Book review

I can’t remember the title but the cover is Blue

Elias Greig works at a Sydney bookshop and as any retailer will tell you customers provide an endless number of interesting observations. Elias decided to keep a diary type list, if the day provided a story he jotted it down. This book is the result and its title is exactly the clue one customer provided in asking him to track down the book. 

Each chapter covers one customer being served. Some are really funny, others not so as the passing parade of humanity’s foibles are described; the demanding, the vague, the cheeky, the naïve, the sad and the happy.  

Some a mixture of these such as the lady who purchased a book and asked for it to be gift wrapped.  As he did this she pulled two more which she had purchased elsewhere out of her bag saying “you might as well wrap  these too”. He decided it easier to oblige however then she got picky about the wrapping paper insisting that they be in different wrappers.  As she paid for the book she commented that she hoped he hadn’t charged for the wrapping service and when he assured that he hadn’t she replied “That’s all right then” and walked off with out so much as a ‘thank you’.

Interesting conversations often evolved as Elias tried to deal with out of control offspring without attracting the ire of their parents. Sometimes parents seem completely unaware of their children as they wrecked havoc, others are doting parents whose little darlings could do no wrong. 

Along with recording each episode Elias also added what was going through his mind at the time – what he would have dearly liked to have said. Also a brief description of the person along with a descriptive name. So we have  ‘Punch drunk mum’, Infectious pep’, ‘Probable Nazi’, ‘Heinous young  lady’, Waft mum’, and ’Frowncamel’  etc. The book is enhanced by some amusing drawings by Philip Marsden. 

Some chapters are only a page or two others longer. This is not the kind of book to settle in on a long read but rather to enjoy a few chapters then put it down and come back to it later kind of book. Be prepared to be amused  – and sometimes appalled.

                                      Mike Beckett