Cleanup on Aisle Five by Ann Larson

CLEANUP ON AISLE FIVE by Ann Larson is an eye-opening tale of “Essential Work, Poverty Wages, and the View from Behind the Supermarket Register.” We have all stood in line at the supermarket check-out, often frustrated with the wait and the poor quality of packing. Larson encourages readers to take another perspective by relating her own COVID-era experiences as a worker and those of her colleagues. She certainly made me feel more compassionate towards the frontline supermarket employees, standing in place for hours on end and repetitively swiping products past a scanner. Yet, it is worth pointing out that Larson takes an activist perspective and writes, “it was as an outsider that I saw how the supermarket as an institution is a window into larger social divisions and injustices.” She notes, for example, that “many grocery workers are food insecure” and “being perpetually too tired to cook was one of the ironies of working at the supermarket.” And her statistics on dental care, tooth pain, and missing teeth (“One-quarter of adults in the United States over the age of 65 are missing all of their teeth and our country has one of the highest rates of toothlessness in the world”) are surprising and class related. CLEANUP ON AISLE FIVE received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. This book deserves attention and could join others (e.g., Evicted, Nickel and Dimed, Maid, or even How May I Help You?) which have been part of our curriculum as students learn to appreciate the struggles of their neighbors. Extensive source notes (approximately fifteen percent of the text) are included.

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

THE BRIAR CLUB by Kate Quinn (The Diamond Eye) is another excellent piece of historical fiction deserving its LibraryReads selection for July. Here, Quinn focuses on the inhabitants of a small Washington, D.C. boardinghouse in the 1950s and the efforts of one woman, Grace March, to create a community. Her Thursday night suppers feature a favorite recipe (e.g., Swedish Meatballs, Eight Layer Honey Cloud Cake) from one of the boarders. Chapters tend to focus on individual characters like a career-minded young women, Nora, who is being courted by a member of an organized crime family or a young mother, Fliss, who struggles with her emotions while her husband is stationed overseas. Another is an older immigrant, Reka, who loves art; plus, there is former baseball player Bea and the children (hardworking teen Pete and little sister Lina who learns to bake) of the rather strict and demanding proprietress. These “misfits” do fashion a family of sorts and pull together in surprising ways at the very end when violence strikes within the walls of Briarwood House. Quinn also offers commentary on class, on women’s rights, and on the politics – particularly McCarthy’s intimidating tactics – of the day and points to Margaret Chase Smith (Declaration of Conscience speech) as an inspiring figure. THE BRIAR CLUB received starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. 

The Movement by Clara Bingham

THE MOVEMENT by Clara Bingham is about “How Women's Liberation Transformed America 1963-1973.” Bingham (Witness to the Revolution) is an award-winning journalist and author. She has divided her latest text into sections that deal chronologically with events and people relevant to the women’s liberation movement. She has interviewed more than 100 women and consulted primary documents in order to write about topics like abortion, the formation of NOW, the role of Shirley Chisholm, and publication of Our Bodies, Ourselves. But there is so much more as Bingham once again cleverly utilizes contemporary voices to truly convey an important and tumultuous time in American history. THE MOVEMENT received a starred review from Publishers Weekly (“Readers will be electrified.”) and Booklist recommends it for teen researchers, saying “This provides a wealth of information for report writers presented in a uniquely accessible format.”

A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung

A LIVING REMEDY by Nicole Chung (All You Can Ever Know) is a heartfelt memoir that readers will not want to miss. Chung essentially eulogizes both of her parents while exploring her relationship with them and her feelings about their illnesses and death. Yes, this is heavy reading at places, but it is beautifully written. Although especially relevant to mixed race adoptees and children of immigrant parents, Chung succeeds in portraying universal experiences in a way which will not be easily forgotten. She is unflinching in writing about the impact of Covid resulting in her “attention and energies divided between the family I was raising and the one that raised me.” And there is consolation, too, when reflecting on her mother: “I know that some part of her isn’t gone, because I feel her love and experience her care like a living thing. I hear her voice speaking to me. And though my father felt so far from me after he died, he no longer feels so distant, lost beyond my reach – it’s as if she has given a part of him back to me now that they are wherever they are …” A LIVING REMEDY received a starred review from Booklist. Highly recommended.

Workers' Rights ...

ON THE LINE by Daisy Pitkin is subtitled “A Story of Class, Solidarity, and Two Women's Epic Fight to Build a Union,” In this non-fiction work which almost reads like a novel, Pitkin describes working as a labor organizer for UNITE and her connection with a second-shift immigrant laundry worker she identifies as Alma. They call each other the moths, Las Polillas, referring to “Las Mariposas, the Mirabel sisters who worked clandestinely to oppose the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic and were nicknamed the butterflies.” This battle between multinational conglomerate Sodexo and the workers at their Phoenix facility is documented in part by Human Rights Watch. What a fantastic series of events to share with our students, especially in contrast to other historic labor fights like those involving the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Kirkus describes this memoir as “A much-needed spotlight on the daily struggles of a vulnerable population.” ON THE LINE deals with issues of class, privilege and race, and provides yet another opportunity for our students to look beyond themselves. 

PAY UP by Reshma Saujani, the Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, deals with “The Future of Women and Work (and Why It's Different Than You Think).” It is one of the first texts to address the disproportionate impact on women of the pandemic – causing so many to leave their jobs and careers due to childcare constraints. Writing for both women and stakeholders, Saujani outlines four key steps: empower women; educate business leaders; revise and shift our thinking about success; and advocate for policy reform. She argues that all of it is necessary because we “participate in a workforce and live in a society that do not make having it all actually possible.” She is angry, particularly on behalf of the 35 million working mothers in America (together with other working women, they comprised fifty-one percent of the pre-pandemic workforce) and on behalf of undervalued full-time Moms. She cites statistics about the drop in women’s employment and reluctance (or outright refusal) to come back. PAY UP offers a passionate look at critical issues of high interest to our students; hopefully, policy-makers can also be inspired to more seriously consider efforts to provide affordable child care, paid parental leave, and cash payments to parents.

ONE FAIR WAGE by Saru Jayaraman (Behind the Kitchen Door) is a clarion call for the end of subminimum wages. Jayaraman, co-founder of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and director of the Food Labor Research Center at the University of California at Berkeley, points to disturbing data regarding the loss of service sector jobs, “deep structural inequities,” and increased sexual harassment. Over six million restaurant and tipped service workers (e.g., parking attendants, car wash workers, nail salon employees) lost jobs due to COVID-19 and “60 percent reported experiencing great challenges accessing benefits because the state told them their wages were too low to meet the minimum threshold to qualify.” Jayaraman uses multiple examples and anecdotes to describe the situation faced by tipped workers who are often women or people of color. She points specifically to workers with disabilities, and those who are youthful, incarcerated or immigrants. Clearly, Jayaraman is committed to her cause and to making change as her work during the pandemic with the OFW Emergency Relief Fund and High Road Restaurants shows.