Kevin Kramer Starts on Monday

by Debbie Graber

Kevin Kramer is the new senior vice president of the Products Profit center at Production Solutions. He’s worked hard for all his success. It’s taken him years to perfect a non-clammy handshake. But Kevin Kramer harbors many dark secrets. In fact, for everyone in these stories, avoiding the truth is a full-time An HR manager tries desperately to maintain order, even as the entire software department vanishes under mysterious circumstances. An estranged sister devises her comeback by throwing together a DIY wedding shower. A man who wears a Chewbacca costume feels he is uniquely qualified to divide the world into winners and losers. And a call center representative tries to give himself a pep talk after a particularly egregious client interaction.

The satirical short stories in Kevin Kramer Starts on Monday tell the tales of souls adrift in a corporate netherworld. The collection details the delusions the characters wear as comfortably as their khakis and no-iron button downs to skewer corporate culture and more generally, the lies we tell ourselves as humans in order to persevere.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Humor

176 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 2016

Reviews

[Shawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh. My. Goodness. There is nothing even remotely funny about this strained attempt at writing quirky, clever characters -- each distinguished only by how increasingly pathetic they became. Embarrassingly vapid. It reads like a bad stand up comedian who knows she's not funny, but convinces herself that laughing along to the unfunny jokes will leave the audience, if not fooled, at least occupied long enough to keep from heckling her off the stage. I suppose the author can take comfort in knowing that she can't come close to looking as ridiculous as the publishing house that picked this disaster up.

[KF · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm about seventy pages in and decided to call it quits. I just don't find any of the stories funny... Just kind of obnoxious. The voices in the stories don't feel distinguished in their own right, they feel sort of similar to one another. It puts the reader in an uncomfortable position considering Steve Carrell blurbed the book and it reads like an earnest but not-funny reapproach to The Office... Also, on a publishing standpoint, the layout of the book looks extremely off. It may be the spacing between lines or the lack of indentations, but the moment I opened the book I thought, "This looks self-published." It was almost like there was an aesthetic warning about the book prior to even beginning it.

Not my cup of tea, but others may find it humorous or relatable. Maybe.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first thought this was going to be a novel, so I was confused when I started reading the second 'chapter' only to find a new cast of characters.

There are some wins and some misses in this collection. Anyone who has experienced corporate office culture will recognize the workplace banalities, documented with humor.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn’t exactly describe this book as funny, although there was plenty of workplace absurdity that was amusing. There were also stories that just seemed sad to me, the characters struggling so much without being able to admit it to others or even themselves. It was a quick read and I enjoyed many of the stories...a collection that’s likely difficult to market so the publisher went with humor.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why I wanted to read this book:
1.) Because I liked the cover
2.) Because I liked the title
3.) Because Steve Carell told me to
and
4.) Because I was watching a show on Netflix called Kevin From Work at the time that I found out about this book
It's a collection of short stories most of which take place in an office setting. So it's a good read for anyone who works in an office. There is one that centers around a call center which anyone who has ever worked at a call center can relate to it.
It seemed like the first half of the book was funny, but then the second half just seems like it got sad and dirty. If it wasn't for the last few stories I'd probably would've given it four stars.
The story New Directions was probably my favorite.
And Kevin Kramer is an ass.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this slowly, enjoying the stories on their own. I'm not a fan of short stories usually, but this doesn't feel like a short story collection as much as a loose portrait of the human psyche at work. "Onset" was probably my favorite, but the stories mostly got better and better as the collection went on, so really anything from the second half of the book is recommend. There's a lot of repetition in the voice and style, but in such a way that it builds naturally and is clearly intentional. I liked this book a lot, especially the weirdness of some of the stories.

[Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, quick read that made me laugh out loud multiple times! I only wish it was a little longer. This short brought to life the doldrums of corporate life at it's "finest." If you have ever spent time in a corporate office take a few moments to read KKSOM.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Funny and, at the same time, kind of corporate-world creepy. A great read.

[Summer Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious collection of stories by a razor sharp writer. It's like Parks & Rec meets Dilbert. Truly funny and so fun to read!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fans of "The Office" and "Office Space" will find humor in these quick witted short stories. Graber has a mind for how we talk ourselves into and out of things.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

So incredibly funny! Wow. I want to read more of Debbie Graber. Her work is so unique and fresh, so relevant. I loved this piece, had me laughing out loud even in public.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have no clue what was going on 90% of the time here but I guess it could be summed up as: a tale of office hijinks.