Memoir · Book club
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis book club questions
Here are 11 book club questions for Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J. D. Vance, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. Copy them, print them, or bring them up one at a time.
The 11 questions
- 1.
Vance emphasizes personal responsibility and cultural factors while acknowledging structural forces. Where does he draw the line, and do you draw it in the same place?
- 2.
Mamaw is the most compelling figure in the book. What made her different from the other adults in Vance's life, and what does her success at supporting him tell us about what children need?
- 3.
He describes learning middle-class norms almost like a foreign language. What norms did you absorb without knowing it, and what would it cost to not have them?
- 4.
The book was published weeks before Trump's election and treated as an explanation of Trump voters. Does it hold up as that? What does it explain and what does it miss?
- 5.
Vance's prescription is essentially individual: take responsibility, show up, stay sober. Is that a sufficient response to the conditions he describes? What would a structural prescription look like?
- 6.
He says that honor culture — the insistence on respect and the willingness to fight for it — is both a source of pride and a source of serious harm. Can you think of cases where that's true in communities you know?
- 7.
The book has been criticized for overgeneralizing from one family. Does that criticism seem fair to you, reading it as memoir rather than sociology?
- 8.
Vance joined the Marines and credits military service with teaching him things his upbringing didn't. What institutions play that role for people in different circumstances?
- 9.
What does the concept of 'hillbilly' do in this book? Is Vance reclaiming it, critiquing it, or something more complicated?
- 10.
Since publication, Vance became a senator and then vice president. Does knowing his subsequent political career change how you read the book?
- 11.
Which of the people in the book do you most want to know what happened to after it ended?
How to run the discussion
- Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
- Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
- Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
- Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.
Themes worth steering toward
If the conversation stalls, these are the threads that usually restart it.
Common questions
What are good book club questions for Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis?
Here are 11 book club questions for Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J. D. Vance, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. The strongest openers ask what each reader noticed rather than what they concluded, and the discussion usually turns on class, family dysfunction, appalachian identity.
How long should a book club discussion of Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis last?
Most groups run 60 to 90 minutes of actual discussion. That is roughly six to eight questions, not all of them, so pick the ones that suit your group rather than working down the list in order.
What are the main themes in Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis?
Class, Family dysfunction, Appalachian identity, Social mobility, Addiction. Those are the threads most likely to divide a room, which makes them the useful places to steer a discussion that has gone quiet.
Picking the next one? See books like Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis or questions for other book club picks.
