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A review by makaylahart
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Incredibly intimate and informative portrait of poor, rural white Americans. Vance’s position as a self-described “cultural emigrant” provides an incredibly unique perspective that not only offers insight to the problems facing these communities, but also to his personal experiences and coming to terms with impacts of being born within one and escaping the poverty cycle.
To me it felt a little rambling towards the end but the conclusion was strong. At first I wished he’d dived deeper into some aspects of American society creating/encouraging some of these issues (like the two-party political system, big Pharma companies, distribution of wealth, etc) but there could be several more books on those subjects. The book’s tagline perfectly sums up what it is: ‘A memoir of a family and culture in crisis.’ It’s a look at how we got here through a scope largely limited to a single family, which may be exactly people need to read to become more understanding and to give a damn.
To me it felt a little rambling towards the end but the conclusion was strong. At first I wished he’d dived deeper into some aspects of American society creating/encouraging some of these issues (like the two-party political system, big Pharma companies, distribution of wealth, etc) but there could be several more books on those subjects. The book’s tagline perfectly sums up what it is: ‘A memoir of a family and culture in crisis.’ It’s a look at how we got here through a scope largely limited to a single family, which may be exactly people need to read to become more understanding and to give a damn.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse and Violence