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The Copywriter
A portrait of the poet as an office worker, plumbing the depths of the spiritual gulf between art and work.
It’s the summer of 2017 and D__, a poet working by day as a copywriter at a retail start-up, can’t dispel a creeping sense of dissolution on the horizon. Whether it be the company’s new twenty-four-year-old CEO, who has more charisma than work experience, the growing distance between D__ and his longtime girlfriend, or a mounting sense of unreality in the wake of the first delirious year of the Trump administration, there’s a sense that things are speeding towards collapse—and that they’ve perhaps been unraveling for some time.
Borne along on these ambivalent straits, D__ begins to keep a notebook, filling it with dreams, scenes from his own life, emails, and broadly-defined moments, both real and fictional, that he calls parables—attempts to learn from the underlying schedule of the universe, some music of the spheres that, if heard correctly, might help him finally understand his life, his art, and labor. Unfurling over the course of two years, season by season, The Copywriter circles a series of perennial questions, capturing in the process the unique absurdism of the gone-but-not-forgotten era of office culture between the Great Recession and the COVID-19 How should an artist balance a job and life when art doesn’t fit into either category? How does one find meaning in work that is stubbornly, uncannily, comically meaningless? Does one need to find meaning in one’s labor at all? What concessions do we make for the sake of a paycheck? What does all of this do to our art, and our souls?
Utterly original and lyrically beautiful, burrowing deep into contemporary disaffection without falling under its spell, The Copywriter is a comic story in the vein of Kafka’s Jewish mysticism, following the absurd paths that office work can take us on, and the subtle ways in which seemingly mindless labor can determine our fate.
It’s the summer of 2017 and D__, a poet working by day as a copywriter at a retail start-up, can’t dispel a creeping sense of dissolution on the horizon. Whether it be the company’s new twenty-four-year-old CEO, who has more charisma than work experience, the growing distance between D__ and his longtime girlfriend, or a mounting sense of unreality in the wake of the first delirious year of the Trump administration, there’s a sense that things are speeding towards collapse—and that they’ve perhaps been unraveling for some time.
Borne along on these ambivalent straits, D__ begins to keep a notebook, filling it with dreams, scenes from his own life, emails, and broadly-defined moments, both real and fictional, that he calls parables—attempts to learn from the underlying schedule of the universe, some music of the spheres that, if heard correctly, might help him finally understand his life, his art, and labor. Unfurling over the course of two years, season by season, The Copywriter circles a series of perennial questions, capturing in the process the unique absurdism of the gone-but-not-forgotten era of office culture between the Great Recession and the COVID-19 How should an artist balance a job and life when art doesn’t fit into either category? How does one find meaning in work that is stubbornly, uncannily, comically meaningless? Does one need to find meaning in one’s labor at all? What concessions do we make for the sake of a paycheck? What does all of this do to our art, and our souls?
Utterly original and lyrically beautiful, burrowing deep into contemporary disaffection without falling under its spell, The Copywriter is a comic story in the vein of Kafka’s Jewish mysticism, following the absurd paths that office work can take us on, and the subtle ways in which seemingly mindless labor can determine our fate.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published February 3, 2026
59 people are currently reading
6274 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Poppick
5 books36 followersDaniel Poppick is the author of Fear of Description (Penguin, 2019), selected for the National Poetry Series, and The Police (Omnidawn, 2017). His work appears in Poetry, Harper's, BOMB, Lit Hub, the PEN Poetry Series, and other journals. The recipient of awards from the MacDowell Colony and the Corporation of Yaddo and a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, he has taught at the University of Iowa, Victoria University (New Zealand), Coe College, and the Parsons School of Design. He currently lives in Brooklyn, where he works as a copywriter and coedits the Catenary Press.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
October 7, 2025
I received a free copy of, The Copywriter, by Daniel Poppick, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Daniel takes us a year in his life as a copywriter and poet. It was an ok read me.
