On the Coffee Table: The Customer Is Always Wrong

Title: The Customer Is Always Wrong

Writer and Artist: Mimi Pond

via Amazon

The Customer Is Always Wrong is a continuation of Over Easy.  The two books combine to form a memoir (with a few artistic liberties) of the author's experiences as a diner waitress in 1970s Oakland.  Ideally, one should probably read the two books back-to-back as no reminders are given at the beginning of the second book about story details from the first.  No matter.  Nothing is so complicated that it isn't easy to catch up quickly.  Most of the other diner employees are quirky at best, drug-addicted at worst.  The world is held together by Lazlo, the philosopher/manager/father-figure.  Madge's goal is to save up enough money ($2,000 is the goal) to move to New York and have a real go at an art career.

I found myself less sympathetic towards Madge in this second book.  She's highly judgmental of people she shouldn't be: "whores and drunks" who call for cabs when, in her opinion, they should have friends or family to come pick them up.  Then she's not judgmental enough of the people she should be: a loser, lying boyfriend first and then more tragically, her heroin-addicted colleague/neighbor Camille who constantly takes advantage of her.  In short, she's over-trusting and still expects other people to take care of her.  She's an entirely believable character.  I simply don't like her very much.

Even so, I'd read more Mimi Pond books if she writes them.