Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman

Tuesday, June 4, 2024--San Antonio

Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman is not an attention grabber in terms of entertainment.  Instead, it is story taking a rather deep dive into the following: 1) The changes in the operations of general retail stores in the US (looking specifically at a Target-like chain) as Amazon has disrupted the situation in the past few decades.  2)  Pointing out the loss of well paying manufacturing jobs in the US as manufacturers moved production to countries with lower wages.  3) Noting the way both of these changed the types of jobs left for lesser educated Americans and the benefits and hours of such workers (paying particular attention to those at this one chain store in this one town that has suffered the loss of manufacturing jobs).  4) Describing the effects of these changes on the lives, ambitions, and living standards of the employees of these stores.  5) Providing a window for Americans over 40 years of age to see how young people today cannot dream of or build lives that they did because of how the economy has changed since the late 1900s related to the types of jobs available, pay rates, prices, benefits, etc.--creating challenges in life that are not easy to overcome even for those with a good education.  It was listed as a top book of 2024 by a number of sources apparently because it provides a clear view to older Americans of why younger people are flailing (and failing) in their efforts to get started on the ladder toward success in our country these days.  It does this well, but it isn't a novel that kept me glad I was reading it.  I gave it 3 stars out of 5.