Up All Night

The night calls myriad workers to keep the world chugging while most of us lie snug in bed. Gies, a self-proclaimed night owl, shadowed and interviewed each of her Portland, Oregon-based nocturnal subjects to channel their voices in this stirring collection of night shift stories. We meet Sativa, a nude dancer at the Boom Boom Room, who devours Charles Bukowski when not shimmying up a pole; a pair of gamine EMTs; a rotund cabbie named Judie who has been mugged, shot and stabbed, but remains fearless; a formerly homeless, recovering addict who mans the mission that saved him; a volunteer DJ who spins the blues; a cop; a baker; a street sweeper; a zookeeper; and a pool shark, just to name a few. Not all have chosen the witching hour because it suits them best. Obdulia, an illegal immigrant who cleans the syrupy, trash-laden bleachers at the sports arena and speaks no English, works around the clock to make her $475 monthly rent. Others, like Gary, a city bus driver who says he""wouldn't trade his job for any in the world,"" have effectively eliminated the burden of childcare costs by being at home during the day. Gies' subtle, lulling prose approaches soporific around the fifth portrait, when the pattern has grown predictable. Still, for those who are game, this medley of night vignettes offers a rare, intriguing look into the idiosyncratic lives of workers tucked away in the city's dark and often forgotten corners.