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A review by bybrookenelson
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
5.0
Where to begin...
I am not a memoir reader, but I have so much love for this book and so much praise to give to it.
When I picked this up, I was honestly expecting to be a little bit bored, as I often am by reading life stories. That may sound harsh, but it's the truth. People's lives are not always as fun to read about as they think they are. And in this case, that's just the point.
Vance did not have a "fun" upbringing, nor did he have a childhood or young adult life like anyone I have ever known or learned of. But this book is so much more than a recounting of Vance's life thus far. It is a story of the collective lives of a marginalized group that is so sidelined in America that I truly didn't even know they existed to this day, much less did I know of their many hardships.
Appalachian hillbilly life is brutal and bleak and unforgiving, and Vance makes it clear that much of this is the people of the region's own doing. They treat each other poorly and believe they can never make it to a better place, so they don't. This is a book of clarity and insight on Appalachian life, and it is also a success story that highlights the ups and downs of making your way out of the life you've always known.
It is so meaningful and moving, and I don't think I can ever properly put into words those feelings precisely and how glad I am that I picked up this book.
It's just the feeling you get when you pick up a book you were meant to read.
So would I recommend this book to you? If you're prepared to go in with an open mind, absolutely, yes. (On the other hand, if you don't want to give it a chance, then of course not. You won't like it.) But there is so much insight to gain and so many meaningful stories here that I never would have heard otherwise.
I am not a memoir reader, but I have so much love for this book and so much praise to give to it.
When I picked this up, I was honestly expecting to be a little bit bored, as I often am by reading life stories. That may sound harsh, but it's the truth. People's lives are not always as fun to read about as they think they are. And in this case, that's just the point.
Vance did not have a "fun" upbringing, nor did he have a childhood or young adult life like anyone I have ever known or learned of. But this book is so much more than a recounting of Vance's life thus far. It is a story of the collective lives of a marginalized group that is so sidelined in America that I truly didn't even know they existed to this day, much less did I know of their many hardships.
Appalachian hillbilly life is brutal and bleak and unforgiving, and Vance makes it clear that much of this is the people of the region's own doing. They treat each other poorly and believe they can never make it to a better place, so they don't. This is a book of clarity and insight on Appalachian life, and it is also a success story that highlights the ups and downs of making your way out of the life you've always known.
It is so meaningful and moving, and I don't think I can ever properly put into words those feelings precisely and how glad I am that I picked up this book.
It's just the feeling you get when you pick up a book you were meant to read.
So would I recommend this book to you? If you're prepared to go in with an open mind, absolutely, yes. (On the other hand, if you don't want to give it a chance, then of course not. You won't like it.) But there is so much insight to gain and so many meaningful stories here that I never would have heard otherwise.