Published in hardback by Serpent’s Tail, £14.99 (£6.02)
The concept is simple: select from a variety of professions, settle on a standard line of questioning, and see what happens. These individually reported interviews, grouped into occasionally oblique groupings, form the basis of All Day Long.
Journalist Biggs avoids cod psychology or sociology, and while occasionally a more academic bent would be welcome, for the most part her simple style and attentive ear do a wonderful job of capturing both profession and person.
Predictable tropes rear their heads – the decline of manufacturing; cuts to public services; continued difficulties facing women across the sectors – only to be lent fresh perspective by the characters she encounters.
Ultimately the book succeeds as a succession of fascinating portraits, eventual attempts to draw any conclusion mildly besides the point: work, in all its forms, ultimately remains an individual pursuit. All Day Long is a wonderful glimpse into the lives of others.
Book Review: All Day Long- A Portrait Of Britain At Work by Joanna Biggs
