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Elegia americana

J.D. Vance,

Roberto Merlini (Translator)

3.93 · Rating details · 252,970 ratings · 25,018 reviews

I nonni di J.D. sono sporchi, poveri e innamorati quando emigrano giovanissimi dalle regioni dei monti Appalachi verso l’Ohio nella speranza di una vita migliore. Ma quel sogno di benessere e riscatto è solo sfiorato, perché prima di diventare uomo il loro nipote lotterà a lungo con la miseria e la violenza domestica: una madre tossicodipendente, patrigni nullafacenti che ...more

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Hardcover, Saggi, 255 pages

Published April 6th 2017 by Garzanti (first published June 28th 2016)

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Jan 22, 2016 Jessica Jeffers rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, edelweiss

I read this book as an advance galley, long before it became a Thing and I did not read this book because I wanted Vance to explain Trump, though he's somehow been chosen by liberal media as the person to do just that (though the handful of interviews I saw seemed more like Chris Matthews wanted to pat himself on the back for having a guest with hillbilly cred than actually listening to what Vance had to say). I didn't think this book would have mass appeal because no one outside of Appalachia I read this book as an advance galley, long before it became a Thing and I did not read this book because I wanted Vance to explain Trump, though he's somehow been chosen by liberal media as the person to do just that (though the handful of interviews I saw seemed more like Chris Matthews wanted to pat himself on the back for having a guest with hillbilly cred than actually listening to what Vance had to say). I didn't think this book would have mass appeal because no one outside of Appalachia seems to give a shit about Appalachia, and its success has surprised me. It's not a perfect book, but I do think it's a good starting point as long as you remember that this is just one guy's perspective on his own experiences.

I picked this up because Vance is from the same part of the world as me and I wanted to read about something that I could relate to. That cover photo looks like it could have been taken on the road that I grew up on, in one of the poorest places in Ohio where Appalachia and the Midwest intersect. It was so poor that a girl who made me cry in first grade was featured on a CBS news story on American Poverty.

I always knew it was different from the cities and suburbia reflected in pop culture, but moving away and realizing just how different it is from other places was still a weird experience for me. It’s so rural that I struggle to describe it adequately to the people I’ve met since living in Philadelphia and the DC Metro area. It matches stereotypes to some extent, but the stereotypes also often miss the mark. People not from Appalachia really don’t get it, and they’re often way too quick to dismiss it. I never really fit in in Appalachia, for so many different reasons, but I’ll also fiercely defend it. Put me in a room of East-Coast natives making jokes about “uneducated rednecks” and I will probably grow a second head. Poor rural white people are the last group that you can make fun of without being considered un-PC, and I think that’s a huge problem that creates a lot of divisiveness. Books like this one show a culture that is underrepresented.

Vance grew up in a small town between Cincinnati and Dayton. (TBH, I never really thought of that as Appalachian because Cincinnati is on the opposite side of the state from me, but Vance’s family moved north from Kentucky so of course it is.) His family experienced many of the same migration patterns, cultural touchstones, and poverty-related struggles that describe the lives of my extended family and the families of my high-school peers. His father was never a consistent presence in his life, his mother struggled with drug addiction. His grandparents were the greatest source of normalcy in his life, but they taught him to live by a hillbilly code of loyalty and self-sufficiency. Though they encouraged him to take his education seriously, wanted a better life for him than they’d had, he didn’t do well in school and didn’t seems to think he’d ever have a future outside of Appalachia.

But then he joined the Marines and it turned his life around. With a new sense of self-determination, a broader perspective of the larger world, and developed leadership skills, Vance enrolled at Ohio State University and, eventually, went on to Yale Law School—an unheard of achievement for someone from his family, his hometown, and his struggling public high school. A lot of the experiences he had in New Haven frustrated him, and that was definitely something I could relate to. However, I think those experiences caused Vance to dig into his conservative values in a way that I can not relate to.

There's been some sociocultural analysis of Appalachia, but I don't think anything's ever focused so specifically on Appalachia Ohio. That's something that I definitely appreciated as a native. I'm also unaware of any exploration of the region that's actually been done by a native and therefore possesses an insider understanding of what makes the people tick. There really are a lot of very specific personality traits that are unique to the Scots-Irish people who settled in the Ohio River Valley, and these traits make no sense to outsiders. When people talk about how ridiculous it is that West Virginia tends to vote Republican even though it seems to be against their interests, they are fundamentally misunderstanding a lot of these traits that are so ingrained in the psychology of the state and that frustrates me to no end.

Vance focuses primarily on his own personal story. He does cite some research about the region in general—but this is mostly for context and is not meant to be exhaustive. I think it’s important to remember that Vance is conservative, though he doesn’t seem to be as far right-wing as the Tea Party, so his ideas may not appeal to the point of view of many liberals coming to this book trying to make sense of Trump. By giving this book four stars, that’s not to say I necessarily agree with his political point of view but I think it’s important to hear different voices.

Vance makes an attempt to extrapolate from his own experience to explain why "simple" social welfare is not enough to help address the problems of Appalachia. The short answer is: there are no easy solutions, because so many of the problems are circular. People don't succeed because they don't see anything to be hopeful about, and they don't see any room for hope because so few have succeeded. Without hope, no one bothers to take baby steps towards the kind of changes that can move the region into a better economic reality. I think some people see that as blaming the poor for being poor—which is a thing that happens and is a gross oversimplification—but I do think there are both internal and external factors at play here.

I do wish I'd come away from this book feeling a little more optimistic, that it offered up some more concrete solutions, but I suppose that wasn't really Vance's stated purpose. And it's not really something that falls squarely on his shoulders. He's still young—just 31, he likely only finished Yale two years before this book was written, if I've done the math correctly. Perhaps "concrete" is something that he can bring with some more time? Or maybe he's just not the guy that's going to be bring "concrete." Regardless, I do think it's important to listen to the voices of Appalachia. Change is never going to happen until we all start listening to each other and not just applying our own prejudices to each other's words. ...more

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Jan 13, 2017 Lauren Cecile rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Very candid account of growing up disadvantaged and white. The parallels between his demographic and a historically, systematically marginalized Black America are evident. Both populations deserve understanding and empathy, but I tend to think the author thinks his people are somehow more noble. I would have like to seen an acknowledgment that the two groups should not be antagonistic but work together to achieve mutually beneficial economic goals.

