Hillbilly Elegy

by J.D. Vance

 

I can’t explain why, but J.D. Vance remains something of an enigma to me. Netflix produced a movie based on this book, and I watched it. I also follow politics, so I’ve witnessed Vance’s rise from obscure politician to vice president of the United States. And now I’ve read this autobiography, the book that brought Vance to national prominence.

And yet, I have a tough time saying what I think of the man. His resume is certainly impressive. But what really makes him tick?

Hillbilly Elegy chronicles Vance’s life in the hills of Kentucky and in southern Ohio, from his childhood to early adulthood. It was a rough upbringing. For a kid like Vance to not only survive “hillbilly” culture, but to go on to bigger and better things (Marine, Yale Law School, and a little thing called the vice presidency) is borderline miraculous.

Vance’s description of his family life is absorbing. But he comes off somewhat detached from relatives and all the lower-middle-class chaos he endured. Maybe it’s this detachment that serves him so well in politics — and which makes him such a tough egg to crack.

 

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