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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
Listened to 50% of audiobook. Quit cuz it was not engaging. I liked the NF series based on Maid novel so was disappointed not to like this one.
***spoiler(ish)****
I have been thinking about this one since I started reading it yesterday. It was a quick read...I think I probably read it fast because I wanted to get to the end of the story. I have no criticism of Stephanie Land's choices or her attitude or reactions to things that happened to her (like the other reviewers seem to have), honestly, I liked reading her story in that respect because it forced me to not be so judgmental about her situation. I follow her on Twitter and really like her as a person, so I wanted to see how the second part of her life story unfolded. The end of the book was very sweet and I enjoyed that.
What I don't get is how nobody has said that the writing is very bland and kind of has a "just the facts, ma'am" aspect about it. Like when I was reading it, I felt like I was just listening to somebody telling me things that had happened to them. Like no descriptions of anything, the weather, what people we wearing, etc. Nothing! I felt like I barely saw any adjectives. It just made for a very dry read for me. I kind of felt the same way with Maid...I mean, it was interesting, but I think the writing is just average. It also seemed pretty disjointed and very rushed. Almost like a first draft. Some people complained about the sex scenes and those didn't bother me other than the fact they were kind of poorly written. I also think they just weren't really necessary for the plot.
So I gave it three stars because I like her and I like her story and I'm glad everything worked out for her, but the writing was just not that great for me.
I have been thinking about this one since I started reading it yesterday. It was a quick read...I think I probably read it fast because I wanted to get to the end of the story. I have no criticism of Stephanie Land's choices or her attitude or reactions to things that happened to her (like the other reviewers seem to have), honestly, I liked reading her story in that respect because it forced me to not be so judgmental about her situation. I follow her on Twitter and really like her as a person, so I wanted to see how the second part of her life story unfolded. The end of the book was very sweet and I enjoyed that.
What I don't get is how nobody has said that the writing is very bland and kind of has a "just the facts, ma'am" aspect about it. Like when I was reading it, I felt like I was just listening to somebody telling me things that had happened to them. Like no descriptions of anything, the weather, what people we wearing, etc. Nothing! I felt like I barely saw any adjectives. It just made for a very dry read for me. I kind of felt the same way with Maid...I mean, it was interesting, but I think the writing is just average. It also seemed pretty disjointed and very rushed. Almost like a first draft. Some people complained about the sex scenes and those didn't bother me other than the fact they were kind of poorly written. I also think they just weren't really necessary for the plot.
So I gave it three stars because I like her and I like her story and I'm glad everything worked out for her, but the writing was just not that great for me.
3.5 stars I wished I liked this more. I love Stephanie’s writing. She puts you in her world and makes you feel her anxiety, relief, elation. But there is something about this book that didn’t sit right with me. The book feels rushed in places and could use some additional context in others. I think about the way she described her friendships a lot. I need to come back when I have my thoughts together.
Author Stephanie Land's previous book, "Maid", was her memoir of struggling as a single mother living below the poverty line. In this follow-up, "Class" , Land continues to share her story of fighting to access higher learning as a single mother living below the poverty line.
The beauty of memoirs is that they allow readers to access a life that is unlike their own lives. At their best, they make you more empathetic to the struggles of others and more aware of systemic injustices.
I most appreciated the parts of this book that addressed the struggles of poverty and education... student loans, child care, the high cost of copying essays to share with all of the author's peers in the classroom, etc etc.
In other sections, it was harder for me to sympathize. I had to keep reminding myself that poor people are allowed to make mistakes, too. They are allowed to pick abusive boyfriends just like rich people are. They are allowed to use birth control with a high failure rate just like middle class folks can. They are allowed to have unflattering opinions of their professors and friends and write about them in very public ways... I guess.
That being said, this author often comes across as an immature person who views herself as a near-constant victim of not only "the system", but also her family, boyfriends, friends, professors, judicial systems, etc. I *know* that this author has fought through circumstances I have never faced. And by her own account, she's come through those battles and is in a much better place now. I'm so glad for her. Just be aware that this book is not just a look at how hard it is for poor folks to get ahead via our higher education system. It also includes a significant side of relational drama.
My thanks to the author, publisher, and #NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
The beauty of memoirs is that they allow readers to access a life that is unlike their own lives. At their best, they make you more empathetic to the struggles of others and more aware of systemic injustices.
I most appreciated the parts of this book that addressed the struggles of poverty and education... student loans, child care, the high cost of copying essays to share with all of the author's peers in the classroom, etc etc.
In other sections, it was harder for me to sympathize. I had to keep reminding myself that poor people are allowed to make mistakes, too. They are allowed to pick abusive boyfriends just like rich people are. They are allowed to use birth control with a high failure rate just like middle class folks can. They are allowed to have unflattering opinions of their professors and friends and write about them in very public ways... I guess.
