"Through a few short scenes we get a real insight into the quotidian soullessness of the work. It's a quick read, but although there isn't much to celebrate in the anomie, or the false bonhomie, of the workplace, it's full of compassion and heart. By keeping her focus so very narrow, Baglin has more to say about today's world than a much longer story might."
"The two protagonists and their precarious lives feel very real. It has the touch of a handheld film: raw, immediate and with something important to say."
Claire Baglin's 'On the Clock,' translated by Jordan Stump, depicts working-class life in a rundown Brittany setting through scenes of a young woman beginning work at a fast-food restaurant. The novella captures the soullessness and false camaraderie of low-wage labor with dark humor and genuine compassion. Despite its brevity and bleak subject matter, the concentrated narrative scope conveys significant insights about modern existence. The two main characters and their unstable circumstances feel authentic and immediate, resembling a handheld documentary film. By maintaining such deliberate focus, Baglin communicates more about contemporary society than lengthier narratives might achieve.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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