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88 reviews for:
Graceland, At Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache From the American South
Margaret Renkl
4.2 AVERAGE
88 reviews for:
Graceland, At Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache From the American South
Margaret Renkl
4.2 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
“Maybe being a Southern writer is only a matter of loving a damaged and damaging place, of loving its flawed and beautiful people, so much that you have to stay there, observing and recording and believing, against all odds, that one day it will finally live up to the promise of its own good heart.”
funny
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
This is a fantastic collection of essays that were previously published as op-ed pieces in the NY Times. Each one is interesting, thought provoking, and sometimes poignant. I will dip into these again and again.
Both Late Migrations and Graceland have a place on my shelf next to my favorite essayist, EB White.
Both Late Migrations and Graceland have a place on my shelf next to my favorite essayist, EB White.
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
AS A SOUTHERNER (kind of, whether the Raleigh Durham area counts is debatable) I was really interested in this, but alas.
I feel like I was disappointed by this, perhaps because it naturally has some limitations. For some reason, it reminds me of the liberal Hillbilly Elegy in that it is written about the South (whether Hillbilly Elegy was about the south is also debatable, but you know) but by a relative white elite for a centrist audience. Meaning that her opinions on immigration and Black Lives Matter are very lowest common denominator designed to make the white liberal snap in agreement.
I don't agree with a lot of Renkel's opinions, but that aside, this essay collection suffers from what it is: the collected thoughts of a white woman. And the parts where she talks about racial issues are very white sounding. Which isn't her fault and I appreciate the attempt, but it makes the collection suffer. I do think there are ways for white writers to write about race, but this doesn't seem to be it.
I think the best parts are about arts and culture, when she talks about Jimmy Carter, or the Nashville Opera House and pigeons, or about nature and environmentalism (which again, her takes are very "we all need to do our part to save the Earth, which true, but nothing about any economic system that may be contributing to that). She is a very beautiful nature writer, which isn't my thing, but I can admire the skill of it.
I feel like I was disappointed by this, perhaps because it naturally has some limitations. For some reason, it reminds me of the liberal Hillbilly Elegy in that it is written about the South (whether Hillbilly Elegy was about the south is also debatable, but you know) but by a relative white elite for a centrist audience. Meaning that her opinions on immigration and Black Lives Matter are very lowest common denominator designed to make the white liberal snap in agreement.
I don't agree with a lot of Renkel's opinions, but that aside, this essay collection suffers from what it is: the collected thoughts of a white woman. And the parts where she talks about racial issues are very white sounding. Which isn't her fault and I appreciate the attempt, but it makes the collection suffer. I do think there are ways for white writers to write about race, but this doesn't seem to be it.
I think the best parts are about arts and culture, when she talks about Jimmy Carter, or the Nashville Opera House and pigeons, or about nature and environmentalism (which again, her takes are very "we all need to do our part to save the Earth, which true, but nothing about any economic system that may be contributing to that). She is a very beautiful nature writer, which isn't my thing, but I can admire the skill of it.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced