Book Cover

Pam’s dreams are not extraordinary. She wants to marry the man she loves, have a family, and feel creatively expressed in her work. In the end, she gets all threee. It’s not lost on me that the series ends when Pam’s dreams come true. The documentary doesn’t stop when Michael leaves. They keep filming. I like to think that’s because they might have been following Pam all along.

# Review

The American version of The Office is definitely in my list of top ten sitcoms ever, so I had to read the book by two of the stars of the show: Jenna Fischer (who played Pam the receptionist/ salesperson) and Angela Kinsey (who played Angela the accountant).

The book starts by exploring both actresses’ personal histories leading up to being casted for the show and follows the show’s progress. The two talk about the various stars who were in the show and how they were like to work with, from the eccentric Rainn Wilson to the magnificent Steve Carrell. The two also dive into the various behind-the-scenes tidbits about pivotal scenes such as the booze cruise (where people got lost at sea after filming) and the Niagara wedding (where John Krasinski filmed with a terrible cold). My favourite aspect of the book is definitely the glimpse into show business, about the various moving pieces necessary to create a show like The Office and what made the show different from others, such as the blurring of the lines between writer and performer, and the closeness of everyone in real life.

The writing style is very colloquial, filled with exclamation marks and “OMG”s; I personally found it almost a bit too much but I guess it represents the authors’ tones in real life. The writing does try to be humourous but it wasn’t really my type of humour. I also read the book but apparently the audiobook is the way to go because it features many guest readers.

# Conclusion

Tidbits about one of my favourite TV shows.

# Overall rating: 7.4

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