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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Meryem has just started working as an intern in the offices of Supersaurio, the biggest supermarket chain in the Canary Islands. She finds her work dull, her colleagues mostly unbearable, and her pay barely covers her living expenses. Still, she trudges on towards the promised land of fixed employment, though the journey slowly siphons her will to live.
Millenial workplace despair novels are so hit or miss for me, but this one balanced bitterness and humour just right. It captured the baffling futility of most late-capitalist office jobs, the enraging existence of upper managers making several times more than their subordinates yet who appear to know and do nothing, and the oddly hilarious office interactions you've no choice but to meet with a calm smile plastered on your face.
El Mehdati eviscerates the artificial 40-hour work week (plus optional-but-not-really after work drinks with those colleagues you can't stand — you want to network now, don't you?) beloved of corporate jobs, as well as society's devotion to work above all else, no matter what may be happening in your life. She also touches on the casual racist and sexist microaggressions baked into office politics, and the inequalities inherent in seperate corporate vs. retail spheres.
These musings are woven into Meryem's stream of consciousness smoothly and while they bluntly hit the nail on the head, they don't feel didactic. Her dry, witty observations on our ridiculous times made her so relatable — her frustrations will strike a chord for millenials, Canarian or not, I'm sure.
With shades of Convenience Store Woman and Luster, if you've worked a rubbish, thankless job, this is a cathartic (and slightly enraging) read.
Big thanks to Sceptre Books for my proof of this! 💙🦕
Big thanks to Sceptre Books for my proof of this! 💙🦕
Este libro me ha hecho sentir abrazada y menos sola en este mundo. Y esto es lo que de verdad aprecio cuando leo algo. Una maravilla.
Mi ha colpita, la verità in questo libro è tremendamente divertente quanto vera, era da tempo che non ridevo e riflettevo allo stesso tempo con un libro. Affronta un tema quanto mai attuale, cioè il XXI secolo dalla prospettiva di un individuo nato negli anni ‘90.
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my digital ARC of Checking Out by Meryem El Mehdati, translated by Julia Sanches. I am a sucker for a workplace novel, and Checking Out hit pretty much all of my boxes! There are anti-tourist protests going on across the Canaries right now, and this book fits in with the discourse perfectly. The main character, Meryem, works for corporate for the largest supermarket chain in Gran Canaria, but her job is slowly sucking away her will to live. El Mehdati perfectly gets across the frustration the narrator feels at so many aspects of her life - seemingly pointless jobs, situationships, microaggressions at work and on the street, racism and xenophobia against her, a born and raised Canarian of Moroccan descent, while white British tourists are welcomed (though, not so much universally anymore).
.
Any book taking a blow at capitalism and its injustices is going to be a winner for me, and I LOVED the ending - bleak as it was. El Mehdati rails against the 40 hour work week, which isn’t really 40 hours since office workers are then expected to socialise outside of these hours with colleagues to get ahead, or always be on their emails - who has the energy? Not to mention the inequalities in pay at somewhere like a supermarket, with corporate staff versus supermarket workers. I was impressed with the way all this commentary is woven in to the narrator’s stream of consciousness, without it feeling like we’ve veered off into a nonfiction essay.
.
My one drawback - I know we cannot erase HP from the zeitgeist, but is it necessary to mention in every millennial novel? It always leaves a bad taste. But apart from that, this novel is well worth checking out (oop, sorry, couldn’t resist).
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Il libro mi è decisamente piaciuto, anche perché è stato fin troppo facile immedesimarmi in Meryem. La sua storia è quella di molto, che lavorano odiando il proprio lavoro in una realtà corporate soffocante.
La cosa che mi è piaciuta meno è il finalela "rivalsa" della protagonista mi è sembrata poco realistica e un po' forzata. Tranne l'odio immotivato verso la nuova stagista, quello lo capisco.
La cosa che mi è piaciuta meno è il finale
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Es el mejor libro que he leído en lo que va de año. Tenía miedo por tanta review diciendo lo genial que era pero es que genial se queda corto.
Un manual de instrucciones de millennials para boomers. Y voy a repetir lo que muches han dicho ya: el libro te hace reír y te da hostias con la mano abierta a partes iguales, hay trozos que podría haber escrito yo porque los he vivido y Meryem NECESITO SER TU AMIGA e ir a comer churritos juntas.
Gracias por esto. Espero con ansia que te apetezca seguir escribiendo. Lo molas todo y más
Un manual de instrucciones de millennials para boomers. Y voy a repetir lo que muches han dicho ya: el libro te hace reír y te da hostias con la mano abierta a partes iguales, hay trozos que podría haber escrito yo porque los he vivido y Meryem NECESITO SER TU AMIGA e ir a comer churritos juntas.
Gracias por esto. Espero con ansia que te apetezca seguir escribiendo. Lo molas todo y más
fast-paced
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book felt like reading my own brain, in the best (and sometimes scariest) way.
Checking Out is one of those "no plot, just vibes" type of books. We follow Meryem, a 25-year-old navigating her way through the corporate cubicles of a supermarket chain in the Canary Islands, and being inside her head feels a little too familiar at times.
She’s sharp, sarcastic, observant. The kind of narrator who says what you're thinking but might be too afraid to admit out loud. Her day-to-day reflections on her job, her boss, and the weird dynamics with coworkers are both hilarious and painfully accurate. I laughed, I cringed, and I definitely paused more than once to mutter “yes, exactly” under my breath.
This is also a quiet but powerful critique of work culture and capitalism. It shows how so many of us end up giving the so much of ourselves to jobs that do not always see us as full humans. It hit close to home in a way that made me feel a little less alone, like it's ok to have these questions and remarks about this world.
If you're someone who needs a strong plot to stay hooked, this might not be your thing. But if you’re into character-driven reads, dry humor, and books that make you feel seen (and maybe a little ragey about the system), you’ll probably love this one as much as I did.
Thanks to the publisher for the ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Checking Out is one of those "no plot, just vibes" type of books. We follow Meryem, a 25-year-old navigating her way through the corporate cubicles of a supermarket chain in the Canary Islands, and being inside her head feels a little too familiar at times.
She’s sharp, sarcastic, observant. The kind of narrator who says what you're thinking but might be too afraid to admit out loud. Her day-to-day reflections on her job, her boss, and the weird dynamics with coworkers are both hilarious and painfully accurate. I laughed, I cringed, and I definitely paused more than once to mutter “yes, exactly” under my breath.
This is also a quiet but powerful critique of work culture and capitalism. It shows how so many of us end up giving the so much of ourselves to jobs that do not always see us as full humans. It hit close to home in a way that made me feel a little less alone, like it's ok to have these questions and remarks about this world.
If you're someone who needs a strong plot to stay hooked, this might not be your thing. But if you’re into character-driven reads, dry humor, and books that make you feel seen (and maybe a little ragey about the system), you’ll probably love this one as much as I did.
Thanks to the publisher for the ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.