That being said, this author often comes across as an immature person who views herself as a near-constant victim of not only "the system", but also her family, boyfriends, friends, professors, judicial systems, etc. I *know* that this author has fought through circumstances I have never faced. And by her own account, she's come through those battles and is in a much better place now. I'm so glad for her. Just be aware that this book is not just a look at how hard it is for poor folks to get ahead via our higher education system. It also includes a significant side of relational drama.
My thanks to the author, publisher, and #NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
Normally, I am not a fan of memoirs. But this one caught my attention as a way to understand the difficulties a single mother had in getting an education while trying to manage housing, food, and the expenses of education. It was eye opening to see the difficulty in getting social services that was needed just to survive. Not only did she have her 6 year old daughter, but during her senior year became pregnant, but did not have the father's support. In addition she was constantly fighting with her daugher's father to get proper support plus deal with his verbal abuses to her daughter during the times he had her.
I was not a fan of her sexual descriptions, but it does define her life and thoughts during the time. She was very fortunate to have somewhat of a support system to take care of her daughter when she was working or going to school. I did think the second part of the book was better than the first part, so am glad I stayed with it.
Very enlightening. I managed to read this in two days. It is so sad that we do not have support systems in place for those who are trying to get an education to get out of poverty.
Because of this book, I am interested in reading her earlier one, Maid.
I was not a fan of her sexual descriptions, but it does define her life and thoughts during the time. She was very fortunate to have somewhat of a support system to take care of her daughter when she was working or going to school. I did think the second part of the book was better than the first part, so am glad I stayed with it.
Very enlightening. I managed to read this in two days. It is so sad that we do not have support systems in place for those who are trying to get an education to get out of poverty.
Because of this book, I am interested in reading her earlier one, Maid.
medium-paced
I'm going back and forth between trying to figure out if I have a lot of unresolved, unconscious classism, or if Stephanie Land just. . .isn't a very good person. I think the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Yes, absolutely, the US welfare system is completely inadequate and fails the people it serves. But also, Land repeatedly makes decisions that are head scratching, to say the least. I think the itch at the back of my mind that Stephanie is a more. . .complicated person than her book portrays is her description of her friendships throughout the book: she mentions that she will never be able to reciprocate support in her friendship, and cuts off people at the slightest perceived fault even as they ferry her across the state. She just doesn't seem to allow for anyone else to have hardships, complex lives, or responsibilities of their own while expecting everyone to give her grace. See also: while struggling to feed her kid, working/going to school full time, and repeatedly stressing how she has no bandwidth or free time, she. . .adopts a dog? That she quickly admits isn't house trained. What is she feeding the dog? How is she paying for vet bills for things like rabies shots? She also mentions that her kid starts wetting the bed, a classic sign of abuse, after coming back from her abusive fathers, and there is absolutely no follow up on this. Nor is there any follow up on why the kid told the mom she should expect a call from the principle. Also, she goes around telling people that the Matt (Mark?) guy might be the father of her child, but never actually reaches out to him to let him know he might have a kid. People make mistakes, but there's hardly any self reflection.
Her writing is solid, though repetitive in parts (did Carhartt pants sponsor this book?) and meandering in others. Land narrates her audio book, which in my opinion is a mistake, as she's a very flat, non-engaging narrator. I guess I don't regret reading the book, given that I finished it, and it does highlight the deficiencies of US social services in between what stories about villains her professors are or how she absolutely needs an MFA to find a job. If I had to sum up this book in one word, it would be: frustrating. Both about the realities of the US social system and the author herself.
Her writing is solid, though repetitive in parts (did Carhartt pants sponsor this book?) and meandering in others. Land narrates her audio book, which in my opinion is a mistake, as she's a very flat, non-engaging narrator. I guess I don't regret reading the book, given that I finished it, and it does highlight the deficiencies of US social services in between what stories about villains her professors are or how she absolutely needs an MFA to find a job. If I had to sum up this book in one word, it would be: frustrating. Both about the realities of the US social system and the author herself.
I did not enjoy this book. I remember being extremely moved by Maid; it really opened my eyes to the many challenges faced by so many people in our country. The Netflix series was extraordinarily well done. I was eager to read Class, but found it hard to get through. As many others have pointed out, this book read as if it was from the perspective of someone in their early twenties. When I realized in the middle of the book that Land was 35 during this time, I was floored. She showed little maturity or self-awareness, and a fair number of her struggles seemed self-inflicted. Class would have been more successful if it had shown a modicum of personal growth on Land’s part. Instead, it was a frustrating read about a woman who seemed to have learned not much, making choices to follow her dreams while simultaneously cursing the circumstances largely of her own creation.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
inspiring
medium-paced
Land is a great writer, but man, this one was incredibly frustrating. And I know, I get it, humans are complex and everyone makes mistakes and I can't judge her for her choices, but it became hard to read for me.