I love memoirs, especially blogs-turned-books. And it turns out I really love this one. Anna Sam, a blogger from France who spent eight years working on a checkout, got her book break this year with her witty memoir, Checkout: A life on the Tills.
It's a book about working...well, on a checkout. Admittedly, it's somewhat refreshing to read from the point of view of someone in a 'normal' job - after all, some great stories can be gained from such work (heck, I've got some classics from my former job in a tech support call centre). Needless to say, I was pleased and curious, and just had to read this book.
Based on Anna's blog and translated from the original French, Checkout is a tell-all book about working as a supermarket cashier. Anna hilariously describes the array of customers, from the charming to the downright annoying. Anna, who intended to go into publishing though stayed on in her supermarket job, lets us in on the world of supermarket work with funny stories about the people she encounters and the perks (and frustrations) of the job.
The downside? It's a short book (174 pages) and took me less than an hour to read it. So I was disappointed, as I would have loved to have read more of Anna's checkout tales. In addition, I felt that it could have been funnier - and there was plenty of room for more funny customer stories. It's fantastic, but does feel kind of rushed.
However, Anna perfectly conveys both the humour and irritation of having to work with the less pleasant (and less hygeinic!) members of the public, and so needless to say, Checkout makes for a fantastic read. Anyone, checkout staff or not, who has ever been forced to deal with customers on a daily basis will relate to this book!
Rating: 4/5