How May I Help You?
An Immigrant's Journey from MBA to Minimum Wage
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $23.99
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- $23.99
Publisher Description
In this moving and insightful work, Deepak Singh chronicles his downward mobility as an immigrant to a small town in Virginia. Armed with an MBA from India, Singh can get only a minimum-wage job in an electronics store. Every day he confronts unfamiliar American mores, from strange idioms to deeply entrenched racism.
Telling stories through the unique lens of an initially credulous outsider who is “fresh off the plane,” Singh learns about the struggles of his colleagues: Ron, a middle-aged African-American man trying to keep his life intact despite health concerns; Jackie, a young African-American woman diligently attending school after work; and Cindy, whose matter-of-fact attitude helps Deepak adapt to his job and his new life.
How May I Help You? is an incisive take on life in the United States and a reminder that the stories of low-wage employees can bring candor and humanity to debates about work, race, and immigration.
Customer Reviews
An Excellent Read
This book offers a perspective on American culture that is both serious and insightful and often humorous. (Imagine moving here from another country and having to figure out what to expect on Black Friday if you worked in retail at a mall.) It offers intriguing glimpses of life in India as well. I enjoyed it so much that I read many chunks out loud to my husband. Highly recommended.
A very easy read that taught me a lot
As an American I really appreciated hearing about the immigrant experience. And also learning about how Indian people, raised in a very different culture to my own, come to perceive the world, and the US. There are of course many things we have in common, but the differences you learn about in this book, you're probably too shy to ask about directly, or afraid of sounding ignorant. Anyway, it was a very worthwhile read and I really enjoyed it. Many thanks to the author for sharing this time in his life with the world.