Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis in A challenge of relative ease and merriment 2017

Oct 02, 2017 Martha.O.S rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I read this book on Ryan Tubridy's recommendation on RTE Radio 1. I respect his opinion on books and he spoke so highly on this one, recommending it especially for gaining a better understanding of Trump and Brexit. As I had / have limited understanding of both, I decided to read this book, albeit with little enthusiasm or expectation due to my general lack of interest in politics.

Despite my initial reluctance, I really enjoyed this book and found it very accessible, engaging and insightful. JD I read this book on Ryan Tubridy's recommendation on RTE Radio 1. I respect his opinion on books and he spoke so highly on this one, recommending it especially for gaining a better understanding of Trump and Brexit. As I had / have limited understanding of both, I decided to read this book, albeit with little enthusiasm or expectation due to my general lack of interest in politics.

Despite my initial reluctance, I really enjoyed this book and found it very accessible, engaging and insightful. JD Vance grew up in Kentucky and Ohio, moving multiple times all within the southern Appalachian region. He classifies himself as a 'hillbilly', a term that I have often (mis)understood as derogatory, but which his family took a lot of pride in. He grew up in poverty as did many of his peers, but attests his salvation and upward mobility to many 'lucky' opportunities and supports that he had in life, namely the stable and loving support of his grandparents, Mamaw and Papaw. The account of his life is very moving and the relationships that sustained him are very well described, as well as those that affected him. The episodes he describes of family conflict are so vivid and heartbreaking and give a clear insight into a daily reality of many. His mamaw in particular comes across as a hilarious, feisty, scary individual, but whose love is what saved him in his youth and continues to influence him to this day.
Vance observes the behaviour and attitudes that dominate the people of his working class environment, and sees the apathy, pessimism and work-shy approach as the one that prevails and pushes people in the direction of poverty, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse and childhood neglect that seems so rampant in the world of his youth. Vance himself is encouraged to work hard and with the encouragement and stability his grandparents provide, along with his own resilience and determination, he manages to move up on the social ladder, training with the Marines and attaining a Yale Law School education. The story of his youth is so sad but so inspiring.

The book was a wonderful commentary on the culture and psychology of the people of Appalachia and what he believes is keeping them so disadvantaged and disillusioned. He comments on the consumer habits of people as he works at a till in a supermarket, he remarks on the work-shy attitude of a fellow worker in a tile warehouse, he describes the poor lifestyles habits of his neighbours and how this impinges on their dental and health over time. Much of what he says makes a lot of sense and gives us a clear insight into what so many of these people have to live through that ultimately predicts their destiny and makes a clearly defined class distinction, something that was very pertinent to contemporary politics in this Trump era. In an interview I watched with Vance, (not himself a Trump supporter), he talks about how Trump talks directly to these people (the poor and working class of the Rust Belt), and he talks like these people, something that gave these people a beacon of hope amid their prevailing despair.

However, there were elements of this book that I had a problem with. Vance uses 'we' and 'our' to describe the hillbilly lifestyle that predicted their fate. These choices and habits do not define all hill people or people of this region and I feel that this should be qualified in the book. Though there is clearly a social class divide and many of his beliefs are well founded, I feel Vance could have backed some of this up with more statistical evidence, of which I'm sure there is plenty. Finally, when describing a networking evening as part of his Yale experience, he describes sending carbonated water back as he had never come across it before. He also describes things he did not realise before going to Yale, one of which was the necessity to dress up for interview. Far-fetched as these examples sound, I cannot deny that they happened to Vance, but it seemed a little extreme to think that he had come up through the Marines and an Ohio State university education without coming across sparking water and realising an interview demands a specific dress code. Maybe though, they just outline the extent of cultural divide that segregates the classes.

Overall it was a very enjoyable, engaging and interesting read, both heartbreaking and hopeful. It certainly gave me a clearer picture of life for poor white people in America and an understanding into why many of these people put their trust in Trump. ...more

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