Scan barcode
breadandmushrooms's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
bittersweet_symphony's review against another edition
4.0
First and foremost, this is a repudiation of Hillbilly Elegy. As an opinionated and political history of the region and idea of "Appalachia," Catte complicates the stereotypes and narratives that have been attached to the mountain people, "America's forgotten tribe." She does her best to reclaim the leftward or populist movements in Appalachia that are full of union organizing, anti-capitalist, and anti-poverty activism.
I think it's vital that people understand how central exploitation is to the Appalachian experience, much of which continues to this day.
While I thoroughly enjoyed this short volume, I mostly just want to leave a few of my major criticisms behind.
In her mission to undo what she perceives to be the damage done by J.D. Vance, specifically his racialist and pick-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps remedies for Appalachia, her own commentary becomes too narrow, her bleating the same note over and over again.
Similarly, her attempts to pluralize the many groups and experiences of people who live in Appalachia, hoping to annihilate any semblance of stereotypes, goes so far as to ignore commonalities of what it means to be Appalachian. I applaud her eagerness to show that Appalachia is not a monolith of white hillbillies of Scots-Irish descent with little education and regressive views on race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion, but rich with many forcefully egalitarian and progressive voices.
Unfortunately, she is unwilling to fully acknowledge the norms, patterns of living, and beliefs that may demonstrate a decidedly Appalachian character. One can celebrate the diversity within a region without denying the existence of a prevailing culture and heritage. I would have loved for her to posit what she believes captures the Appalachian spirit and what sets Appalachia apart from the rest of the United States.
Although I share some of her hopes for a more politically leftward vision of what Appalachians can do to right the wrongs of history, I would also have loved for her to lean more into the distinctness of Appalachia. This mountain country is a particular place, and it would be a tragedy if it just became like every other placeless simulacrum in the United States.
Appalachia can become a more just, equitable, sustainable, and thriving bioregion while still remaining relatively autonomous and sovereign. Appalachia can be pluralistic AND unify around common notions of Appalachian identity.
I think it's vital that people understand how central exploitation is to the Appalachian experience, much of which continues to this day.
While I thoroughly enjoyed this short volume, I mostly just want to leave a few of my major criticisms behind.
In her mission to undo what she perceives to be the damage done by J.D. Vance, specifically his racialist and pick-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps remedies for Appalachia, her own commentary becomes too narrow, her bleating the same note over and over again.
Similarly, her attempts to pluralize the many groups and experiences of people who live in Appalachia, hoping to annihilate any semblance of stereotypes, goes so far as to ignore commonalities of what it means to be Appalachian. I applaud her eagerness to show that Appalachia is not a monolith of white hillbillies of Scots-Irish descent with little education and regressive views on race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion, but rich with many forcefully egalitarian and progressive voices.
Unfortunately, she is unwilling to fully acknowledge the norms, patterns of living, and beliefs that may demonstrate a decidedly Appalachian character. One can celebrate the diversity within a region without denying the existence of a prevailing culture and heritage. I would have loved for her to posit what she believes captures the Appalachian spirit and what sets Appalachia apart from the rest of the United States.
Although I share some of her hopes for a more politically leftward vision of what Appalachians can do to right the wrongs of history, I would also have loved for her to lean more into the distinctness of Appalachia. This mountain country is a particular place, and it would be a tragedy if it just became like every other placeless simulacrum in the United States.
Appalachia can become a more just, equitable, sustainable, and thriving bioregion while still remaining relatively autonomous and sovereign. Appalachia can be pluralistic AND unify around common notions of Appalachian identity.
redheadorganist's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
savannnah_reads's review against another edition
Something about the way this author words their prose makes my brain fuzzy
thecurseofchris's review against another edition
3.0
Being from West Virginia and knowing of all the misinterpretations about the state/region and its people, I was very excited to read this book. I was hoping that there would be some investigative journalism or writing where we hear from the people of Appalachia themselves to help explain what so many "get wrong" about the region (especially in relation to the 2016 election). While the author is very knowledgeable and intelligent on this subject, the writing was so flat and uninteresting for too much of the book. Half the time, it felt like I was reading a long, detailed response to Hillbilly Elegy. I feel like the author's intentions were lost in the overly academic writing, which therefore will cause the people who truly should be reading this book to skip over it. I can see this being a decent resource for university-level courses, but not for the casual reader.
kirajohnson6's review against another edition
3.5
Good info. It is a rebuttal to the attention given to J.D. Vance’s book “Hillbilly Elegy” with strong criticism against the way he portrayed Appalachian people.