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Checkout: A Life on the Tills by Anna Sam

Checkout: A Life on the Tills by Anna Sam is a glimpse into the life of a checkout girl

My Book Review rating: 3 Stars – mildly amusing but would have been better as a blog than a book!

According to the cover Checkout: A Life on the Tills by Anna Sam is an international bestseller, published in ten languages – and the Daily Telegraph thought it made “compelling reading”; I’m afraid I’m going to have to disagree…

Anna Sam has pulled together a series of anecdotes in a sort of ‘day in the life’ of a supermarket checkout girl. Having worked in a retail store during my college years and knowing exactly what customers are like I was really looking forward to reading this book. I was expecting it to be “fall on the floor with laughter” funny – and was really disappointed.

The anecdotes are there, and it could be a wonderful book to while away a few hours when you are felling blue and need a lift, but it’s just lacking – something. The edge that really brings out the humour – and I wonder if something has been lost in translation.

As I was reading the book I was thinking how much better it would be as a blog – I can imagine if one of these tales landed in my Google Reader once in a while I’d stop and read them and raise a smile. I think that it did start out life in just that guise, which goes to show that sometimes blog content should be left on the Internet where it belongs!

Have you read Checkout: A Life on the Tills by Anna Sam? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought.

Amazon.com Price: $4.58 (as of 2010-07-30 07:37:33 GMT) Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

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	Manufacturer: Gallic Books Customer Rating:   List Price: Varies based on product options Sale Price: $4.58 Availibility: View Product Availability Buy Now
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Customer Reviews
Gives a great perspective on working in retail as a cashier   Review Date: April 17, 2010 Reviewer: Lex, Seattle, WA United States Book is compelling and I finished it quickly. Author lives in France so some of her observations aren't as relevant to me in the US. But overall, it's a great reminder that the cashier is a person and to use good manners when shopping. Some of her observations about how people cheat the grocery line are entertaining but unfortunately, it's a mostly sad tale of a frustrating job. I was very happy for the author that she made enough money on her book when it was published in France to quit her job. funny stuff   Review Date: October 12, 2009 Reviewer: Steven K. Sasaki, I never thought that simply ringing up customers items at a grocery store could be so enlightening. She proves that a happy life is nothing more than an attitude. Great book A different view   Review Date: August 24, 2009 Reviewer: Eileen Roche, This book gives what one may think is a boring job a new life. Funny Often hilarious and definitely thought provoking   Review Date: July 23, 2009 Reviewer: Todd Bartholomew, Atlanta, GA USA "Checkout" could easily be likened to the movie "Clerks" as it delves into the highs and lows of working in the service industry, in this particular case working as a cashier in a grocery store. First-time novelist and former cashier Anna Sam recounts the highs and lows of working as a cashier in a manner that is often hilarious as it satirizes her customers. In most cases her customers invite the sarcasm willingly with their rude boorish behavior and many represent easy targets for her wrath. It's easy to side with Sam as many of us would detest having her job, and the way she depicts her work environment makes it even less palatable. But Sam isn't asking readers to pity her or her co-workers and instead came to find a quiet dignity in doing the work she did. As she recounts the many customers encountered while working as a cashier she not only satirizes those who warranted her scorn but comes to empathize with many of her customers. She never comes to truly know them beyond her thumbnail portraits and they reveal themselves to her in unanticipated ways that help to shape and change her perception of them. If anything "Checkout" also is a tribute to those many customers who caused Sam to re-evaluate how she views not only her customers but herself and society as a whole. Translated from the original French title "Les tribulations d'une caissière, the book loses nothing in the translation and if anything proves the universality of emotions felt by service workers. They work in the most demanding and least rewarding positions, can seldom complain, and are typically ignored or invisible. "Les tribulations d'une caissière" proved to be a surprise best-seller in France and it's easy to see why as it is well written, funny, topical, and more importantly relatable. "Checkout" is likely to change the way you view the multitude of service workers you encounter each day, and perhaps to make you think about the way you interact with them.
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