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A review by sarahkorn
Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education by Stephanie Land
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Another powerful book from Stephanie Land which will certainly earn overwhelming praise from those who want to see her win, and harsh judgement from those who don't.
Personally, I'm in the first camp, so I'm giving this book a 4* rounded up. Ultimately, sadly, I just think the narrative fell short of Maid. I love that it's Land's story, not her daughters' -- single moms do indeed deserve to follow their own dreams, and not only work in service of others when they already sacrifice so much -- but I dont know if I saw her grow and evolve over the course of the story. Land's personal actions and decisions are not for me to judge, but the way the story was constructed just didn't work for me.
I was at the University of Montana in the Creative Writing Department just a few years after Land, so I knew a lot of the professors and local details mentioned (I've frequented that Bloody Mary bar myself) but I'd be interested to know if it resonates with someone who doesn't have that same context.
Personally, I'm in the first camp, so I'm giving this book a 4* rounded up. Ultimately, sadly, I just think the narrative fell short of Maid. I love that it's Land's story, not her daughters' -- single moms do indeed deserve to follow their own dreams, and not only work in service of others when they already sacrifice so much -- but I dont know if I saw her grow and evolve over the course of the story. Land's personal actions and decisions are not for me to judge, but the way the story was constructed just didn't work for me.
I was at the University of Montana in the Creative Writing Department just a few years after Land, so I knew a lot of the professors and local details mentioned (I've frequented that Bloody Mary bar myself) but I'd be interested to know if it resonates with someone who doesn't have that same context.