Reviews

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance

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stankeyolivia's review against another edition

4.0

This book was a really interesting read. I enjoy reading memoirs because they are like having deep conversations with someone I've never met, who has had life experiences I haven't.

This particular book has sparked a debate about whether was J.D. Vance writes can be applied widely to poor white individuals in the United States. Now having read it, I think it is both a yes and a no. He mentioned a number of research articles and books, that the quotes from them can be extrapolated a bit, but his life story is his own and his truth. Others even within his life or family may be living a very different truth.

Therefore, if you are wanting to have a conversation and learn about one human's life truth, this is a great read. If you want to know what it is like to grow up poor, this is not the place to start.

maryvdb2024's review against another edition

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5.0

Brilliant memoir. Helps to understand why Donald Trump got so many votes in the rust belt. Describes the utter poverty and accompanying mind set so many people in this area are trapped in. So worth the read.

ellielv's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny fast-paced

3.25

beckca03's review against another edition

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5.0

This was one of the better memoirs I have read. I felt like it was thought-provoking but not preachy.

yyyyeeeeaaaahhhh's review against another edition

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1.0

J.D. Vance purports to care about the effects of poverty, but his solution amounts to "pull yourself up by your bootstraps", where "bootstraps" equal his inherent and unexamined white privilege. While his accounts of life in poor rural Appalachia communities are endearing and empathetic, he ultimately loses all credibility by supporting the same neoliberal policies and ideologies that have continually gutted and failed these same communities. It's also impossible to read this outside the context of his swerve to the right on his Twitter feed where he panders to the conservative-sphere through anti-immigration rhetoric and echoing Trump-ian talking points. Don't waste your time with this author.

suzecluez's review against another edition

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4.0

Probably closer to 3.5 but I will round up because I haven't read any other book quite like Hillbilly Elegy. I listened to the audiobook of the book so Vance narrated his memoir.

Very interesting and enlightening, and easy to emotionally connect. I expected more commentary on the 2016 election, but the story is as Vance presents it in the beginning, the story of him and his family.