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Jun 29, 2016 Jon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: memoirs

2016 is the year of Donald Trump, and J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy should be at the top of every politico and thought leader's reading list living in the Acela corridor. Vance is both an excellent writer and a thoughtful person—and when combined with a compelling story, he's able to shed some light on the lives of those living on the other side of the Appalachian Mountains.

Let's start with what this book isn't. It's not an explanation of why Donald Trump is the Republican nominee, or at least 2016 is the year of Donald Trump, and J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy should be at the top of every politico and thought leader's reading list living in the Acela corridor. Vance is both an excellent writer and a thoughtful person—and when combined with a compelling story, he's able to shed some light on the lives of those living on the other side of the Appalachian Mountains.

Let's start with what this book isn't. It's not an explanation of why Donald Trump is the Republican nominee, or at least not directly. Nor is it a guide for how to alleviate Appalachian poverty. Vance is too smart to offer simplistic explanations or solutions. Rather, it is one man's experience living in the culture of Appalachia and placing his experience in the broader context of American society. It is the fact that he doesn't try to do too much that makes this book as compelling as it is.

Vance grew up in southeastern Ohio and eastern Kentucky, largely raised by his grandmother (Mamaw) and having a complicated relationship with his family members. Hillbilly Elegy is a story that demonstrates the full measure of the brokenness that wracks Appalachia, but it is also a story that exemplifies the depths of familial love and opportunity.

Vance's description of Yale Law School is interesting, because while he portrays it as an institution in which he feels out of place (very few people from poor backgrounds go to Yale Law School), he also was afforded the opportunity to go there. That tension—the fact that he managed to "beat the odds" while still acknowledging the deep cultural divide between elite institutions and wide swaths of middle America (the region of the United States sometimes derisively referred to as "flyover country")—pervades the book and ultimately makes it such an important book.

For that tension exists not merely in the people like Vance who have a foot in both worlds—one in southeastern Ohio with his hillbilly family and the other in downtown San Francisco working for an investment fund. It also exists in the United States writ large, as college-educated urbanites express confusion at the values of those outside of their spheres. There are, therefore, two Americas—one divided less by race or geography (though those certainly matter), but by class and values. In order to break down those barriers, we need books like Hillbilly Elegy and people like Vance to help us build bridges across those cultural barriers we have today. ...more

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Sep 22, 2016 Bill Kerwin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: autobiography, memoir

Have you ever wondered what became of the Scotch-Irish, who dug America’s coal, forged America’s steel and built America’s automobiles, who worked for the American Dream Monday through Friday. prayed to The Good Lord on Sunday, and revered F.D.R. and J.F.K. every day of the week? The last thing I heard, they elected Donald Trump. And I am still looking for explanations.

If you want somebody who knows Appalachian culture from inside to explain it all to you, I highly recommend Hillbilly Elegy by
Have you ever wondered what became of the Scotch-Irish, who dug America’s coal, forged America’s steel and built America’s automobiles, who worked for the American Dream Monday through Friday. prayed to The Good Lord on Sunday, and revered F.D.R. and J.F.K. every day of the week? The last thing I heard, they elected Donald Trump. And I am still looking for explanations.

If you want somebody who knows Appalachian culture from inside to explain it all to you, I highly recommend Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance. Vance has his roots in Eastern Kentucky, a troubled childhood in the rustbelt city of Middletown, Ohio, and yet has succeeded in graduating from Ohio State and matriculating from The Yale Law School. He tells us about his family of “crazy hillbillies,” and, in the process of telling us the story of his family, he tells us the story of America too.

The hillbilly seeking the American Dream in industrial Ohio was always “a stranger in a strange land”, for he cleaved to his Appalachian identity—the church in the wildwood, the old folks in the hollers—and returned to the welcoming hills every chance he could get. But economic decline left its mark on both mountain culture and urban manufacturing. Opportunities shrunk, hard liquor was supplemented by painkillers and heroin, church attendance fell and so did belief in the American Dream.

J.D.’s were most powerful influences were his grandparents Mamaw and Papaw: fierce, hard-drinking battlers with a proud belief in individual honor and family solidarity. They might beat their kids, sure, only when they deserved it...but no outsider better say one harsh word to them, much less lay a finger on them. They probably did their own children little good—especially J.D.’s mother, addicted to heroin and a bewildering succession of men—but by the time J.D. needed them they had mellowed a little, and gave him the love and determination he needed to succeed.

The early chapters about family are compelling, but the last few chapters, touching on the cultural hurdles a hillbilly in a high class East Coast law school must overcome, are fascinating too. J.D. shows us how many things the upper middle class takes for granted—how to dress for an interview, how to schmooze a prospective employer, how to strive for what you really want not what you’re supposed to want—are difficult for a young man from a poor background.

J.D. Vance’s insights are noteworthy not only because of his family background but also because of his political philosophy. He is a conservative, one of those cautious, reflective conservatives who are growing increasingly rare these days. (Former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is one of his heroes, David Frum is a former employer and mentor). He is critical of specific government practices (the high barriers grandparent’s face if they wish to be foster parents, for example), but he also realizes that government has a role—although limited—in raising the Appalachian people from poverty. The major responsibility, however, he puts squarely on the shoulders on the hillbilly himself:

There is a cultural movement in the white working class to blame problems on society or the government, and that movement gains adherents by the day.

Here is where the rhetoric of modern conservatives (and I say this as one of them) fails to meet the real challenges of their biggest constituents. Instead of encouraging engagement, conservatives increasingly foment the kind of detachment that has sapped the ambition of so many of my peers...What separates the successful from the unsuccessful are the expectations that they had for their own lives. Yet the message of the right is increasingly: It’s not your fault that you’re a loser; it’s the government’s fault.

