Guus Bosman

I read in the New York Times about "6 books for the Trump era", and I thought it would be good to get a larger perspective on Trump's election win.

The first of these, Hillbilly Elegy, is a gripping memoir of a man who grew up in Kentucky and Ohio, in a dysfunctional family. He describes his live and that of the people around him, and how there is a feeling of despair, of "our choices don't matter" that holds people back from succeeding.

A very touching read, that gives indeed a great insight in how different life is for people in those circumstances. Beautifully written, gripping.

In its conclusions about a solution for this seemingly intractable problem, the author is ultimately not very hopeful. He emphasizes the importance of individual responsibility, but also acknowledges that the odds are very much stacked against kids growing up in this culture.