October 29, 2025
If I could pick one word to describe this book, it would be pretentious. I've never been a fan of books where the characters have an over-inflated sense of self and try to say things that sound super deep but are really nonsense. Someone saying they are a journalistic language sculptor and then going on to describe what that means - how they went to Germany and trekked through a forest every day to masturbate into spiderwebs and therefore cum is speech because the etymological root of semen is ‘seed’ is wild. Also, I didn’t think the sentence “is your cocaine gluten free” would be something I’d ever read. And can someone explain to me how Lord of the Rings is supposed to be anti-Semitic? Because that one makes no sense.
The first half follows the narrator as he discusses his life with his girlfriend, a few close friends, and his job. There are some quite eye-roll inducing sentences (see above), but nothing profound. The second half of the book was more enjoyable than the first. It was a bit more relatable, with the narrator trying to figure out what do after he loses his job and girlfriend, then embarks on a road trip while blowing through his savings to try and find himself. The writing is better, the sentences less awkward (though there are still a few), and it doesn't drag quite as much.
I think this book will appeal to a very specific audience, which I am not a part of. I can see what the author was trying to do, but it really isn't my cup of tea.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The first half follows the narrator as he discusses his life with his girlfriend, a few close friends, and his job. There are some quite eye-roll inducing sentences (see above), but nothing profound. The second half of the book was more enjoyable than the first. It was a bit more relatable, with the narrator trying to figure out what do after he loses his job and girlfriend, then embarks on a road trip while blowing through his savings to try and find himself. The writing is better, the sentences less awkward (though there are still a few), and it doesn't drag quite as much.
I think this book will appeal to a very specific audience, which I am not a part of. I can see what the author was trying to do, but it really isn't my cup of tea.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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February 17, 2026“guy in your MFA”, the novel
September 15, 2025
Like if Ben Lerner and Cora Lewis had a baby
March 13, 2026
D’s background is in poetry, and he employs his skills as a copywriter in New York, writing product descriptions for his company. After being laid off, and after his partner of 7 years ends their relationship, D spends the next year reading Proust, jotting down his dreams in his notebook, and creating poems. His parents mean well when they ask about job prospects, and his poetry pals, Lucy, Will, and Ruth, create an ecosystem that comprises D’s community of support. On an attempted road trip, he secures a copywriting position at a Jewish community center, selling time by writing “descriptions of Jewish life, classes and holiday services, and other events.” In the end, his time in this role will be limited.
After a rocky start (that is, a poetry-heavy beginning), Poppick settles into a groove that works for me. The author opens with the poetry-but-sorta-prose writing to more prose-that-includes-D’s-poems, “the parable of x” (e.g., grammar, the fool). In the narrator’s year of redirection, readers peer into the world of poets, making adjustments in life to pay bills, and navigating friendships in changing seasons. Any Proustian references would have been lost to me, and I cannot judge the poems as such. However, Poppick’s short novel reminded me of how perceptive poets can be and their uncanny ability to make connections and to capture ideas succinctly: “Half of grief is retrospective, and half is speculative. Grief is so sci-fi.” The light dusting of self-deprecation (e.g., when at a crossroads, get a PhD) and wit was the right choice.
I rate The Copywriter 3.5 stars.
My thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for an ARC.
After a rocky start (that is, a poetry-heavy beginning), Poppick settles into a groove that works for me. The author opens with the poetry-but-sorta-prose writing to more prose-that-includes-D’s-poems, “the parable of x” (e.g., grammar, the fool). In the narrator’s year of redirection, readers peer into the world of poets, making adjustments in life to pay bills, and navigating friendships in changing seasons. Any Proustian references would have been lost to me, and I cannot judge the poems as such. However, Poppick’s short novel reminded me of how perceptive poets can be and their uncanny ability to make connections and to capture ideas succinctly: “Half of grief is retrospective, and half is speculative. Grief is so sci-fi.” The light dusting of self-deprecation (e.g., when at a crossroads, get a PhD) and wit was the right choice.
I rate The Copywriter 3.5 stars.
My thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for an ARC.
February 26, 2026
Didn’t totally get this but I liked it anyway.
March 29, 2026
wow. all of that to end with a cheap ass ending purchased at dollar tree!? literally I don't know what the point of that was. gets an extra star for making me laugh a few times but that's it.
