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jimthecactus's review
Though some of the core intent is well understood, they don't actually support anything with real evidence. The book presents itself as a result of research, but all of the data is individual anecdotes.
At the end of the day, the book's research is just vibes, and although I do vibe with the book's message, I didn't need it to tell me that most of our jobs are a pointless patchwork of garbage.
At the end of the day, the book's research is just vibes, and although I do vibe with the book's message, I didn't need it to tell me that most of our jobs are a pointless patchwork of garbage.
blaineduncan's review
1.0
Many times I've read essays by students which begin with "In this essay I will..." or "This essay talks about..." Whatever variation of the phrase, it's elementary. It's why I was shocked to find so much of that type of writing in the first 25 pages of this text. It's just not well written. (I know that I trust Goodreads ratings usually, but the current 4.06 for 'Bullshit Jobs: A Theory' is oddly out of tune with what's in the text.)
There are also a lot of "I'll touch on this later" type of writing. It quickly gets old. I'm sure I agree with a lot of what the author is getting at were it only given to me more clearly.
My final gripe was how the thesis comes about: does Graeber need to have the very people who work the "bullshit job" be the ones to define it? Can't he make the claim on his own and back it with evidence?
As others have mentioned, this likely works much better as an article rather than poorly designed book.
There are also a lot of "I'll touch on this later" type of writing. It quickly gets old. I'm sure I agree with a lot of what the author is getting at were it only given to me more clearly.
My final gripe was how the thesis comes about: does Graeber need to have the very people who work the "bullshit job" be the ones to define it? Can't he make the claim on his own and back it with evidence?
As others have mentioned, this likely works much better as an article rather than poorly designed book.
njderoche's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
I really liked the premise of this book and the numerous interviews done with working people. It felt a little redundant towards the middle, but the last chapter on the political implications of bullshit jobs brought me back in. Definitely a challenging read in that it forces you to take a really uncomfortable look at your life and your work, and the systems in place to keep you working. While the title might be off-putting for some, I think many people would benefit from reading it and almost everyone would find a piece of this argument they agree with.
jonahbf's review
3.0
A lot of quite interesting individual arguments get wrapped in a bunch of extremely poorly thought out grand theories. The existence of bullshit jobs is clearly a real phenomenon, and Graeber makes some good points about "caring work," but he then overstretches himself seeing every problem in society as an anvil to be hit with the explanatory hammer of "bullshit jobs."