Writing: 5/5 Plot: 3.5/5 Characters: 5/5
A surprisingly engaging book about a set of bottom of the ladder retail workers and their hopes for more hours and some hope of upward mobility. They have a lot working against them — their hours are minimized to avoid having to pay benefits; each character faces his or her own limitations — a learning disability; a thick accent; trying to go straight when drug dealing is SO much more lucrative; false arrests; mental illness; single parenthood; transportation issues; and even lack of generational wealth. The characters have a lot of depth — none of the above is dealt with in any kind of stereotyped way.
But the book doesn’t take the easy way out — there is no blaming of corporate policies or resentment of management. Instead we get a pretty in-depth view of the situation through the eyes of different workers — each with his or her own thoughts, skills, goals, regrets, and fears. And — again through the voice of individual characters — some pretty interesting (and varied) analyses of the how things got to be the way they are.
The book description calls it “incisive and very funny” — I agree with the incisive part but although the story resisted the slide into depressing territory, I wouldn’t exactly call it funny. However, it is very well written and boasts excellent characterization, and after an initial irritation at what promised to be a stupid (IMHO) plot (but then wasn’t), I ended up enjoying it a lot.
Books to look forward to ... 