...more

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Apr 26, 2018 Miranda Reads rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

This books had so much more depth than I expected and honestly, I am more than a little overwhelmed.

What separates the successful from the unsuccessful are the expectations that they had for their own lives.

J.D. Vance, an ex-marine, a Yale law school graduate and self-proclaimed hillbilly, provides an absolutely unique, heart-wrenching and poignant analysis of his culture - the poor white working class.

If you believe that hard work pays off, then you work hard; if you think it’s hard to get

...more

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Dec 27, 2016 Laurie Anderson rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir

I grew up in a similar community.... wanted to like this book, but I lost all respect for it because the author didn't discuss the enormous issue of racism in the context of rural white poverty. A cowardly omission.

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Jun 29, 2016 Rebecca Robinson rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I'll be honest I didn't totally finish the book before giving up. I hear Vance on NPR and the story caught my attention. Yet, what I thought would be a better analysis of American economics and poverty proved to be very different.

It's one of those conservative love stories of " I got my shit together so everyone can". While I respect the struggle Vance had, I also believe it's a very naive picture of what is going on. It explains why people FEEL a way. It does not explain the systemic issues ...more

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Dec 10, 2016 Christy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Hell hath no fury like a strong Protestant Work Ethic without work.

Okay – that was my original, but it should have been Vance’s! Instead, he mostly blamed the poor for being poor, lazy, and generally culpable for all (and few) choices. No wonder anger and angst filled their days and nights, and they needed drugs, alcohol, and violence to trigger some brief if dysfunctional relief. Vance was born right after the decades of American prosperity post WWII when if you wanted a job you simply got ...more

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Oct 26, 2017 Matthew rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, biography, hoopla, library, favorites, gr_awards_2017, audio

This is an incredibly fascinating and well done book. I think that the thoughts and opinions of the author might be controversial, but he lived through it and saw the good and the bad so I will give him the benefit of the doubt on how he sees things after the way he grew up!

When I saw the name, I figured this would be reading about a real life Deliverance-esque town. However, this is more about how a boy develops into a man when dealing with being raised by a family with a “Hillbilly” This is an incredibly fascinating and well done book. I think that the thoughts and opinions of the author might be controversial, but he lived through it and saw the good and the bad so I will give him the benefit of the doubt on how he sees things after the way he grew up!

When I saw the name, I figured this would be reading about a real life Deliverance-esque town. However, this is more about how a boy develops into a man when dealing with being raised by a family with a “Hillbilly” background. The setting is suburban Ohio where many Hillbillies have relocated for blue collar jobs. In fact, the town is Middletown, Ohio, which is not far from where I was growing up at the same time that the events of this book were taking place (Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati). Because of this, it hit home even more for me.

When I say that his opinions might come across as controversial, it is because he gives his opinions about his upbringing and the Hillbilly culture and how he had to struggle to overcome it. Some of what he says might get people riled up if it came from an outsider. But, again, since he lived with it – I feel like his input and opinion are a very important viewpoint.

I did a little background search on this book and the author online. It sounds like there are some people who scoff at this book because it isn’t about a Deliverance-esque town, the author is well spoken, and he does not necessarily paint the Hillbilly culture in the best light. I agree that all these things are true about the book, but I think that is what makes it even more fascinating and amazing to me. When you read this, you will probably be surprised that he made it away from abuse, drug use, poverty, and crime at all. Is he supposed to feel bad about that? I think that some people think that he should; kind of like he turned his back on his roots

If a thought provoking book about growing up in lower middle class suburbia over the past 30-40 years sounds interesting to you, this is your book. I can easily recommend this book to anyone who loves a good memoir.
...more

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Oct 03, 2016 Elizabeth rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: history-or-politics, memoirs-biographies, non-fiction

...People talk about hard work all the time in places like Middletown. You can walk through a town where 30 percent of the young men work fewer than twenty hours a week and find not a single person aware of his own laziness.

Why is this guy the darling of the talk show circuit right now? He thinks his fellow hillbillies just need to work harder. Problem solved! He thinks because he made it everyone else should be able to do the same. He asserts social programs won't help his lazy people but then ...more

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Jan 14, 2017 Jessaka rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: politics, non-fiction

HILLBILLY ELEGIST: YOUR BOOK SMELLS BAD ENOUGH TO KNOCKA BUZZARD OFF A SHIT WAGON

Ma lives in the holler
way back yander thar.
she plays the fiddle and sings
just like Emmy Lou.

Mamaw chews tobacco
and spits the wad right
in her old Styrofoam cup.
even in front of company.

my pa was a coal miner
and beats us younguns
cus he meaner than a polecat
and a little touched
when he is drunker
than Cootey Brown.

We refused welfare
don't believe in eating
high on the hog,
so I picked my poor self up
and so can y'all.
...more

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Nov 05, 2016 Elyse (retired from reviewing/semi hiatus) Walters rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Audiobook

My local book club will be discussing this book this month. I'll be attending- I almost took a 'pass'. I'm really glad I didn't.

