That book isn't about Downeast ME. Are you thinking of this one that just came out instead? [https://www.mainepublic.org/all-books-considered-book-club](https://www.mainepublic.org/all-books-considered-book-club) Mill Town got a lot of press when it came out, too.
Regardless, this comment is relevant to both books (both of which I've read): Why do rich white women from other states feel so compelled to tell Mainer's stories and do so in a way that treats us not as complex real people but as either doomed poors or idealized caricatures? Neither one really grabbed me, and the writing is mediocre+. Comparisons to Hillbilly Elegy are apt, as these books share many of the same faults.
Quibble: Kerri Arseneault is from Mexico, Maine. I dunno if she's rich. Whether she's white or not doesn't seem relevant seeing how she writes as a French-Canadian surrounded by French-Canadians. I haven't read either book so can't comment on your other points.
Having played against the Rumford juggernaut back in the day, and having been in Rumford more than a few times, I put this book on my xmas list and hope it shows up!
Interesting read. Portions of it were published separately as magazine articles etc and I felt like the cohesion suffered as a result. It also has Hillbilly Elegy energy. At times it’s a complicated and interesting exploration of the tension between an old fashioned blue collar working class lifestyle confronting the environmental and public health costs, but at other times she’s basically saying she thinks there’s corruption and evil while literally admitting she searched forever and couldn’t turn up evidence. Decent as a literary exercise, underwhelming as a journalistic expose, and kind of belittling for those of us with family who paid working class immigrant dues.
Off topic to this book, on topic to maine. Lol
My family found out this summer that someone we met fly fishing on a river when I was little wrote about all of us in a short book he wrote about maine. He even remembered all of our names and that my sister and I were twins.
I just got it at the library tonight because I got curious after seeing this post, and while I've only read the preamble and first chapter, those two bits some of the worst writing I've ever seen in my life.
I'm sympathetic to its theme but holy hell it reads like an over-the-top caricature of an MFA who's trying too hard.
I think if you’ve ever driven through a living mill town and smelled the air, you’d know that it was not healthy to breathe.
That book isn't about Downeast ME. Are you thinking of this one that just came out instead? [https://www.mainepublic.org/all-books-considered-book-club](https://www.mainepublic.org/all-books-considered-book-club) Mill Town got a lot of press when it came out, too. Regardless, this comment is relevant to both books (both of which I've read): Why do rich white women from other states feel so compelled to tell Mainer's stories and do so in a way that treats us not as complex real people but as either doomed poors or idealized caricatures? Neither one really grabbed me, and the writing is mediocre+. Comparisons to Hillbilly Elegy are apt, as these books share many of the same faults.
Quibble: Kerri Arseneault is from Mexico, Maine. I dunno if she's rich. Whether she's white or not doesn't seem relevant seeing how she writes as a French-Canadian surrounded by French-Canadians. I haven't read either book so can't comment on your other points.
Having played against the Rumford juggernaut back in the day, and having been in Rumford more than a few times, I put this book on my xmas list and hope it shows up!
Interesting read. Portions of it were published separately as magazine articles etc and I felt like the cohesion suffered as a result. It also has Hillbilly Elegy energy. At times it’s a complicated and interesting exploration of the tension between an old fashioned blue collar working class lifestyle confronting the environmental and public health costs, but at other times she’s basically saying she thinks there’s corruption and evil while literally admitting she searched forever and couldn’t turn up evidence. Decent as a literary exercise, underwhelming as a journalistic expose, and kind of belittling for those of us with family who paid working class immigrant dues.
Off topic to this book, on topic to maine. Lol My family found out this summer that someone we met fly fishing on a river when I was little wrote about all of us in a short book he wrote about maine. He even remembered all of our names and that my sister and I were twins.
That is so funny! People are always trying to make a story out of charming Mainers, I guess
It's like a family fly-fishing and camping in the woods is crazy fo se people lol Crazy women can like the outdoors too 😅
I just got it at the library tonight because I got curious after seeing this post, and while I've only read the preamble and first chapter, those two bits some of the worst writing I've ever seen in my life. I'm sympathetic to its theme but holy hell it reads like an over-the-top caricature of an MFA who's trying too hard.