Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. VanceMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I am really struggling with rating this one. I'm more in a 2 and a half to three place with this one. I was really interested in the concept of this memoir and hoping it would add some insight into the decisions people make as they relate to culture, class and regional differences. My rating is based on how I came away feeling about it overall. It's a fine memoir, very interesting. But, it didn't add a lot to my own knowledge about the white working class. It would start to delve into those concepts but it never quite made it beyond describing the issue. I was hoping for something more in depth. Perhaps that's my own fault for looking for more than a memoir when this is clearly a memoir. But, given the state of US politics today, I was hoping this would illuminate some of the things we're seeing around regional decision making regarding politics and policies. I didn't quite get what I was hoping to get but I did get a great story of a man who pulled himself out of Appalachia despite the odds. So, I don't NOT recommend it. I recommend it if you're drawn to the memoir but not an in-depth conversation about how it plays out in society.
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