Review: Dishwasher

Dishwasher by Pete Jordan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I stumbled across this book while helping with a book sorting project and was intrigued. I was also very surprised that my local library had it, though seeing how much of it takes place in this area does potentially explain that!

At an early age, Pete Jordan realized that the working poor work hard only to stay poor. Figuring he didn't have a chance to break the cycle, he decided not to even bother trying and instead would live the simplest life possible, essentially living as a minimalist well before that was even a thing. Not really a people person, Pete struggled a bit with jobs involving working with the public, until he found his "calling" as a dishwasher while in college. Coupled with his love of maps and exploring cities, Pete set set out on a mission to wash dishes in all 50 states by his 35th birthday.

This was a fun read (until the abrupt ending). I tallied the states as Pete chronicled them to see if he did in fact hit all 50. I looked forward to seeing where he would end up next and found it amusing his "dish dog bucket list" continued to grow as he learned more about the culture behind dish washing.

Infused among his travels are interesting tidbits about the history of dish washers, along with a lot of name dropping of Hollywood actors who have spent time at the sinks. Who knew that Portland, OR was such a mecca for dish washers? Or that it was a woman in Chicago who invented the dishwasher due to being fed up that her servants kept breaking her fine China?

I can see how some people might find this book boring or insipid - I chose to think of it as a lighthearted romp and as a result greatly enjoyed it (again, until the ending, which pretty much sucked). I was glad that the version of the book I had included a preview of his second book, about relocating to Amsterdam, as I felt that gave this one a bit of much needed closure. All in all, though I enjoyed this book enough that I will read his other one as well and have already recommended it to a couple of friends who I feel would appreciate his mindset.

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