‘All through the war I dream of shoes.’
Total war has a thousand fronts; during such a war, everyone is at the front, even if they never lie in a trench or fire a single shot.
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‘I think there should be a National Service of Hospitality. The best way to see the true face of humanity is to serve it a plate of chips.’
Camilla Grudova on bad-mannered customers.
‘Anyone who has ever worked night shifts will understand the vertiginous feeling that comes with staring down the day from the wrong end.’
A.K. Blakemore on working nights.
‘I was constantly reading job ads, trying to find my holy grail – a job I could stand to do, and someone foolish enough to hire me.’
Sandra Newman on learning how to play professional blackjack.
‘I loved being a receptionist. What I loved about it was playing the part of being a receptionist.’
Emily Berry on being a temporary office worker.
‘Every part of you would swell, including your eyeballs, and no matter how much water you drank, you were always dehydrated.’
Junot Díaz on working for a steel mill.
‘We always carry it to foreign countries, all over the world, our pride and our powerlessness.’ Translated from the Polish by William Brand.
Ryszard Kapuściński, once the only foreign correspondent for the Polish Press Agency, on the concept of borders.
‘Mine is not a vocation, it's a mission.’
‘On the flatbed lies a coffin. Atop the black box is a garland of haggard angels.’
‘In Poland we read every text as allusive; every situation described - even the most remote in time and space - is immediately applied to Poland.’
