I started a dishwashing job late last year, and it’s been one of my favorite jobs. I was curious to see what Pete Jordan liked about dishwashing so much that he decided to do it in all fifty states. The book is written as part travelogue, part memoir, with some history of labor movements along the way.
Pete’s writing comes alive when he’s describing the working-class struggle and triumph. The best chapter of the book is in New Orleans and Pete learns that restaurants there don’t hire white people to wash dishes. Unfortunately, like a lot of the chapters and stories in the book, it’s too short. Pete can’t stay in one spot long enough to really dig into a place and its history. While it’s not a complete spoiler — he talked about it on his second appearance on The David Letterman Show — he doesn’t make it to all 50 states. I think if he mentioned that up front and then built the book more around the places and history than his actual quest, it would have made for stronger writing. I wish he included more content from the zine he produced during his quest, as well. Since that’s how people initially knew him, I think it would have a bigger nostalgia kick for old zine-heads.
It’s a fun read, but an anti-climactic end and hurried pace undercuts what could have made it great. Still, if you’re a dishwasher, a dishie, a pearl diver, a plongeur, you should definitely read it.