THE CONTROVERSY and DISCUSSIONS from reviews on Goodreads is already ENGAGING!!!! Seriously, I spent more time reading through every review - and all the comments on THIS BOOK - more than any book in all my years on Goodreads.
My interest elevated - and my emotions were entangled. The passion of expression from people about this book - positive and negative - ...more

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Jun 03, 2016 Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Possibly the most timely read of the year, here in the United States. Not just a sociological view of this group of people I had heard nor read little about, but the experiences of a young man raised in this environment and pulled himself out, though he does acknowledge to receiving much help along the way. This book enlightens the reader about the huge disparity in thinking between those making the leas and those receiving the benefits of these laws, which probably hinder more than help. His ...more

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Jan 29, 2017 Justin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I set dozens of reading goals for 2017, but I won't bore you with all of them. However, this book helped me accomplish two reading goals this year:

1. Read better books
2. Read more nonfiction

This book, while difficult to read at times, is an important book, and I can't recommend it enough. It hit me pretty hard at times. I mean, I wouldn't consider myself a hillbilly, but i did grow up in the suburbs of Nashville, and I'm honestly not too far removed from some of the family members depicted in I set dozens of reading goals for 2017, but I won't bore you with all of them. However, this book helped me accomplish two reading goals this year:

1. Read better books
2. Read more nonfiction

This book, while difficult to read at times, is an important book, and I can't recommend it enough. It hit me pretty hard at times. I mean, I wouldn't consider myself a hillbilly, but i did grow up in the suburbs of Nashville, and I'm honestly not too far removed from some of the family members depicted in the book. Im very fortunate, but, man some of the people and scenes depicted here feel like stories I've heard from my own family. And it's crazy because it wasn't until I grew up and moved out that I got to hear about all the craziness in my extended family. Families are insane.

There are so many great books and memoirs out there now that peel back the curtain on what it's like to be black, Muslim, female, Hispanic, whatever. So, yeah, it's weird to read a book from a 30 year old white guy and think he has something interesting to bring to the table. He does have something to bring to the table though. A whole class of people that are living and fighting to survive and dreaming and voting and being pushed to the fringes of society. Hillbillies. Who knew?

Vance's stories of his upbringing are jaw-dropping and feel more like fiction at times. We quickly learn his childhood was anything but ideal as he walks us though various phases that shaped who he is today. While these stories were both terrifying and heartbreaking to read, it was his later message of not being a product of your environment that resonated with me. He admits he was fortunate to have people in his life to give him a chance, but he did everything he could to push against the life he found himself in.

I also appreciated the humble tone throughout the book. It could have easily read as a guy who had a rough life, but he overcame it and graduated from college, went to Iraq, and graduated from law school at Yale (not in that order). He could have said, "Look at me! I did it! And you can, too!" Instead, it's more like, "I had people in my life who gave me a chance. I carved a different path, but I felt like a fraud most of the time, and I still had a hard time dealing with my past. It wasn't easy. I also want to talk about how to fix the problem that impacts thousands of others, but I don't have the answers. The government can't fix everything." That's a lot of paraphrasing by the way.

Anyway, Hillbilly Elegy is a very eye-opening, important, emotional book to read- but I'm so glad I took the time to read it. It helped me understand some things in my own family structure that I also won't bore you with, and it gave me a new perspective to help relate to others I know with similar stories. It's rare that a nonfiction book read this quickly, but I read more than half of it this evening. You should, too.

...more

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Apr 08, 2017 Delee rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Three month non-ranty political review time is ovvvvvvvvvvvvvvver. Woo Hoo!!! Loooooook out Beeoooootcheeees!

“I know you real Americans hate being called stupid, but you gotta meet me half way and stop being stupid.”

Bill Maher

My empathy level for stupid Americans has diminished this last year. I have un-friended a few people I once thought to be good, intelligent, and sane. This year has opened my eyes to an ugliness and a selfishness in people that I never imagined existed in so many. And that ...more

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Feb 20, 2017 Lyn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A well written, thoughtful statement about our culture; where we are now, how we got here and where we could be going.

I identify closely with the author: both of us were born poor and from divorced parents, both benefited from military service and both found a way to get through law school (coincidentally even though I am fifteen years Vance’s senior and am closer in age to his mother, he and I were in Iraq at the same time and both worked for military pubic affairs and both took part in civil A well written, thoughtful statement about our culture; where we are now, how we got here and where we could be going.

I identify closely with the author: both of us were born poor and from divorced parents, both benefited from military service and both found a way to get through law school (coincidentally even though I am fifteen years Vance’s senior and am closer in age to his mother, he and I were in Iraq at the same time and both worked for military pubic affairs and both took part in civil affairs missions).

That’s where the obvious similarities end. Vance’s Yale Law degree is oodles more prestigious than my very humble diploma and on the other end of the spectrum, his hillbilly family is far more dysfunctional than my redneck clan.

The difference between “hillbilly” and “redneck” is more of regional semantics than of degree. Both terms identify a member of Scotch-Irish origin and synonymous with pejorative monikers like “white trash”, “poor whites”, “hayseed” and “yokel”.

Vance makes the case early on that this European heritage is an important distinction. This ethnic group is a heterogeneous population that brought with it from the Old World a continent sized chip on it’s shoulder, a deeply engrained sense of oppression and dogged rebellion. Most pertinent to our society today is that this is the demographic that seems to have turned isolationist and whose skepticism of government has crossed the border of cynicism and cruised right into xenophobia. If it’s true that the Democratic party lost the middle in 2016, then it’s also likely accurate that this group makes up a big part of that middle.

A reader can consider Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America to illuminate how this group has been instrumental in making this country what it is – bad and good. This tendency towards fierce loyalty and family on the one side and self destruction and irrationality on the other is also exemplified by Seán O'Casey’s 1924 drama Juno and the Paycock. Vance brings these dualities to bear on our own time and through the lens of his own experience.

Besides Vance’s talented writing, this book succeeds on his unique perspective: he has seen the depths of family dysfunction and the heights of professional and financial attainment. Vance demonstrates both the opportunities available to a young person today and also the deeply held obstacles that make reaching these goals prohibitively difficult and unlikely.

A very good book, highly recommended.

description

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Jul 20, 2017 Candace rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, listened-to-audio-version

First and foremost, let me say that I am not a big non-fiction reader. Every once in a while, I need a change of pace or something catches my eye that isn't my typical smutty romance. Sometimes it works out for me and I learn something new. Other times, the "enlightening" read is about as entertaining as having a lobotomy. Sadly, this book fell into the latter category for me.

I picked up 'Hillbilly Elegy' because the blurb sounded interesting enough and I really don't know much about the First and foremost, let me say that I am not a big non-fiction reader. Every once in a while, I need a change of pace or something catches my eye that isn't my typical smutty romance. Sometimes it works out for me and I learn something new. Other times, the "enlightening" read is about as entertaining as having a lobotomy. Sadly, this book fell into the latter category for me.

