Hillbilly Elegy
by J.D. Vance
I started reading this before Trump chose Vance as his running mate. I did give more effort to finish it after.
It’s a combination coming-of-age, father-hunger, hillbilly history, class struggle, political ad. And, it was fine.
The only part I struggled with was the repetition. That said, maybe the repetition was intentional on the visceral level, as in, trying to make one feel the frustrating cycles of reactivity where drugs and drunkenness and anger rise and fall, again and again. But mostly, it just felt repetitive.
I am from Ohio, as is Vance. In fact, many years ago when my wife asked my dad for some family history, he said, rather gruffly, “We’re from Ohio.” Turns out we do have family that arrived in Ohio in the early 1800s. My dad also fancied himself a hillbilly/redneck, though he definitely led us in a middle class life.
I’ve already recommended Hillbilly Elegy to a few people who can see the drag of their generational forebears and are trying to advance. Vance did advance, and, there was nothing easy about it.
Should you read it? Meh, it’s probably a good listen while driving (though some of the vocab is not what the middle class would consider acceptable), or maybe in your headphones mowing the lawn or folding laundry. It won’t take all your academic attention, but there is edification to be found.