oldie

An incredibly emotional read

—— Grazia

A thrilling page-turner

—— Alexander Larman , Spectator

This is a novel that strikes both horror and joy in the reader, the first-person narration deftly articulating Judith's escalating confusion and fear ... A talent to watch

—— Lucy Scholes , The Sunday Times

A touching, delicate book, it's hitting the shelves with high hopes...On March 1, head out and buy Grace McCleen's book

—— Louis Wise , Sunday Times

A distinctive debut that pulls off the use of a child narrator in delightful style

—— We Love This Book

Touching and funny… a compelling and wholly original debut.

—— Marie Claire

Shimmers with little miracles.

—— Peggy Hughes , Scotland on Sunday

This is a promisingly bold book and McCleen is a talent to watch

—— Lucy Scholes , Sunday Times

A gripping and mesmerizing debut of an unforgettable ten-year-old heroine and her battle with good and evil… A harrowing and powerful story about isolation and belonging

—— My Weekly

An original new voice... Haunting and absorbing, this is a joy to read

—— Jackie Carrier , Suffolk Free Press

A seemingly slight work that is, in fact, possessed of almost infinite depth. It's an elegant inquiry into what we can know and how we can know it - and it's gripping too

—— Erica Wagner , The Times, Books of the Year

It sets off a moving meditation on ageing, regret and the unreliability of memory

—— Sunday Express, Books of the Year

Has rightly been praised for its economy and elegance

—— Margaret Drabble , Guardian, Books of the Year

Belatedly and deservedly, this was the year of Julian Barnes

—— Mark Lawson , Guardian, Books of the Year

Exquisitely written and deeply engaging

—— Lorrie Moore , Guardian, Books of the Year

Elegant verbal exactness, analytic finesse and a witty portrayal of contemporary and 1960's life complement the intricate plot

—— Peter Kemp , Sunday Times, Books of the Year

A worthy Booker laureate of this or any other year, our most versatile novelist...a perfect present in these last days of the book as a singular object

—— Philip French , Observer, Books of the Year

A worthy winner of this year's Booker prize: short, but certainly not slight, precise and insightful

—— Kate Cunningham , Herald, Books of the Year

This novel packed more emotion into its 150 pages than any other I have read this year

—— Bob McDevitt , Herald, Books of the Year

Melancholic, suspenseful and thought-provoking

—— Kirsty Wark , Herald, Books of the Year

Several plot twists later, what started off as a thoughtful (and fascinating) meditation on memory becomes something close to a full blown thriller

—— James Walton , Daily Mail

Essential reading for any writer, aspiring or otherwise

—— Patrick Keogh , Guardian

A meditation on memory and regret slyly conveyed through the unreliable voice of a complacent man whose past gives him a nasty surprise

—— Justine Jordan , Guardian

A deserving winner

—— Éibhear Walshe , Irish Times, Books of the Year

Masterful, gripping and, above all, surprising

—— Victoria Hislop , The Week, Books of the Year

Barnes has always has an ear for the bleak comedy of the first person

—— Olivia Cole , GQ

Novel, fertile and memorable

—— Justine Jordan , Guardian

Julian Barnes’ Man-Booker prize-winning novel has extraordinary power and emotional density

—— Simon Shaw , Mail on Sunday

An eloquent meditation on relationships, emotional arrogance and the discomfort of remorse

—— James Urquhart , Financial Times

The key to this slender, tantalizing mystery is on its opening page: what you end up remembering isn’t always the same as what you have witnessed

—— Katie Owen , Daily Telegraph

His art is artful, often openly so, but never showy or obvious

—— Colm Toibin , New York Review

Described in Justin Cartwright’s review as 'a very fine book, skillfully plotted, boldly conceived’

—— Guardian, Holiday Reads

I am eager to read it, though I hear it needs to be read twice to be fully appreciated

—— Colm O'Gorman , Independent
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved