Bernardsville librarys book group, memoirs and coffee, will meet on tuesday, september 26 at 10. The wait list for this at the library was astronomical. Vances hillbilly elegy, part memoir, part social analysis, is a fascinating examination of culture, class, and the american dream of working class white americans in appalachia. What are the general characteristics that vance says are fundamental to hillbilly culture. What is the section 8 law mentioned in the book, and how do vance and his. David brooks, new york timesfrom a former marine and yale law school graduate, a powerful account of growing up in a poor rust belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of americas white working classhillbilly elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis. Laurie cortright spoken like someone who has never had to settle for less than perfect. He admires her because she was the best he had, the most steady, the most dependable, and the one who would be there for him. Tbr list for months, but never was able to pull the trigger and read it. He lives in san francisco with his wife and two dogs. Join us for lively, stimulating and educational discussions. This is almost never a circumstance that bodes well for a book, and i wish i could say that hillbilly elegy escaped that fate, but it didnt. A memoir of a family and culture in crisis is a memoir by j. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegrating over 40 years, has been reported on with growing frequency and alarm but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside.
Hillbilly elegy study guide contains a biography of j. Vance about the appalachian values of his upbringing and their relation to the social problems of his hometown. The book is attracting an extraordinary amount of attention because it explains many of the sentiments felt by voters in the 2016. The hillbilly elegy quotes below are all either spoken by papaw or refer to papaw. This book comes with so much hype, much from bestselling lists and media and much from myself. Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers. The forum concluded with a panel discussion by economic. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegrating over forty years, has been reported on with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the.
In what way is the appalachian culture described in hillbilly elegy a culture in trouble. Suggested book and reading club discussion questions for title. Then, as luck would have it, my book bub post that i subscribe to had it listed as a bargain book. Book club questions for hillbilly elegy author durham county. Its been on my radar for quite some time but i could not bring myself to pay the new book price for it. Jun 28, 2016 just finished reading hillbilly elegy. I thought it would be a perfect pick for our book club, plus it would force me to finally read it. All in all i enjoyed the book although my book club friends thought it was a bit unbelievable that he was so ignorant of the world outside his neck of the woods.
Hillbilly elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisisthat of white workingclass americans. Like mamaw, his wife, he grew up in jackson, kentucky and fully embodied the hillbilly lifestyle. He writes about a family tradition of poverty and lowpaying, physical jobs that have since disappeared or worsened in their guarantees, and compares. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for more than forty years, has been reported with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. Hillbilly elegy is a personal look at families living in poverty, addiction and what it takes to move up in the world. The character of papaw in hillbilly elegy from litcharts. Hillbilly elegy, trump, and the socialpolicy question of our time. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one.
See more ideas about book club food, food and book club books. A memoir of a family and culture in crisis 3 about the book j. Hillbilly elegy is the biography of man raised in poverty and destined for failure who overcame adversity. A yale law school graduates account of his traumatic hillbilly childhood and the plight of americas angry white working class. From a former marine and yale law school graduate, a powerful account of growing up in a poor rust belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of americas white working class hillbilly elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisisthat of white workingclass americans. The authors mother is arguably the books most powerful figure. He admires her because she was the best he had, the most steady, the mostmore spoken like someone who has never had to settle for less than perfect. Do you agree with the authors description of the books premise. Extended family was not there, and in a world of hatfieldmccoy feuds and explosive violence at. Vance talks about the difference between personal choice and cultural inheritance. When we first started book club, kate and i went a little crazy theming drinksapps to the reading.
A memoir of a family and culture in crisis, which details the struggles of november 12, 2018. Jun 28, 2016 hillbilly elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisisthat of white workingclass americans. Its about reacting to bad circumstances in the worst way possible. This is a book that screams for selfassessmentdiscussion afterwards. A deeply moving memoir with its share of humor and vividly colorful figures, hillbilly elegy is the story of how upward mobility really feels. He writes about a family tradition of poverty and lowpaying, physical jobs that have since. A memoir of a family and culture in crisis takes an insiders perspective on the decline of lower and middleclass america through his own strikingly personal story. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for over forty years, has been reported with growing frequency and alarm, but has.
Scrolling through postelection headlines, it is nearly impossible not to find countless thinkpieces written by the leftleaning or in some cases, rightleaning media dedicated to explaining donald trumps victory by the grace of the white. A memoir of a family and culture in crisis 2016 by j. Hillbilly elegy discussion guide upper east side diy. Shares the story of the authors family and upbringing, describing how they moved from poverty to an upwardly mobile clan that included the authora yale law school graduatewhile navigating the demands of middle class life and the collective demons of the past. A memoir of a family and culture in crisis hardcover june 28 2016. Its told through the experiences of vance and his family in middletown and. They feel feel like they are on the bottom of the social ladder and the zerosum game policies of the political left keep them down. But it presents a picture of life in depressed areas, a picture so unpc that the media is too frightened to depict it. Hillbilly elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisisthat of poor, white americans. Eleanor oliphant is completely fine book club discussion. Reading through the political news of this years election, i found out about an interesting little memoir by j. Vances impactful memoir about growing up in the rust belt, check out our hillbilly elegy book club questions. If you are also planning for the same, there are some hillbilly elegy book club questions which will help you spark an interesting discussion with other fellow readers.