I picked up 'Hillbilly Elegy' because the blurb sounded interesting enough and I really don't know much about the Appalachian people. To be clear, watching 'Deliverance' (or that TV show where they make moonshine in the woods) is just about all of the exposure that I had to the people from that region of the country. Needless to say, I am pretty ignorant of this particular subculture in the United States.

I had hoped that listening to this audiobook would provide me with a little insight. I figured that the portrayals of the Appalachian people I'd seen were probably grossly exaggerated in order to increase ratings. I didn't believe that the reality could be so bleak or, for lack of a better term, "trashy". Being born in the deep south, I'm very familiar with the way that entire region is often falsely portrayed as being filled with ignorant, uneducated rednecks. I assumed that the same is true for the Appalachian region.

That being said, if the people of Appalachia aren't as "trashy" as they are portrayed on TV, you would never know it from reading this book. If anything, J. D. Vance's autobiographical account of growing up in his hillbilly home only reinforced every negative stereotype that I know of regarding this subculture. Simply put, this book read like a low-class nightmare.

His family was violent, uneducated and proud of breaking the law. Drug and alcohol addiction, as well as chronic unemployment and abuse of the welfare system were common themes. His mother was a real piece of work, with men coming and going with greater frequency than she'd change her underwear. Every time his Mamaw would say something I'd cringe, even though she clearly was the most loving and supportive person in his life. It was nearly unbearable.

However, this wasn't a book meant to entertain. This book was written to shed some light on the cultural differences that have resulted in social and economic decline in this region of the country. J. D. Vance certainly shed light on some important social aspects that I was oblivious to before listening to this audiobook.

His observations regarding the closed-off nature, and the pride of this group of people, was especially relevant to the discussion. I also appreciated his candid discussion of a declining work ethic, sense of helplessness, domestic violence and abuse of the welfare system. He also offered some insight into some of the networking habits of the wealthy, which are largely neglected by the poor.

Although there were some things that I really enjoyed about this book, it was mostly like a slow death by audiobook. As a reader that has a strong preference for fiction, namely smutty romance, I'm probably not the best judge though. If the Appalachian people really are half as depressing as this book makes them out to be, all I can say is that I want to steer clear of that abysmal region. This book was really sad and a whole lot of trashy. Kudos to the author for rising above it.

Check out more of my reviews at www.bookaddicthaven.com ...more

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Apr 11, 2017 Darwin8u rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017

“One way our upper class can promote upward mobility, then, is not only by pushing wise public policies but by opening their hearts and minds to the newcomers who don’t quite belong.”
― J.D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

description

(my dad's father [center on the stairs], uncle, and other workers during harvest)

The writing and conclusions of this book are probably a 3-star, but emotionally this is a 4-star book for me (thus my vacillating between 3&4-stars). J.D. “One way our upper class can promote upward mobility, then, is not only by pushing wise public policies but by opening their hearts and minds to the newcomers who don’t quite belong.”
― J.D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

description

(my dad's father [center on the stairs], uncle, and other workers during harvest)

The writing and conclusions of this book are probably a 3-star, but emotionally this is a 4-star book for me (thus my vacillating between 3&4-stars). J.D. Vance is my father. Reading his memoir is like reading a story about my dad. My dad, like Vance, grew up in a family with a lot of dysfunction. Neither of my dad's parents graduated from high-school. He wasn't a hillbilly, per se, but he was born in a small dry-farm community in the mountains of Southern Idaho. Poor. And he wanted the hell out. He didn't get good grades, but a stint in the Navy and marriage to my mom provided the stability and the perspective that allowed my dad to climb. And climb he did. The GI-bill and my dad's grit enabled him to eventually graduate with honors from UC Davis' Veterinary school.

His work ethic still is a thing of wonder to my brothers and sister. He is intimidating. He, by force of will, natural intelligence, etc. climbed (always with the assistance of my mom) up several economic and social rungs. His effort provided middle class, and eventually upper-middle class opportunities for his children. I will have to travel to the moon, I feel, to maintain the same trajectory he set.

Vance's story about growing up a hillbilly in Kentucky and Ohio resembles not just my dad but many people I know from many cultures, races, and backgrounds. The positive of this book is Vance's lack of meanness married to his willingness to criticize. That is a fine line, but I think Vance is right. There is no magic bullet, but there are several things that need to come together to help address some of the cultural, economic, and societal challenges facing not just poor whites in Appalachia, but inner-city poor minorities, Native American poor, etc..

Vance and Vance's publishers also benefited from timing. His book was published during the Trump movement of 2016 and 2017 (and yes, we are still trying to understand all of that). Vance seemed to offer SOME explanation why poor whites in Appalachia and the Rust Belt seemed to vote against their interest for a demagogue and pseudo-populist. Vance seemed available with at least SOME answers. If you look at the way this book was published, this book almost seems like a Yale project to get J.D. Vance into congress. A hillbilly Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. I can't completely go down that caustic hole, but this book seems almost designed as a political answer, as a legitimizer. I have a friend from the poor town in Ohio whose BS radar is high on this book. I'm still not sure.

