Candace's Reviews > Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

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.

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