February 13, 2026
What I loved about The copywriter is the way Daniel Poppick can string words into sentences that work—and that are sublimely ridiculous. Our narrator, D___, works as a copywriter by day, but feels his real calling is poetry. When the novel opens, D___ is writing product descriptions for a start-up that sells, well, things; things going for a hipster/world love kind of vibe. The new CEO where D___ works is 24-years old with lots of buzzwords, but no management experience.
In their first meeting, the CEO explains, "Everything we do needs to have heart...When someone writes a negative review of their lavender-scented yoga mat, we need to ask ourselves how we could have strengthened our connection with that person. When we pack up and ship our customers the 'Yas Queen' throw pillows, we need to affirm them the way they affirm themselves. When we write a description of the eggplant emoji drone, we need to be anticipating how that product makes our customers feel—would highlighting the Bluetooth speaker installed in the tip connect someone more deeply to their joy in the moment they read about it on our site?... From here on out everything we do is going to have heart."
Reading this kind of nonsense is something I can do endlessly with enthusiasm similar to that I apply to eating Cocoa Krispies. If the box isn't empty, if there are more pages, I'm game. And generally I'll be frequently subjecting those around me to passages read aloud. (I am not that generous with the Cocoa Krispies.)
So, on the one hand, The Copywriter was a delightful piece of reading, but at some point I wanted more, and the more just really wasn't there. D___ lives a life of low ambition and high happenstance, so the book doesn't have much of a narrative arc—just like his life.
The Copywriter is definitely a fun, clever read. It's perfect when one needs to relax and take a break from the endless trauma that our current administration is committed to providing.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
In their first meeting, the CEO explains, "Everything we do needs to have heart...When someone writes a negative review of their lavender-scented yoga mat, we need to ask ourselves how we could have strengthened our connection with that person. When we pack up and ship our customers the 'Yas Queen' throw pillows, we need to affirm them the way they affirm themselves. When we write a description of the eggplant emoji drone, we need to be anticipating how that product makes our customers feel—would highlighting the Bluetooth speaker installed in the tip connect someone more deeply to their joy in the moment they read about it on our site?... From here on out everything we do is going to have heart."
Reading this kind of nonsense is something I can do endlessly with enthusiasm similar to that I apply to eating Cocoa Krispies. If the box isn't empty, if there are more pages, I'm game. And generally I'll be frequently subjecting those around me to passages read aloud. (I am not that generous with the Cocoa Krispies.)
So, on the one hand, The Copywriter was a delightful piece of reading, but at some point I wanted more, and the more just really wasn't there. D___ lives a life of low ambition and high happenstance, so the book doesn't have much of a narrative arc—just like his life.
The Copywriter is definitely a fun, clever read. It's perfect when one needs to relax and take a break from the endless trauma that our current administration is committed to providing.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
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December 5, 2025Full disclosure: I am not the right reader for this inventive book about a poet stuck in office work and other menial labor, keeping a notebook, a kind of scrapbook of his random poetic thoughts and ramblings.
I've never read Proust and rarely read poetry. The perfect reader for this would read both and maybe write poetry and have spent time in grad school studying same.
Occasionally I had the weird experience of knowing it was funny without laughing. Which is because I'm the wrong reader for this book. Sometimes I just didn't know what I was reading. Same reason probably.
So the problem, the fault, dear readers, is all my own. (To paraphrase Mr. Shakespeare who wrote a lot of poetry and would have loved this book.)
I've never read Proust and rarely read poetry. The perfect reader for this would read both and maybe write poetry and have spent time in grad school studying same.
Occasionally I had the weird experience of knowing it was funny without laughing. Which is because I'm the wrong reader for this book. Sometimes I just didn't know what I was reading. Same reason probably.
So the problem, the fault, dear readers, is all my own. (To paraphrase Mr. Shakespeare who wrote a lot of poetry and would have loved this book.)
Read
February 20, 2026contemporary fiction maxxing
March 11, 2026
Hearing my book club discuss a book by a person I know made me glad I am a 7th grade teacher and not a poet or a novelist. Way to go Dan
February 18, 2026
Absolutely awful. This is the kind of book only a white man can publish. It’s thinly veiled journal fragments and the “plot” consists of a bored mediocre white writer frustrated with his office job, who then gets fired, reads Proust (he *really* wants you to know he reads Proust), learns nothing from it, and takes a failed cross-country roadtrip. Wow, so original.
