Reviews

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance

museum_owl's review

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Mental illness

louisayd's review

3.0

3.5

womanhollering's review

3.0

Strange to have read this and related closely to the author’s experiences, yet come to such different political and ethical perspectives than he touts on social media. One of those books that I wish I hadn’t looked into the author so much because it kind of ruined the read for me.

jkeesan's review

3.0

Interesting and aggravating in equal measure.

leighmowzer's review

emotional funny medium-paced

3.0

I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of this book, JD is a good story-teller and his family is a hoot. Around the time he joins the marines and leaves behind his hillbilly kinfolk he gets preachy and then goes full on "God Bless America!!!!!!!" Barf. 

sandpiiper's review

1.0

conservative “pick yourself up by your bootstraps” bullshit that blames poverty on the choices of individuals and avoids entirely the problems of race and gender in order to argue that “white people have it just as bad!!” neoliberal trash

gillian_lorraine's review against another edition

challenging inspiring reflective fast-paced

2.75

stephbrittoleal's review against another edition

3.0

Hmmm, I guess that's okay. In the most Rocky Horror Picture Show's way of saying "he's okay".
It has a different point of view from what I did, but then again, I'm not USAmerican, things can be wildly different when you aren't born and raised somewhere. There are things very familiar to me, as a Latina, as Vance's relationship to his grandparents. There are things very ???? for me. And things I understood, but just didn't agree with.
So I guess it's a valid thing to read. It's not my usual type of reading, so it was a nice shift. Not watching the film anytime soon, also not rereading it ever. I'm relieved it's over, because it was some exhausting book.

ktann11's review

informative medium-paced

3.5

littleangry11's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring tense fast-paced