Other People's Dirt

Rating:
Summary: Get a sense of humor, please.
Review: How presumptuous of us to want that someone in a "menial" job be unaware of his/her environment! Is it more justifiable for someone in a "good" job to be critical of their clients or even their employers? What a statement about the class divide in America to think that someone is mean-spiritied or unethical for finding the light side of thier jobs. I found this book to be very entertaining as it explored the sociology of housecleaning! How interesting to think that someone in this profession was actually smart and talented and able to record her experiences and write them down. Is this too political an act for some of you? Or would you rather only hire people who won't "talk" about the things they see. Perhaps it is Rafkin's insight into this profession that scares you into wondering about your own secrets; and don't worry - your housecleaner has plenty on you and just isn't talking! The fact that you have a housecleaner to begin with says a lot. Ha!

Rating:
Summary: Do I want to have a maid?
Review: I read this book in one day because it was just too hard to put down. The material confirms my theory, which is that many who are attracted to the service professions are addicted to feeling resentful. Unconsciously, many who take service jobs are drawn to the pay-off: all of those opportunities to feel resentful at their employers! Also, many come into housekeeping work because they hate being told what to do and so enjoy a certain amount of independence if they clean while their employers are out of the house. So, while I would not want Rifkin as a housekeeper in my own home, my hat is off to her as writer. She is talented and has come up with a funny, breezy book that was a joy to read. I laughed a lot!

Rating:
Summary: The mean queen of clean
Review: A collection of essays from an ex-academic and writer who cleans houses. Why does she clean houses? Well, therein lies the tale. She uses cleaning as an excuse to snoop, living out her faded CIA dreams; she cleans because it helps her organize the mental and emotional clutter of her own life; and she cleans, at least once, simply to serve (in Japan, where a cleaning sect called Ittoen does precisely this). Other pieces investigate how others clean: the aforementioned Japanese cleaning commune, ascetic and humble; her childhood Mexican maid, whom she interviews with minor success; the maid to nobility and American moguls; naked house cleaners; even a woman who cleans up after homicides and suicides. At one point, Rafkin joins Merry Maids, a corporate cleaning service, partly due to desperation and partly as a kind of experiment (the horrifying abuse of labor she encounters there echoes Barbara Ehrenreich's findings from her own similar experiment in Nickel And Dimed). Rafkin certainly has her downside: she gossips about her employers (in stark contrast to the proud, confidential maid to the ultra-rich she interviews), treats their possessions with indifference, to say the least (she doesn't even apologize for breaking one client's knick-knack), looks through their things, tries on their clothes, even makes love on one clent's bed. But her prose is crisp and clear, and she has an unusual power to be disarmingly funny about a mundane subject like dirt, or zeroing in on the tragedy of a life without wallowing in sentimentality. She's at her best when talking about her interview subjects rather than herself, but she's open about everything. It's a quick, edgy read, and everyone who's ever hired a maid should read it.

Rating:
Summary: Kind of funny, very edgy
Review: I have to wonder if those who made negative comments all finished the book. Is it an offense to be honest? So she shows a bit of attitude! I've never had the experiences of hiring a cleaner or being one so I learned some things about the variety of expectations and attitudes of those who hire. I was not at all offended by the author's independent spirit--this memoir is colorful but its strength comes from the author's trying to better understand the work she's engaged in. I'm interested in reading more by Louise Rafkin.