Servo cover art

Servo

Tales from the Graveyard Shift

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Servo

By: David Goodwin
Narrated by: Barton Welch
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Summary
 'Goodwin is a natural-born storyteller, effortlessly compelling whether he's talking about the draconian policies of his bosses, the mad ramblings of his regulars or his own forays into chemical-induced debauchery . . . However, the true secret to Servo's brilliance is that beneath its irreverent, gonzo stylings it's actually a heartfelt, coming-of-age memoir.' READINGS

An odyssey of drive-offs, spiked slurpees, stale sausage rolls and sleep-deprived madness.

Most of us have done our time in the retail trenches, but service stations are undoubtedly the frontline, as Melburnian David Goodwin found out when he started working the weekend graveyard shift at his local servo.

From his very first night shift, David absorbed a consistent level of mind-bending lunacy, encountering everything from giant shoplifting bees and balaclava-clad goons hurling cordial-filled water bombs from the sunroof of their BMW, to anarcho-goths high on MDMA releasing large rats into the store from their matching Harry Potter backpacks.

Over the years, David grew to love his mad servo, handing out free pies and chocolate bars on the sly as he grew a backbone and became street smart. Amidst the unrelenting chaos, he eventually made it out of the servo circus - and lived to tell the tale.

For anyone who's ever toiled under the unforgiving fluorescent lights of a customer service job, SERVO is a side-splitting and darkly mesmeric coming-of-age story from behind the anti-jump wire that will have you gritting your teeth, then cackling at the absurdity, idiocy and utterly beguiling strangeness of those who only come out at night. Cultural & Regional
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What an amazing insight into the creatures and events that frequent late night / early morning suburbia. Well worth the listen 🤣

An amazing insight

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There's so much to like about this book. It tells the story of the young person forced into working whilst at Uni and how that didn't work out. It tells tales of drug and alcohol use both as a fun thing and as a nasty thing needed as a form of self medication. It tells the stories of the Grumbletons and the myriad of reasons as to why or how different health care and other systems have let them down. It simply tells the reader about the ridiculous things that happen late at night and early mornings in an Australian 'Servo'. oh and the capitalism and exploitation of staff.

Interesting Observations of Humanity

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Masterfully crafted story full of traditional, English class, similes, metaphors and personification to describe the unstructured mess of humanity that frequents servos in the early AM. Loved that the story also more broadly described Dave’s life at the time too and how the work impacted his mental health. A great listen.

Brilliant collision of ideas

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Absolutely loved this book, I’ve listened to it multiple times. It needs to be turned into a tv show. Imagine Donna, Ralph and Stevo brought to life. It’s highly entertaining and performed brilliantly. I’ve recommended it to so many people.

Aussie legend

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Great observations about a moment in time when Australia was going through a quiet social revolution. I was drawn in by every minute of this soft trip through the underside of Melbournes unloved servo industry.

A well told journey to adulthood

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.