<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Laugh-out-loud funny look at American workplace
Review: Don't let the title fool you...this book is laugh-out-loud funny, a true glimpse into how draining it is, both financially and emotionally, to hold a low-wage job in today's economy. Levison takes on a journey through the bottom rungs of America's workforce, describing, with both humor and accuracy, the misery inherent in jobs which do not provide the workers with a living wage. His descriptions of corporate manipulation at something as innocuous as an upscale Scarsdale grocery store, or a corporate restaurant, ring true on every level, as he describes the relentlessness with which the mangement insists on pleasantness. It reminded me of the "flair" scene from the movie "Office Space."
The descriptions of the Alaskan fishing industry are both interesting and frequently hilarious. Nothing misses this writer's sharp, ironic eye.
This book is a must read for everyone who ever feels they are being manipulated or treated like a number at their jobs. Great Stuff!
Rating:
Summary: Laugh-out-loud funny look at American workplace
Review: Don't let the title fool you...this book is laugh-out-loud funny, a true glimpse into how draining it is, both financially and emotionally, to hold a low-wage job in today's economy. Levison takes on a journey through the bottom rungs of America's workforce, describing, with both humor and accuracy, the misery inherent in jobs which do not provide the workers with a living wage. His descriptions of corporate manipulation at something as innocuous as an upscale Scarsdale grocery store, or a corporate restaurant, ring true on every level, as he describes the relentlessness with which the mangement insists on pleasantness. It reminded me of the "flair" scene from the movie "Office Space."
The descriptions of the Alaskan fishing industry are both interesting and frequently hilarious. Nothing misses this writer's sharp, ironic eye.
This book is a must read for everyone who ever feels they are being manipulated or treated like a number at their jobs. Great Stuff!
Rating:
Summary: A Case Study From the Human Condition
Review: I heard or read that Kalfa's buddies would howl with delight as he read them passages from "The Trial" when it was a work in-progress; likewise, prisoners at San Quenton never enjoyed themselves more than watching a performance of "Waiting for Godot." I can only recommend this wonderful little memoir as my contribution to this list. My twenties were somewhat similar to Levinson's misadventures although not in scope and insight, still I identified immediately with his odyssey. The book is well written to boot and I plan to read it every decade or so to see what more I can derive. By the way, ignore the poor guy who lambasted this book a few reviews back with comments such as "How to blame everyone but yourself for your problems." There is not an ounce of this anywhere; all Levison wants is fair play after he gets a job and his futile quest to find it is where this story gets it's motivation. If you need one line to summarize, then try this on for size: It's a story about the misuse of power done with great satire. Great read!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Hilarious Account of real world work
Review: I loved this book and have not laughed this hard in a long time. Most of us have had a few degrading jobs in our lifetime but this is quite a collection. This book is infinitely superior to Barbara Enrenrich Nickel and Dimed because the author actually survived on these wages instead of taking a few months off from a toney upper class new york lifestyle.One star deducted because the price is awfully steep for 160 pages.
Rating:
Summary: He hits the nail on the head
Review: I too wondered (as another reviewer did) why Mr. Levison, during the years he was doing these make-do jobs, didn't continue to pursue work using the writing skills he obviously has. Maybe he did, and just worked "in the meantime". I also don't recall details of his financial obligations--family, housing, education loans, etc.--which is to say, his bottom-line needs. Granted--working full time does not leave a whole lot of hours free for job hunting, and the economy and employment situations in the US has been a roller coaster ride for many years. But there is truth within his observations, and he writes it like it is. He offers a perspective on what is the working reality for many decent, hard-working people. Work at this level has become a game (on both sides). I think it helps to consciously be aware of that. He presents these sad realities with great humor and irony! An easy, quick, entertaining and informative little book.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining, but I Have Questions.
Review: It was a funny, quick read. I enjoyed reading it. I do have questions.
My wife, who is trained as an LPN was curious that after he couldn't get a job with his degree he just didn't continue being an EMT. He was already doing it and it's a reasonable salary. Mr Levison could have covered, what made him become an English major. Why didn't he continue to look for ways to persue that, even through his menial jobs. I wonder how much of his problems on jobs stem from his wiseguy sense of humor? (I've been there, and before I gained some wisdom, I know it didn't help). As someone who looked in the present economy for a job, I can't help but think the truth is somewhere in the middle. He didn't help himself. I did learn, that it is easier to get menial jobs. I know. I can walk into my local gas station right now if need be. I hear about their problems keeping people all the time.
Was this Mr. Levison's attempt to then write the great American Novel? Interesting read, but glad I could borrow it from the library.
Rating:
Summary: Slimey yet satifying?
Review: Rather than a manifesto, Levison leads us on a sometimes humerous recount of a loser going from one low wage job to the next. He wants us to believe that his misfortune is the fault of greedy lying employers, but at every turn he's his own worst enemy. In the first job he describes lying about experience to get a job in the fish market of an upscale grocery. His first day on the job he violates the dress standards of the employer. Within weeks he's routinely stealing food and other products, and focusing more on his smoke breaks than the flow of customers at the fish counter. He blames the manager for firing him. He gets a job as a restaurant cook in a rapidly expanding chain. When they recognize his ability and degree and want him to move up the corporate ladder he doesn't like the responsibility and quits. Much of the book is about the Alaska fishing industry where he works for a few weeks rather than for a season. In a few weeks on a fish processing ship he gets into fights, carries a gun in a drug deal, and gets sentenced for driving without a license. He probably makes a good move getting out of fish processing and onto a boat, but quits after a few more weeks. He says he's had 42 different dead end jobs since graduating with a degree in English, and with his attitude its no wonder. There are Alaska fishermen who saved money from a season or two and bought their own boat, or opened a boat building shop in the off season. But Levison makes a few bucks and flies home to blow it all before being broke again and finding his next dead end job. It's probably a realistic picture of the dead end people who work dead end jobs. Its not a manifesto or call to arms of any political nature.
Rating:
Summary: Great read! .
Review: This has been the first book I've read cover to cover in one sitting in over a year. Like the author, I've had a hard time finding a job which paid a livable wage and didn't make me feel humiliated or exhausted at the end of every day, and, like the author, I've been to water-filter meetings.
The part where he describes the water filter meeting, a multi-level marketing scam which has trapped so many people looking for a way out, was the best written and funniest part of the book. Levison has a way of describing situations with humor, but still reminds the reader how frustrating it is to have to deal with these situations day in and day out. When I was done, I had not only laughed myself sore, I had been made to feel like I wasn't the only person who was having trouble getting any respect out of an economy which seemed to promise so much and deliver so little.
Rating:
Summary: Great read! .
Review: This has been the first book I've read cover to cover in one sitting in over a year. Like the author, I've had a hard time finding a job which paid a livable wage and didn't make me feel humiliated or exhausted at the end of every day, and, like the author, I've been to water-filter meetings.
The part where he describes the water filter meeting, a multi-level marketing scam which has trapped so many people looking for a way out, was the best written and funniest part of the book. Levison has a way of describing situations with humor, but still reminds the reader how frustrating it is to have to deal with these situations day in and day out. When I was done, I had not only laughed myself sore, I had been made to feel like I wasn't the only person who was having trouble getting any respect out of an economy which seemed to promise so much and deliver so little.
Rating:
Summary: Slimey yet satifying?
Review: Though I found this book a fun and fast read, it left me a bit unsatisfied. I greatly sympathized and could relate to his stories, however, I felt that he didn't leave any great insights on how his past experiences will shape what he will do in the future. A lot of the book is common sense but it helps to read about it from another's point of view.
<< 1 >>
|