We are a nation that is seeing a huge chasm open up between the haves and the have-nots. There aren't enough bridges, and not enough shepherds helping those on the edge across. I remember thinking about this very issue years ago. It was one area where I felt I needed to take a personal stake in someone else's development and progression. It is hard to see neighbors struggle with debt, single mother's barely keeping their heads above water, addiction, and hardest of all despair. Despair. I don't want to wait until government addresses the income gap. I think, because of the tremendous gift I've been given and the resources attached to that -- that I have a moral responsibility to pass that gift on. My kids will get it naturally enough. They will have a stable home (mostly), education, too much food and exposure to opportunities that will allow them to maneuver through the hurdles and the traps of the modern economy and upper-middle-class culture. What I need to do, because I have been blessed, is find a way to extend this opportunity to more. I really think -- and like Vance I don't have all the answers -- my way is person-to-person. Mentoring. Looking for an opportunity to take a kid who, given the opportunities I was BORN with, could excel me -- and helping her or him out. I've done this a couple times and it is miraculous and I think going forward necessary. Both for the economic survival for our nation, but also for our nation's soul. ...more

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Nov 29, 2016 J.L. Sutton rated it liked it · review of another edition

I didn't really want to read J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy, but it sort of felt like a car crash you know is right in front of you. It's tough to keep your eyes closed and not peek. Even before I opened the book, I reflected that the 'hillbilly' culture Vance describes as in crises is the same culture that was in crisis 100 years ago. I wondered whether there was something about these people (my people as it turns out) who just need to act out every so often and make sure they're noticed. There ...more

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Nov 10, 2016 Cheri rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: autobiography-memoir, kentucky, american-southern, 2016, ohio

Poverty is in the eye of the beholder. My father grew up in the hollers of West Virginia in a small town that hasn’t changed very much (if at all) since he lived there. Oh, wait. They changed the name of the street he grew up on from Pennsylvania Avenue to something sounding less presidential. Other than that, I’d be surprised if anything had changed. His grandfather built the house he grew up in when my grandfather was a little boy in short britches. It was a big jump up from living on the
Poverty is in the eye of the beholder. My father grew up in the hollers of West Virginia in a small town that hasn’t changed very much (if at all) since he lived there. Oh, wait. They changed the name of the street he grew up on from Pennsylvania Avenue to something sounding less presidential. Other than that, I’d be surprised if anything had changed. His grandfather built the house he grew up in when my grandfather was a little boy in short britches. It was a big jump up from living on the family farm for them. Despite that, or maybe more because of that, my father grew up believing that all men are basically the same, some are good, some not as good, but all are capable of decency. None are of greater worth than another, and all are worthy of respect. Like J.D. Vance, my father was able to move away, find a way to make a living doing something he loved, to rise above the poverty of his youth. I’m not sure that money was his objective, he just wanted to fly, and to a young man in the 1930s/40s, it was an adventure and a dream. His closest friends, for all of his days, were some of those pilots with whom he shared ownership of his first plane, pilots that he shared those early years of flight with. He went back a few times over the years to visit those who still lived there, but he never wanted to return to live there.

“Americans call them hillbillies, rednecks, or white trash. I call them neighbors, friends and family.”

Vance’s family are among the many Scots-Irish who settled in the Appalachians, as were my father’s parents, and a few others who have read this memoir. There was a lot I could relate to what I recall of my father’s tales of growing up “economically disadvantaged,” although Vance lived in a larger area, and two generations apart from my father. What both have so strongly in common is the tie that binds them back to the place where they grew up. A tie that binds them to the journey from the child to the man.

“Hillbilly Elegy” is filled with the stories of Vance’s family, some are crazy-sad, some crazy-funny, some you just shake your head at, and some you can how the way he views things isn’t so far from how you might.

I especially loved Vance’s views on his struggles, how he learns from them, how he adapted maybe not to those struggles but from them, learned strength from his Mawmaw, and also how to fight from her, learned to love despite the imperfections of others and find the good in what remains. The hardest of all is seeing the good in one’s self, and he is no exception.

"How much of our lives, good and bad, should we credit to our personal decisions, and how much is just the inheritance of our culture, our families, and our parents who have failed their children? How much is Mom's life her own fault? Where does blame stop and sympathy begin?"
...more

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Dec 10, 2016 Shelby *trains flying monkeys* rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sometimes-i-read-smart-stuffs, read-2016, appalachia

J.D Vance's grandparents set the basis for this life story. They move from the hills of Kentucky to Ohio chasing a better life. J.D.'s life is in both places. He does live a life that is very familiar here in the southeast. His real dad gives him up, he is told by his mom and Mamaw that his dad doesn't want him anymore. He is adopted by one of his mother's many men. Who also ends up leaving. J.D.'s mom is a revolving door of different men. (I'm not judging her as I see this lifestyle taking J.D Vance's grandparents set the basis for this life story. They move from the hills of Kentucky to Ohio chasing a better life. J.D.'s life is in both places. He does live a life that is very familiar here in the southeast. His real dad gives him up, he is told by his mom and Mamaw that his dad doesn't want him anymore. He is adopted by one of his mother's many men. Who also ends up leaving. J.D.'s mom is a revolving door of different men. (I'm not judging her as I see this lifestyle taking place around me daily.)

She does manage to end up with nursing degree but then drugs move into her life and she loses even that. Mamaw and Papaw are the saving graces in this man's life. They fought tooth and nail early in their marriage and ended up living at different places and visiting each other during the day. BUT they did install some confidence in this boy.
This seems to be typical in this area. My Gran also took me in from a bad homelife and she was as rowdy as Mamaw is in this book. Once when I took her grocery shopping she pulled out her gun and flopped it on the counter and about gave the clerk a heart attack. She didn't cuss as much as Mamaw did but I may just have glossed over that memory.

The book is also pretty political, pointing out that most people from this area used to vote Democratic with a vengeance but things they have changed. He takes a look at whether it was President Obama's demeanor that turned average poor southerner's against him.
Barack Obama strikes at the heart of our deepest insecurities. He is a good father while many of us aren’t. He wears suits to his job while we wear overalls, if we’re lucky enough to have a job at all. His wife tells us that we shouldn’t be feeding our children certain foods, and we hate her for it—not because we think she’s wrong but because we know she’s right.

This does strike a cord with me because I've seen the millions upon millions of facebook posts that my friends and family have posted.
Is that why we now have Trump coming into office? He was more approachable to the middle and lower class than Hillary? I remember everyone loving Bill Clinton, but truthfully he was more approachable than his wife was.
Who knows? I'm not about to get into a political post. I just observe and do my own thing. Cuz I had a Gran that did teach me to be my own person also.

