Scan barcode
prettypious's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book. I usually read books like this written by Black authors who position their work more critically and nuanced but the generality was helpful here because of how she made so many connections domestically and internationally to show how we are all interconnected and literally tools of and up against a very high powered machine-the 1%. Like hearing how some communities are really really struggling but their racism and internalized white supremacy got them thinking that they’re somehow more deserving than other people they don’t even know. So instead of all of us being able to access what we need, because this one person or group that you’ve deemed less deserving is going to get some too, you say “forget it, none of us will get it and I will just sit here and suffer with my because at least I’m better than/ain’t like those XXXXX!!! The machine got people literally denying their realities. And to have seen it happening in real time, especially now being old enough to see your younger self’s suspicions be verified and validated,
annakh16's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
4.0
This was interesting and illuminating. The first half (on feminised/racialised work and the construction of work as love) didn’t have much new for me, but the second half (the labour of love across industries) did. I really enjoyed Jaffe’s dissection of the myth of the individual “genius” there.
This is more of a history book than sociology which went against my expectations - I would’ve liked to see more of the latter, and always enjoyed when she did bring it in. I did appreciate her generally intersectional (albeit Western) take. I also really liked her focus on protest and ways forward, though it is quite union-focused indeed.
The book was a bit dense in earlier chapters, but overall very readable and some interesting new insights!
franklinroberts12's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Incredible work, synthesizing complex socio-political theories and showing their reality in the lives of working people.
spooky_simon's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.0
Really interesting perspective offered here that's hard to find anywhere else. Definitely a book written for leftists based on the amount of side references she makes to contemporary leftist talking points. End falls flat for me, seems too wishy washy for a book with such a strong premise
brookebuonauro's review against another edition
4.0
Informative and engaging! I appreciate that the author focused on feminized forms of labor, like childcare and teaching, in the first half of the book. I do think it’s preaching to the choir (college-educated leftists) a bit, but that’s fine.
maddness22's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
slow-paced
4.25
I think this book does an incredible job outlining the emotional labor required for work across several industries and sectors. It's written in a way that is digestible and can be easily consumed if you just want to read about the industries that interest you, but it's also very compelling to learn about the extra emotional labor required for free from these jobs and how this causes exploitation for the current workforce across the board. I absolutely agree that jobs forcing emotional labor in exchange for a living wage is especially cruel, particularly when that love is often the replacement for a decent salary.
I was a bit disappointed it didn't challenge the ongoing narrative of "only unions can save you from exploitation" a little more, especially since several of the sectors showed how little unions actually benefitted their lives (looking at you, non-profit chapter) after all the work required to obtain one.
I was a bit disappointed it didn't challenge the ongoing narrative of "only unions can save you from exploitation" a little more, especially since several of the sectors showed how little unions actually benefitted their lives (looking at you, non-profit chapter) after all the work required to obtain one.