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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.
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.
Price: $34.95
Pages: 305
Publisher: University of California Press
Imprint: University of California Press
Publication Date:
14 February 2017
Trim Size: 8.25 X 5.50 in
ISBN: 9780520293311
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
"An interesting look at a puzzling society—ours—from the point of view of a sympathetic but not uncritical outsider."
Deepak Singh is a writer, radio producer, and journalist. He is a frequent contributor to PRI’s The World and has written for The New York Times, NPR, The Boston Globe and The Atlantic.
Foreword by Holly Donahue Singh
Acknowledgments
1. Answering Machine
2. Lucknow
3. Transit
4. My American Wife
5. Job Application
6. Hired
7. First Day
8. One Month’s Notice
9. English
10. Colleagues
11. Olive Skin
12. Camera King
13. Don’t Buy It
14. Foreigner
15. My Name Is Deepak
16. I’m Straight Today
17. Holly and I
18. All Hands on Deck
19. Long Two Years
20. The Golden Quarter
21. Two Americas
22. Paula
23. Cameron
24. Don’t Sue Me!
25. Post-Christmas Blues
26. A Handful of Dimes
27. India Visit
Acknowledgments
1. Answering Machine
2. Lucknow
3. Transit
4. My American Wife
5. Job Application
6. Hired
7. First Day
8. One Month’s Notice
9. English
10. Colleagues
11. Olive Skin
12. Camera King
13. Don’t Buy It
14. Foreigner
15. My Name Is Deepak
16. I’m Straight Today
17. Holly and I
18. All Hands on Deck
19. Long Two Years
20. The Golden Quarter
21. Two Americas
22. Paula
23. Cameron
24. Don’t Sue Me!
25. Post-Christmas Blues
26. A Handful of Dimes
27. India Visit