The book gets marginally better when D— gets a new job at a Jewish community center, but then he lost me again when he said Solmaz Sharif is the only elder millennial poet who isn’t “insufferable.” Which tells me he’s reading a very narrow slice of contemporary poetry. Yawn. The only redeeming quality of this book is that it is relatively short. I’d still say it’s a waste of time.
The book gets marginally better when D— gets a new job at a Jewish community center, but then he lost me again when he said Solmaz Sharif is the only elder millennial poet who isn’t “insufferable.” Which tells me he’s reading a very narrow slice of contemporary poetry. Yawn. The only redeeming quality of this book is that it is relatively short. I’d still say it’s a waste of time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2026
I absolutely love reading books about writers. I love getting inside of their heads, and getting a sneak peek at their writing processes and habits. In THE COPYWRITER by Daniel Poppick, the reader gets inside the head of a poet/copywriter, and follows his life through the years of 2017-2019.
The format of this novel is definitely unique. It’s scattered with poems, dream descriptions, ramblings, and inner thoughts throughout. I found it entertaining and humorous, yet also dry and pretentious at times. It’s a super short book—around 200 pages. I’m not sure if I would’ve stuck around if it was in the 300-400 range. However, the poet’s work life, friendships, romantic relationships, hobbies, and passions certainly kept me invested.
I enjoyed this novel for the most part and whizzed right through it, but I’m not gonna lie—a lot of the poems went WAY over my head. Poetry has always confused the heck out of me. I loved absolutely everything about English class in high school, except for the units on poetry. It’s like my brain just crashed out and shut down once my teacher asked me to decipher a poem. I just couldn’t do it. Still can’t. 🤷🏻♀️
READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:
- Writer lifestyle
- Character-driven novels
- Office politics
- Workplace drama
- Unique writing formats
- Slow-moving pace
- Poetry
- Dry humor and banter
- Quick reads
- Friendship fiction
With that said, I’m going with 3.5/5 stars for THE COPYWRITER. I didn’t love it, didn’t hate it either. It was a “middle of the road” read for me. Perhaps I just wasn’t the best audience for it? It’s out now!
The format of this novel is definitely unique. It’s scattered with poems, dream descriptions, ramblings, and inner thoughts throughout. I found it entertaining and humorous, yet also dry and pretentious at times. It’s a super short book—around 200 pages. I’m not sure if I would’ve stuck around if it was in the 300-400 range. However, the poet’s work life, friendships, romantic relationships, hobbies, and passions certainly kept me invested.
I enjoyed this novel for the most part and whizzed right through it, but I’m not gonna lie—a lot of the poems went WAY over my head. Poetry has always confused the heck out of me. I loved absolutely everything about English class in high school, except for the units on poetry. It’s like my brain just crashed out and shut down once my teacher asked me to decipher a poem. I just couldn’t do it. Still can’t. 🤷🏻♀️
READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:
- Writer lifestyle
- Character-driven novels
- Office politics
- Workplace drama
- Unique writing formats
- Slow-moving pace
- Poetry
- Dry humor and banter
- Quick reads
- Friendship fiction
With that said, I’m going with 3.5/5 stars for THE COPYWRITER. I didn’t love it, didn’t hate it either. It was a “middle of the road” read for me. Perhaps I just wasn’t the best audience for it? It’s out now!
April 20, 2026
Video review to follow
April 19, 2026
Charming.
February 8, 2026
I am going to convey things about my life in relation to this book before I get to the book itself. work with me here.
When my girlfriend and I discuss a movie after it has ended, she often has to remind me that I bring my own biases into everything. And I do, I think about morality and subconscious desire hidden deeply within films, especially more direct autobiographical works, or I pinpoint something unrelated (quibbling about New York) that totally misses the point. I have a critical thinking problem, I am the ogre unable to understand the second layer ideas of Ulysses. Maybe I should learn my lesson, but instead I will get autobiographical while I quibble about New York.