This book did tend to make me think, I laughed with him when Mamaw would blurt out her opinion and I even teared up several times. The reasoning for my rating falls for some of the back patting he did. I got bored as shit in those parts.
He does admit to having lots of help on his climb out of bad circumstances to go on to the Marines and Yale Law. So I'll give him props for that.

...more

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Oct 01, 2016 MomToKippy rated it liked it · review of another edition

I am really not impressed by the author's hillbilly credentials. He writes a "memoir" at 31 for starters. If you have not read this you may be disappointed as I was because he did NOT grow up in the hills and hollers of Kentucky. His grandmother's family did and she left there for small town Ohio at the ripe old age of 13. He even changed his name to Vance - which is one of his ancient ancestors who was part of the Hatfield and McCoy clan. So much of what he shares is hand me down stories from ...more

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Jan 25, 2017 Pouting Always rated it really liked it · review of another edition

When I bought this book I didn't really read the title closely so I really just assumed it said Hillbilly Energy and so I like assumed it was going to be something about solar energy on farms, I don't know I have a presumption problem clearly, so I was kind of confused when I started to read the book. I really did enjoy the book though and I felt Vance was insightful. The only thing is he seems to start to lose steam by the end of the book but ending books is always harder than beginning them. ...more

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Oct 04, 2016 Trish rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: politics, audio, nonfiction, family, parenting, adolescence, america, debut-author, memoir, necessary

A twitter storm this summer brought this book to my attention. I read several articles and interviews with Vance before managing to get my hands on a copy. That circuitous introduction led me to expect some kind of treatise on working class attitudes, so at first I experienced the work through the distorting lens of others’ interpretations.

This book is not any kind of treatise. It is a brave, funny, unsentimental growing-up story, introducing us to a cussin’ gun-brandishing grandmaw who knew ...more

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Oct 01, 2016 Jennifer rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, 2016-books, memoir

"This was my world: a world of truly irrational behavior. We spend our way into the poorhouse. We buy giant TVs and iPads...Thrift is inimical to our being...Our homes are a chaotic mess. We scream and yell at each other like we're spectators at a football game. At least one member of the family uses drugs...At especially stressful times, we'll hit and punch each other, all in front of the rest of the family, including young children...We don't study as children, and we don't make our kids study "This was my world: a world of truly irrational behavior. We spend our way into the poorhouse. We buy giant TVs and iPads...Thrift is inimical to our being...Our homes are a chaotic mess. We scream and yell at each other like we're spectators at a football game. At least one member of the family uses drugs...At especially stressful times, we'll hit and punch each other, all in front of the rest of the family, including young children...We don't study as children, and we don't make our kids study when we're parents. Our kids perform poorly at school. We might get angry with them, but we never give them the tools -- like peace and quiet at home -- to succeed....We choose not to work when we should be looking for jobs. Sometimes we'll get a job, but it won't last. We'll get fired for tardiness, or for stealing merchandise and selling it on eBay, or for having a customer complain about the smell of alcohol on our breath, or for taking five thirty-minute restroom breaks per shift. We talk about the value of hard work but tell ourselves that the reason we're not working is some perceived unfairness: Obama shut down the coal mines, or all the jobs went to the Chinese...We talk to our children about responsibility, but we never walk the walk."

I've been waiting to read this of-the-moment book, and grabbed it when I saw it on my library's Speed Read shelf. As I started reading it, I realized it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I was expecting something that was part memoir, part social history, but this book is almost entirely memoir.

I read this book specifically looking for insight into the lives angry, white, working-class population that comprises Donald Trump's base. On that measure, I can't say that I come away from the book with any better understanding than I had at the beginning. No aha! moments aside from own hypotheses going into the book. Perhaps something more academic like White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America would provide more answers. ...more

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Feb 03, 2017 Esil rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

I listened to the audio of Hillbilly Elegies. J.D. Vance reads it himself. I found it moving and captivating, but I'm not quite sure what my take away is -- and I've decided that that doesn't really matter because Vance is an interesting guy with a really interesting story to tell. He was born in Ohio, but his grandparents were originally from the hills of Kentucky. He refers to them as "hillbillies", painting a complex demographic picture of his family and background. Vance grew up mostly with ...more

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Nov 29, 2016 Diane Barnes rated it liked it · review of another edition

I am not quite as enamored of this book as a lot of people. It tells this young man's story of his journey out of poverty and violence into the world of an elite pursuer of the American Dream. He had luck, intelligence, and a Mamaw and Papaw who cared enough to help him along. The Marine Corp was another catalyst into the good life. He was smart enough to use all these things as a way out of a downward spiral.
I'm not sure where the idea that this book explains Donald Trump's rise came from, but ...more

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Oct 06, 2016 Heidi The Reader rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, memoirs

Intense memoir of J.D. Vance's childhood and eventual rise. It reminded me of Angela's Ashes except that instead of Ireland, it took place in Kentucky/Ohio and the drug of choice was prescription pills rather than alcohol. I was astonished that J.D. not only survived, but thrived. He credits his grandparents with saving his life, but a lot of different factors came together at the right time to propel him out of his dead end hometown. This is that story.

In his own words: "Whatever talents I Intense memoir of J.D. Vance's childhood and eventual rise. It reminded me of Angela's Ashes except that instead of Ireland, it took place in Kentucky/Ohio and the drug of choice was prescription pills rather than alcohol. I was astonished that J.D. not only survived, but thrived. He credits his grandparents with saving his life, but a lot of different factors came together at the right time to propel him out of his dead end hometown. This is that story.

In his own words: "Whatever talents I have, I almost squandered until a handful of loving people rescued me. That is the real story of my life, and that is why I wrote this book. I want people to know what it feels like to nearly give up on yourself and why you might do it. I want people to understand what happens in the lives of the poor and the psychological impact that spiritual and material poverty has on their children. I want people to understand the American Dream as my family and I encountered it." pg 8, ebook.

