Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by joelogsliterature
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
2.5
I have a hard time putting a review to this book. I may be being too hard with that two stars, but I think it might be deserved for considering the book just one step back. There’s something worthwhile here in understanding and diagnosing the problems of middle America, but the focus is also intentionally myopic as to ultimately fetishize and victimize these people.
To be clear—and I regrettably have to mention this because this book is so politically centered today—I don’t much like Vance. His current position in government worries me somewhat because he is genuinely competent while espousing beliefs and supporting policies that I think to be deeply harmful. But that has nothing a priori to do with my mixed feelings about this book, even if it relates. I’m also not opposed to giving him props where due. He’s done impressive things in his life. He writes well. Etc. etc.
This is a memoir, yes, but it’s also explicitly meant to provide insight into the plight of the white working class in and from the rust belt. Vance even sprinkles in a few academic citations to bolster his points to this effect. It’s a personal tale but an especially doctored one with an agenda. That’s not inherently bad, but what comes out of that paradigm can be. In this case, the book is ultimately a fable: embrace God, take accountability and get off your ass, and you can be like me instead of like those hillbillies I grew up with.
I’ve resisted embellishing his attitude toward his home here. In recent discourse, I’ve often heard Vance called a traitor to his roots or that he hates where he came from. I don’t think this is entirely fair, even if there is more than a hint of resentment at points. But Vance’s homeland—like any region but more than most—has a lot of problems, and his upbringing left a lot of room for understandable bitterness.
Is Vance’s a worthwhile perspective? I honestly think so. I’m from an Appalachian family of working class whites. The people I grew up with certainly can present some of these unique psychological contradictions. While sometimes feeling exaggerated and too folksy—putting on equal footing that oh-so-reliable lore with actual observations at points—the peculiar codes and extreme behavior that litters this book certainly bear resemblance to what I’ve known.
The issue is more so what Vance intentionally leaves out. Race is explicitly pushed out of this book, as if the working class whites of Appalachia had no relation to other demographics. The patterns of poverty are given little attention aside from showing them to then turn to Vance’s triumphs. Basically, the book’s a very shallow analysis of the problem.
To be clear—and I regrettably have to mention this because this book is so politically centered today—I don’t much like Vance. His current position in government worries me somewhat because he is genuinely competent while espousing beliefs and supporting policies that I think to be deeply harmful. But that has nothing a priori to do with my mixed feelings about this book, even if it relates. I’m also not opposed to giving him props where due. He’s done impressive things in his life. He writes well. Etc. etc.
This is a memoir, yes, but it’s also explicitly meant to provide insight into the plight of the white working class in and from the rust belt. Vance even sprinkles in a few academic citations to bolster his points to this effect. It’s a personal tale but an especially doctored one with an agenda. That’s not inherently bad, but what comes out of that paradigm can be. In this case, the book is ultimately a fable: embrace God, take accountability and get off your ass, and you can be like me instead of like those hillbillies I grew up with.
I’ve resisted embellishing his attitude toward his home here. In recent discourse, I’ve often heard Vance called a traitor to his roots or that he hates where he came from. I don’t think this is entirely fair, even if there is more than a hint of resentment at points. But Vance’s homeland—like any region but more than most—has a lot of problems, and his upbringing left a lot of room for understandable bitterness.
Is Vance’s a worthwhile perspective? I honestly think so. I’m from an Appalachian family of working class whites. The people I grew up with certainly can present some of these unique psychological contradictions. While sometimes feeling exaggerated and too folksy—putting on equal footing that oh-so-reliable lore with actual observations at points—the peculiar codes and extreme behavior that litters this book certainly bear resemblance to what I’ve known.
The issue is more so what Vance intentionally leaves out. Race is explicitly pushed out of this book, as if the working class whites of Appalachia had no relation to other demographics. The patterns of poverty are given little attention aside from showing them to then turn to Vance’s triumphs. Basically, the book’s a very shallow analysis of the problem.