cover image HEY, WAITRESS! The USA from the Other Side of the Tray

HEY, WAITRESS! The USA from the Other Side of the Tray

Alison Owings, . . Univ. of California, $29.95 (334pp) ISBN 978-0-520-21750-8

As Owings (Frauen: German Women Recall the Third Reich) knew when she decided to explore the large, understudied world of the American waitress, many women have worked as waitresses at some point in their lives because it requires little training. Marrying social history and oral history, the author deftly explores her themes, primarily classism and the social stigma conveyed by waitressing (tips, she argues, give customers too much power and some restaurants the legal right today to pay as little as two dollars an hour), the confidence-building that comes with handling a demanding and often rude public, the sexism of bosses and kitchen staff, and the pride the women take in presenting an attractive meal and making their customers feel good. Owings allows a wide range of women to speak for themselves, among them a supremely confident mother-and-daughter duo; a former Connecticut housewife whose job gives her independence from an abusive marriage; a Ph.D. who feels more at ease as a waitress than as a graduate student; and a former Seattle union leader who has made great strides in improving the working conditions of waitresses. Owings presents her findings with compassion and wit and a sense of feminist indignation that doesn't detract from her journalistic balance. These qualities make for a lively read in this trailblazing contribution to the study of women and work. Agent, Ellen Levine. (Sept.)

Forecast:Like Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich (one of the blurbers for Owings), this could appeal to a broad range of readers.