It increased my understanding of an america i knew little about the appalachian region and its people and why trump or brexit won. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for over forty years, has been reported with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. There are many book clubs that keep hillybilly elegy in their discussion and continuously host sessions for the same. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly. Book club questions for hillbilly elegy durham county.
Vance this study guide consists of approximately 35 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of hillbilly elegy. This study guide consists of approximately 35 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of hillbilly elegy. Eleanor oliphant is completely fine book club questions by gail honeyman. In what way is the appalachian culture described in hillbilly elegy. Mamaw found this behavior unacceptable and even took violent measures to put an end to his drinking. This new york times bestseller is an eyeopening read about vances personal journey growing up in rough rural kentucky and ohio, joining the marines, tour of iraq, then ohio state and yale law school. The book is about what goes on in the lives of real people when the industrial economy goes south. Vances hillbilly elegy has been adopted as the book that explains trumpism. The book is attracting an extraordinary amount of attention because it explains many of the sentiments felt by voters in the 2016 presidential election.
Vances riveting, bestselling memoir, hillbilly elegy. The subtitle for this is a memoir of a family and culture in crisis. Now that we have a year of book clubs under our belt, we keep it simple. Its about taking personal responsibility, taking ownership for ones life. Now in our book club we talked quite a bit about how this story is not the epitome of hillbilly life there is a bigger picture of white low ses people. In his early years of fatherhood, he was a ferocious drinker who rarely came home sober from a days work. Vances hillbilly elegy, probably one of the most talked about books in 2016. Extended family was not there, and in a world of hatfieldmccoy feuds and explosive violence at any insult, extended family would be important. Eleanor had been working at her job since she was 21. Jun 28, 2016 a yale law school graduates account of his traumatic hillbilly childhood and the plight of americas angry white working class.
The new york times bestseller hillbilly elegy chronicles the experiences of the white underclass in americas appalachia region. Heritage point has closed it facilities for all events. Hillbilly elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis that of white workingclass americans. Besides insightful discussions of the books we select, our members are having opportunities to know and appreciate one another and our thoughts and hopes. We have posted information about the book, the author, and discussion questions. Some schools are considering this work their summer reading for precollege. He writes that hes thirtyone and hasnt accomplished anything truly fantastic or extraordinary in. May 10, 2017 a deeply moving memoir with its share of humor and vividly colorful figures, hillbilly elegy is the story of how upward mobility really feels. This might be the first nonfiction book i have read in over a year, perhaps longer. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in hillbilly elegy, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Dec 20, 2016 hillbilly elegy helps explain why some people dont believe in white privilege and think that affirmative action is a form of vile racism. A memoir of a family and culture in crisis, by jd vance. In his book hillbilly elegy, the politically conservative vance focuses more on the personal than the polemic.
Vance is a former marine and a graduate of yale law school. Vance begins his memoir by confessing that he still finds it absurd that anybody would want to buy his book. Hillbilly elegy vance discussion questions litlovers. Hillbilly elegy helps explain why some people dont believe in white privilege and think that affirmative action is a form of vile racism. She said that the owner felt sorry for her and gave her the job because she had a black eye and a broken arm in a sling. Discussion questions for hillbilly elegy are listed. Vance is the book that my book club decided to read this month. The book starts off with descriptions of eleanors job. Hillbilly elegy book douglas county libraries bibliocommons. And it is an urgent and troubling meditation on the loss of the american dream for a large segment of this country. What are the positive values of the culture vance talks about in hillbilly elegy. David brooks, new york times from a former marine and yale law school graduate, a powerful account of growing up in a poor rust belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of americas white working class hillbilly elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisisthat of white workingclass americans. Hillbilly is the term vance uses to describe people like him.
Sep 08, 2017 bernardsville librarys book group, memoirs and coffee, will meet on tuesday, september 26 at 10. I think i was number 456 for the book, and 594 for the audio version. Hillbilly elegy is the perfect combination of entertaining story including mamaw, a fantastic trashtalking grandma with a heart of gold who vance credits with saving his life and commentary on a specific segment of the population that has become more visible in this electionmaking it a great discussion starter for book clubs. Jun 28, 2016 from a former marine and yale law school graduate, a powerful account of growing up in a poor rust belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of americas white working class hillbilly elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisisthat of white workingclass americans. You might call the book a loving indictment of the hillbilly culture that vance grew up in and then escaped from, attending yale law school and. Book club retirees association west virginia university. Shares the story of the authors family and upbringing, describing how they moved from poverty to an upwardly mobile clan that included the author, a yale law school graduate, while navigating the demands of middle class life and the collective demons of the past. Hillbilly elegy is being referenced during the recent election cycle as it addresses the left behind feelings expressed by many ruralmiddle. Vances hillbilly elegy, part memoir, part social analysis, is a fascinating. Hillbilly elegy a memoir of a family and culture in crisis book.