This is a novel about four New York poets in the years before covid, told in piecemeal parts through a notebook. The first half, mainly, makes me interface with the insular relationships in these groupings, but mostly how chill everyone seems to be about everything. Listen, I am pretty woke, but the relationship conversations here make me interface with my own relationships and friendships, and it just feels like artists share more. Maybe this is good, maybe I am a prude, but no matter how broken up or happily in love I have been, I would never say that “I think the orgasms I’ve been having are clearing up my skin” to another person. There’s an awkwardness to the fact that he is one half of a newly broken up couple of seven years who seem to cross paths, her being really forward and amicable about the fact that they can still be friends after this. It made me uncomfortable, but instead of attacking the polycule-like friendships of artistic collectives, maybe I need to look inward. You know what makes me uncomfortable about it? obsessive compulsive disorder. Moral right and wrong as conditioned through an overactive frontal lobe. I spend so much of my time, whether in my conversations or in my internal speech, closely monitoring what I say and do and whether or not I go “too far”, say something “evil”, if I make an “unnecessary joke about my ex-girlfriend cheating on me” and I am realizing through this novel that it holds me back. It makes lines like the mentioned orgasm aside feel gross and uncomfortable to me, I am already running all of my speech through the litmus test of “am I evil” and so reading that makes me confront the patterns I have had in place for years. And even with this, I have improved compared to 2-4 years ago! This is of course not to say that I want to be a pretentious poet in New York, having cordial mai tai’s and discussing Proust with all of my ex girlfriends, but maybe the voice in my head telling me that I am thinking wrong for a solid chunk of the day needs to be ignored, or at least quieted
I’m starting to really internalize this idea that every book is good, at least because of the time spent. I was iffy on this book at first, the speech and trump quotes felt overindulgent and pretentious at times. I was there too, i saw him look at the eclipse with no glasses, it does not feel poignant to me. The back half, have a far more interesting perspective. You watch him cope with something far beyond his understanding, try to lean on friends, try to find meaning in the deserts of the west. He reads Proust and I think quoting in search of lost time and tying it into the lived experience is really smart, It shows the ways that art can mirror and change life in a way that I feel like seldom gets explored.
Following the new york times book review and other related sources, I have discovered the value of reading new releases. There is wisdom in these pages, not every book has to be “The Great Gatsby”. A book about being unable to create, but the book is here. I could write this book, maybe I can.
When my girlfriend and I discuss a movie after it has ended, she often has to remind me that I bring my own biases into everything. And I do, I think about morality and subconscious desire hidden deeply within films, especially more direct autobiographical works, or I pinpoint something unrelated (quibbling about New York) that totally misses the point. I have a critical thinking problem, I am the ogre unable to understand the second layer ideas of Ulysses. Maybe I should learn my lesson, but instead I will get autobiographical while I quibble about New York.
This is a novel about four New York poets in the years before covid, told in piecemeal parts through a notebook. The first half, mainly, makes me interface with the insular relationships in these groupings, but mostly how chill everyone seems to be about everything. Listen, I am pretty woke, but the relationship conversations here make me interface with my own relationships and friendships, and it just feels like artists share more. Maybe this is good, maybe I am a prude, but no matter how broken up or happily in love I have been, I would never say that “I think the orgasms I’ve been having are clearing up my skin” to another person. There’s an awkwardness to the fact that he is one half of a newly broken up couple of seven years who seem to cross paths, her being really forward and amicable about the fact that they can still be friends after this. It made me uncomfortable, but instead of attacking the polycule-like friendships of artistic collectives, maybe I need to look inward. You know what makes me uncomfortable about it? obsessive compulsive disorder. Moral right and wrong as conditioned through an overactive frontal lobe. I spend so much of my time, whether in my conversations or in my internal speech, closely monitoring what I say and do and whether or not I go “too far”, say something “evil”, if I make an “unnecessary joke about my ex-girlfriend cheating on me” and I am realizing through this novel that it holds me back. It makes lines like the mentioned orgasm aside feel gross and uncomfortable to me, I am already running all of my speech through the litmus test of “am I evil” and so reading that makes me confront the patterns I have had in place for years. And even with this, I have improved compared to 2-4 years ago! This is of course not to say that I want to be a pretentious poet in New York, having cordial mai tai’s and discussing Proust with all of my ex girlfriends, but maybe the voice in my head telling me that I am thinking wrong for a solid chunk of the day needs to be ignored, or at least quieted
I’m starting to really internalize this idea that every book is good, at least because of the time spent. I was iffy on this book at first, the speech and trump quotes felt overindulgent and pretentious at times. I was there too, i saw him look at the eclipse with no glasses, it does not feel poignant to me. The back half, have a far more interesting perspective. You watch him cope with something far beyond his understanding, try to lean on friends, try to find meaning in the deserts of the west. He reads Proust and I think quoting in search of lost time and tying it into the lived experience is really smart, It shows the ways that art can mirror and change life in a way that I feel like seldom gets explored.
