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A review by ayesha1816
Graceland, At Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache From the American South by Margaret Renkl
3.5
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.