Written in emotionless prose that is simultaneously blank and electric, On the Clock explores zero hour contract culture.
Claire Baglin spends her shift sorting bags by size or taking orders from the drive-thru, careful to not forget the ketchup.
One customer apologises for paying with coins – he emptied the “kids piggy bank”.
Each order must be completed in a certain time; gimlet eyed bosses watch every move, and Claire is often so exhausted she is unable to think.
Baglin contrasts these scenes with flashbacks to an impoverished but relatively happy family upbringing, dominated by the working-class pride of her factory worker father and the shame of her mother who won’t allow visitors to their cramped apartment.
Claire has a way out, but this short sharp novel never lets you forget that countless people do not.
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