My favorite parts of this book were the crazy, hillbilly history of his grandparents. They reminded me a lot of my own grandfather, who was a hell raiser in his time too. In this passage, J.D.'s grandma (Mamaw) is teaching him how to take a punch to the face: "...when I asked her what it felt like to be punched in the head, she showed me. A swift blow, delivered by the meat of her hand, directly on my cheek. "That didn't feel so bad, did it?"... This was one of her most important rules of fighting: Unless someone really knows how to hit, a punch in the face is no big deal." pg 61, ebook. My grandpa discouraged any kind of physical fighting since I was a girl and this went against his thoughts about what was appropriate for females. But, he told me stories about when he fought as a child, and he said he used bricks instead of his fists because it "evened the odds- those boys were bigger than me and there were more of them".

At heart though, my grandpa was a peaceful man, unlike Mamaw. His favorite show in his twilight years was Pawn Stars, Mamaw's was The Sopranos: "In her old age, with limited mobility, Mamaw loved to watch TV. ...her favorite show by far was the HBO mob story, The Sopranos. Looking back, it's hardly surprising that a show about fiercely loyal, sometimes violent outsiders resonated with Mamaw. Change the names and dates, and the Italian Mafia starts to look a lot like the Hatfield-McCoy dispute back in Appalachia." pg 116, ebook.

Throughout the family stories related in Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. weaves a fascinating examination of hillbilly culture: "It would be years before I learned that no single book, or expert, or field could fully explain the problems of hillbillies in modern America. Our elegy is a sociological one, yes, but it is also about psychology and community and culture and faith." pg 124-125, ebook.

J.D. has many epiphanies in this book. Here's one of my favorites: "... there's something powerful about realizing that you've undersold yourself- that somehow your mind confused lack of effort for inability. This is why, whenever people ask me what I'd most like to change about the white working class, I say, "The feeling that our choices don't matter." pg 151, ebook.

And, as much as this book highlights the problems in hillbilly America, it is also a call to action through greater self knowledge and personal responsibility. J.D. asks some really tough questions: "How much of our lives, good and bad, should we credit to our personal decisions, and how much is just the inheritance of our culture, our families, and our parents who have failed their children? How much is Mom's life her own fault? Where does blame stop and sympathy begin?" pg 195, ebook. I would say, with ourselves. All great change comes from within, at least, in my experience, I have found this to be true.

Some read alikes: A fictional work that examines some of the topics in Hillbilly Elegy: Bull Mountain by Brian Panowich. A coming of age memoir under similar conditions: Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. ...more

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Jan 06, 2017 Liz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: book-clubs

A good friend of mine told me I had to read this if I wanted to understand how Donald Trump won the election. But that's not to say this is a political book. Part memoir and part social treatise, the book attempts to explain the mindset of the poor whites of the Appalachian/Midwest geographic area. Mostly Scotch-Irish, they are a proud people with a split mindset when it comes to beliefs vs. actions, especially concerning work ethic, religion and the value of education.

J.D. Vance basically goes ...more

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Jan 21, 2018 Charlotte May rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, illness-mental-terminal, biography-memoir

“Americans call them hillbillies, red necks or white trash. I call them neighbours, friends and family.”

The term Hillbilly is one that has never meant much to me. Living in the UK when I had heard it mentioned it was only through TV and film. I pictured trailer parks, alcoholic fathers and screaming mothers. So to read a memoir from someone of the Hillbilly background sounded interesting . I clicked want to read, then promptly forgot all about it! So when I came across it in my local charity “Americans call them hillbillies, red necks or white trash. I call them neighbours, friends and family.”

The term Hillbilly is one that has never meant much to me. Living in the UK when I had heard it mentioned it was only through TV and film. I pictured trailer parks, alcoholic fathers and screaming mothers. So to read a memoir from someone of the Hillbilly background sounded interesting . I clicked want to read, then promptly forgot all about it! So when I came across it in my local charity shop for £1.50 I had to pick it up - a hardcover copy with only US or Canadian price on it I didn’t even think this copy was UK published

A fascinating insight into a culture often hidden from view. Though racially similar to middle class whites, their circumstances and mannerisms echo that of Latino immigrants and African Americans. J.D’s Home life is one rife with violence and addiction, a life cycle very few escape from.

“Our homes are a chaotic mess. We scream and yell at each other like we’re spectators at a football game. At least one member of the family uses drugs...At especially stressful times we’ll hit and punch one another, all in front of the rest of the family.A bad day is when the neighbours call the police to stop the drama.”

Despite being a memoir, it was very easy to read. I was riveted by the views held by these people and the way society attempts to help, but ultimately doesn’t even scratch the surface of a culture stuck in a rut.

“Chaos begets chaos. Instability begets instability. Welcome to family life for the American Hillbilly.”

J.D is one of few who manages to beat his circumstances and overcome values ingrained in him (taking the law into your own hands, family loyalty to the extent of violence to those who insult your relatives) and makes it to college and then law school.

A hard hitting read yet humorous at times this book has enlightened me regarding areas I’d never learned about properly before, in an honest and emotional way.

“Whenever people ask me what I’d most like to change about the white working class, I say “the feeling that our choices don’t matter.” ...more

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About J.D. Vance

J.D. Vance

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J.D. Vance is an investor, a political and public policy commentator, and a bestselling author. Raised by his working class grandparents in Middletown, Ohio, J.D. graduated from Middletown High School in 2003 and then enlisted in the Marine Corps. He deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After graduating from Ohio State University where he studied Political Science and ...more

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“Barack Obama strikes at the heart of our deepest insecurities. He is a good father while many of us aren’t. He wears suits to his job while we wear overalls, if we’re lucky enough to have a job at all. His wife tells us that we shouldn’t be feeding our children certain foods, and we hate her for it—not because we think she’s wrong but because we know she’s right. Many” — 103 likes

“What separates the successful from the unsuccessful are the expectations that they had for their own lives. Yet the message of the right is increasingly: It’s not your fault that you’re a loser; it’s the government’s fault.” — 72 likes

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