Following the new york times book review and other related sources, I have discovered the value of reading new releases. There is wisdom in these pages, not every book has to be “The Great Gatsby”. A book about being unable to create, but the book is here. I could write this book, maybe I can.
March 23, 2026
This is a book that I know was like written for poets, and it’s a book I adored and enjoyed but only because I too am a disillusioned poet. It’s the kinda book that was my cup of tea but I am not sure anyone else would enjoy in my life, which is why I am giving it 4/5 ⭐️.
March 5, 2026
This isn’t a tidy narrative. It wanders, mutters to itself, occasionally loses the thread entirely. The novel unfolds through a scattershot collection of notebook entries: dream fragments, jokes, philosophical detours, emails, poems, and stray observations— many of which feel either completely absurd or weirdly brilliant, sometimes both at once. The humor is dry and bordering on pretentious, the structure intentionally messy, and voice sharp enough to make the chaos feel purposeful.
This won’t be for everyone, the peculiar storytelling can feel deliberately disorienting, but if you enjoy smart, off-kilter writing that pokes fun at the strange indignities of modern life and the even stranger persistence of artistic impulse, the ride is well worth taking.
This won’t be for everyone, the peculiar storytelling can feel deliberately disorienting, but if you enjoy smart, off-kilter writing that pokes fun at the strange indignities of modern life and the even stranger persistence of artistic impulse, the ride is well worth taking.
March 11, 2026
Poets think
About the novel’s structure.
To investigate the purpose
Of poems and poetry
Ask the same question, differently.
About the novel’s structure.
To investigate the purpose
Of poems and poetry
Ask the same question, differently.
February 27, 2026
agree that this is Ben Lerner x Cora Lewis and that that’s kind of a dream combo for me. sometimes i was like “hm this does not actually sound like someone’s notebook at all.” (very stark contrast to the fidelity State Champ kept to that form) but i liked the writing/project so much that that didn’t really bother me. feel like i’m always trying and failing to write about my work writing vs other writing and this gave me a lot to chew on/modeled what good writing about writing looks like. some moments were a little eye roll-y in their pretension but i think that’s by design. ultimately very funny and inspiring in the true sense of the word—want to try things like this
March 27, 2026
This is a dumb book. And it’s dumb in a particular sort of a failed highbrow kind of way where the author aims for something smart and literary and falls hopelessly short.
For example, in describing rain, the book notes “the tender, almost bashful way rain hides the fact that it always falls the way of hell.” (Pg. 81) That’s just dumb. It’s not poignant or insightful or witty; it’s just dumb.
But, dumb though it is, the prose is not without its charm. It’s an easy read and the book clips along nicely. It’s just ruined by the author’s desperate pretentiousness.
Finally, there’s a bothersome element in the book’s portrayal of the protagonist. He’s awful. A mixture of self-absorption, smugness, unkindness, and uselessness. Basically, a parody of what you’d expect any Brooklyn hipster to be. Yet there is, nevertheless, an undercurrent of justification and defensiveness throughout, as if the author wants you to believe the protagonist’s character is reasonable and normal and appropriate. It’s unclear how much of the novel is autobiographical (though it certainly gives off that vibe), but if it’s a thinly veiled defense of the author’s own character, it’s yet another level of failure within the book.
For example, in describing rain, the book notes “the tender, almost bashful way rain hides the fact that it always falls the way of hell.” (Pg. 81) That’s just dumb. It’s not poignant or insightful or witty; it’s just dumb.
