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

 What book has prompted a good discussion in your book club?  Rogue Book club (aka FLICKS) discussed Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance longer than most any other book we’ve read.  It was a pretty lively discussion.

Hillbilly Elegy is a memoir by J.D. Vance describing his childhood growing up in a dysfunctional family in Ohio.  After high school he joined the Marines and afterwards made it into Yale Law School.  This memoir describes his background, his family, difficult times he had, and his thoughts on a variety of topics.

I thought where this memoir really shined was when it described J.D. Vance’s personal story. His love for his grandparents and troubled relationship with his mother were compelling reading.  When he started to just discuss his thoughts about the world, it was not nearly as compelling.  He made really general statements about entire groups of people that I didn’t agree with from my experience.  This was the consensus of our book club as well.

I also was confused on the hillbilly aspect.  I expected the memoir to take place in Appalachia, instead the memoir takes place in Ohio.  J.D. Vance’s grandparents are from Appalachia, but he and his parents grew up in Ohio.  The problems faced when the main mill closed down and caused unemployment, sounded like problems faced by any midwestern “rust belt” town that has faced similar situations.  The drug problems and poverty also were very familiar to me growing up in Michigan.  I was struggling to determine what exactly made someone a “hillbilly” and all I came up with is that they swear and resort to violence more according to this memoir.    A lot of book club members weren’t sure why this life story was memoir worthy.  I thought it was because it covers a section of society that doesn’t often get covered in books.

I’m also still laughing at one book club member’s assessment of this book “he was an unreliable narrator in his own memoir.”  Ha!!!

I have started the Netflix movie, but have not watched it yet.  It looks like it changes some things and focuses on the story rather than the opinions in the memoir.  Have you watched it?  What do you think?

Favorite Quotes:

“Identity is an odd thing, and I didn’t understand at the time why I felt such kinship with these strangers.”

“They want us to be shepherds to these kids.  But no one wants to talk about the fact that many of them are raised by wolves.”

“Nothing compares to the fear that you’re becoming the monster in your closet.”

“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?”

Overall, Hillbilly Elegy is a book that prompts a lot of discussion.  The story in the memoir was engaging, but also included a lot of opinions that were less so.

Book Source:  The Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!