10 great books featuring working class heroes

nspired by a posthumous story collection from Lucia Berlin: a list of excellent stories starring proletarians too rarely given voice in industrial life.

5. "Green Girl," by Kate Zambreno

Ruth is a young American woman working as a shop assistant in London. She spends much of her time alternating between hating herself and obsessing over her looks and clothing. “She hardly has enough money to eat. But who needs to eat when you can wear a dress like that? Ruth thinks. Anyway, food gets digested, food goes away. Useless practice. But a dress like that will be forever. A sort of spiritual nourishment, just as fundamental as eat and roof and breathe.” The title connotes the green of money in addition to the naiveté of the character. What are we more consumed by than our own ambitions and dashed hopes?

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