But, dumb though it is, the prose is not without its charm. It’s an easy read and the book clips along nicely. It’s just ruined by the author’s desperate pretentiousness.
Finally, there’s a bothersome element in the book’s portrayal of the protagonist. He’s awful. A mixture of self-absorption, smugness, unkindness, and uselessness. Basically, a parody of what you’d expect any Brooklyn hipster to be. Yet there is, nevertheless, an undercurrent of justification and defensiveness throughout, as if the author wants you to believe the protagonist’s character is reasonable and normal and appropriate. It’s unclear how much of the novel is autobiographical (though it certainly gives off that vibe), but if it’s a thinly veiled defense of the author’s own character, it’s yet another level of failure within the book.
February 25, 2026
The novel consists of snippets from "D___'s" notebook.
Our protagonist is young poet who makes his living as a copywriter. Through his notebook entries, we learn about his life and read a few of his poems. Early on, he loses his job, which disrupts his life in various ways. He writes about his girlfriend, his friend group, his parents, and his search for a new job.
The notebook entries are all over the place, but the prevailing theme (I think) was the struggle to find one's place in the years after college and grad school.
I liked The Copywriter only a little. I had two primary problems. First, I don't think this was a book for me. I really had trouble relating to D___ and his friends. And second, I opted for the audiobook. Unfortunately, I think the book would have been better in print.
However, I need to say that I have no complaints about Matt Pittenger's performance of the audiobook. He did a good job. The problem is mostly that the format of the novel didn't translate well to audio. Perhaps the producers could have given us a clue (a subtle ding?) every time a new notebook entry began? It was hard to follow along.
After I finished the audiobook, I took a look at the egalley I had. That's when I realized that some of the pieces were very short (a sentence or a fragment) and that the notebook entries weren't necessarily meant to flow one into the other. The print/digital text makes that clear.
On the other hand, as I said, this book simply wasn't for me. I wouldn't have loved it even if I had read this with my eyes instead of my ears.
Thanks to publishers for review copies in various media.
Our protagonist is young poet who makes his living as a copywriter. Through his notebook entries, we learn about his life and read a few of his poems. Early on, he loses his job, which disrupts his life in various ways. He writes about his girlfriend, his friend group, his parents, and his search for a new job.
The notebook entries are all over the place, but the prevailing theme (I think) was the struggle to find one's place in the years after college and grad school.
I liked The Copywriter only a little. I had two primary problems. First, I don't think this was a book for me. I really had trouble relating to D___ and his friends. And second, I opted for the audiobook. Unfortunately, I think the book would have been better in print.
However, I need to say that I have no complaints about Matt Pittenger's performance of the audiobook. He did a good job. The problem is mostly that the format of the novel didn't translate well to audio. Perhaps the producers could have given us a clue (a subtle ding?) every time a new notebook entry began? It was hard to follow along.
After I finished the audiobook, I took a look at the egalley I had. That's when I realized that some of the pieces were very short (a sentence or a fragment) and that the notebook entries weren't necessarily meant to flow one into the other. The print/digital text makes that clear.
On the other hand, as I said, this book simply wasn't for me. I wouldn't have loved it even if I had read this with my eyes instead of my ears.
Thanks to publishers for review copies in various media.
January 12, 2026
To be transparent, I'm going back and trying to write a review on a book a finished about a month ago, and I had to reread the summary to remember what it was about. Even then, it only vaguely flashed in the recesses of my mind, so this clearly is not a standout read to me. The book takes place during relatively recent times and focuses on an unnamed main character who spends his days as a copywriter and is generally disillusioned with his life. Millennial ennui, perhaps? He struggles with how to balance his work and personal life and individual passions, as many of his generation experience. It certainly fits into the general young person malaise bucket that many novels portray, but this one did not particularly stick with me.
Thank you to Scribner via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.
Thank you to Scribner via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Copywriter is about a poet who is stuck working an office job, writing copy for products that are for sale. The story follows D__ as he navigates retail office work, his poetry, and his relationships.
I decided to read this book because it sounded interesting and funny. Unfortunately, I don’t think I was the right audience for it. Although I knew the main character was a poet, I wasn’t expecting so much stream of consciousness writing and so much actual poetry woven throughout the book. The poems and random dream sequences didn’t really resonate with me as a reader.
