Hi, I’m badkittyuno, and I’ve totally failed my New Year’s resolution to remain current on my reviews by somehow falling 15 reviews behind. In my defense, my life has completely fallen apart since mid-March — but also I’m lazy and would much rather read than review. Caitlin_D suggested lumping reviews of similar books together in an effort to get myself back on track, and my baby sister is very wise, so… Here we go! It’s Memoir Time. Grace Notes: My Recollections by Katey 4 Stars I […]
“Psychologists call it “learned helplessness” when a person believes, as I did during my youth, that the choices I made had no effect on the outcomes in my life.”
“Americans call them hillbillies, rednecks, or white trash. I call them neighbors, friends, and family. Hillbilly Elegy has been making the rounds since its release in June of last year and, despite being released five months before the election, has been touted as providing insight into the minds of Trump Voters. J.D. Vance’s memoir delves into his childhood, raised primarily in Middletown, OH with familial roots in Kentucky, and the struggles he had growing up straddling the poverty line. This reminded me a lot of The Glass Castle except […]
Apparently We Can’t All Get Along
As previously noted by Bonnie, Hillbilly Elegy has been promoted as the book you must read to understand Trump voters. If that’s what you’re looking for, I think you will be disappointed. This book is mostly personal memoir with a liberal amount of social and political observation included. Given the fact that he’s worked in the Senate and written for David Frum, I wouldn’t be surprised if J.D. Vance is planning a political career in the future and this is his first autobiography telling his […]
Understanding the white rural poor (to an extent)
2016 was a gut-punch of a year. I won’t go into the details, because you’ve all been there, too. But suffice it to say that the spectre of Donald Trump (to paraphrase from Karl Marx) hangs over 2017. I’ve heard a lot about the rural poor white populations who voted him into power, and the need to understand the poor rural white people. In fact, people have been comparing J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy to Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me as a powerful memoir […]