That said, “it’s not you, it’s me” probably applies here. If you enjoy poetry and stories that explore the inner struggles of a poet, you will likely appreciate this book more than I did.
Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I decided to read this book because it sounded interesting and funny. Unfortunately, I don’t think I was the right audience for it. Although I knew the main character was a poet, I wasn’t expecting so much stream of consciousness writing and so much actual poetry woven throughout the book. The poems and random dream sequences didn’t really resonate with me as a reader.
That said, “it’s not you, it’s me” probably applies here. If you enjoy poetry and stories that explore the inner struggles of a poet, you will likely appreciate this book more than I did.
Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 9, 2026
On paper I should have loved this book. In reality, I just found myself getting annoyed - repeatedly. It’s hard to write a book with no likable (or interesting) characters, but here we are. It’s even harder to write a book with no likable characters but still be a compelling read. In my experience only Kazuo Ishiguro has ever pulled it off, and he, more than once. I’ll admit I’m likely a decade or more beyond the target audience for this book. But, if you’d like to read a couple hundred pages of millennials hanging out over the course of a year, complaining about life, not doing much to change things, and spouting random free verse - this book is for you.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
3.5
Arc!
Arc!
March 31, 2026
I stumbled upon Daniel Poppick’s “The Copywriter” in a New Yorker feature about the book. Besides my obvious relation to the book’s title — as someone foolhardily attempting to both deepen within and expand away from the ‘Copywriter’ job title — I loved the New Yorker writer’s interpretation of the book as an homage to the discipline’s waning relevance in a changing world. “The Copywriter” felt like a 2020s followup to Ben Lerner’s 2014 “10:04” with an even stronger emphasis on poetry as a device. Both books chronicle the intersection of shifting purpose, aging in an ageless city, and the evolving role of writers in an evolving world. Both authors are poets first, and comically self-deprecate about the insular world of New York City poetry. I would say the same of Lerner: I can’t help but admire Poppick’s apparent optimism and resourcefulness as he adapts his skillset, while the economic ground shifts beneath him.
This “novel” follows a spookily familiar-to-me format — a vaguely connected collection of meandering musings, overheard absurdities and hilarious short story-esque exchanges that clearly came from a Notes app or a bedside journal. Poppick doesn’t deny it, either. His sense of humor may have struck a nerve in my own admittedly insular lefty-dude-working-a-creative-job-in-New-York mind, but I thought his thoughts were thoughtful and funny and don’t pull punches about their relatability factor. This review itself probably reveals that I’m the audience. How Poppick truly won me over though, was through his ability to weave these notebook entries into a touching semi-fictional narrative about his life that had a point of view to boot. His employment and relationship arcs make the case for self-awareness, maturity, community, forgiveness and confidence in one’s own ideas in a world that doesn’t make those choices obvious or easy. While my loved ones might politely nod at my recommendation of a book that sounds perfect for me and not so much for them, I say, “I know, but maybe just try.”
This “novel” follows a spookily familiar-to-me format — a vaguely connected collection of meandering musings, overheard absurdities and hilarious short story-esque exchanges that clearly came from a Notes app or a bedside journal. Poppick doesn’t deny it, either. His sense of humor may have struck a nerve in my own admittedly insular lefty-dude-working-a-creative-job-in-New-York mind, but I thought his thoughts were thoughtful and funny and don’t pull punches about their relatability factor. This review itself probably reveals that I’m the audience. How Poppick truly won me over though, was through his ability to weave these notebook entries into a touching semi-fictional narrative about his life that had a point of view to boot. His employment and relationship arcs make the case for self-awareness, maturity, community, forgiveness and confidence in one’s own ideas in a world that doesn’t make those choices obvious or easy. While my loved ones might politely nod at my recommendation of a book that sounds perfect for me and not so much for them, I say, “I know, but maybe just try.”
Did Not Finish
January 31, 2026Just not for me, I had a hard time following with the abstract way it was written.
March 3, 2026
the heady parts felt a little try hard, but the narrative slices of life were so right & relatable
April 12, 2026
pretty good millennial malaise/horrors of Our Modern World book here!
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