Deer Hunting with Jesus

Wow. I FINALLY finished Deer Hunting with Jesus, by Joe Bageant! Yay! (Note: the emphasis on the word finally doesn't mean I didn't like the book, just that I was very ready to be done reading it.)

If you've never heard of the book before, it is a book of 7 essays regarding the class war in America, focusing on the "middle" (i.e., low) class.

I first came by the book over Easter Holiday when Iain was reading it (borrowed from Sara). He really enjoyed it and insisted that I, as an American, should read it. When I posed the question of why he replied with something along the lines of "because every American should know what's going on in their own country." While I took some offense at this comment because I'm not ignorant to the state of America's lower class, the topic was pulling some interest. Before studying abroad I never really followed politics, so off the bat the book didn't really catch my eye. By the end of my discussion with Iain I had promised that I would read it so that we could discuss it.

So, a few months later, I found myself wondering if Iain had forgotten my promise. I was not looking forward to 200 pages of politics, and whatever else the book might hold. One day I was talking to Sara about it and she suggested that I read the introduction and, based on how I felt about that, read the rest or don't. Brilliant.

That's just what I did. I read the introduction and found that Bageant was a pretty funny writer and had a unique honesty to him. I decided to read the book.



My overall thoughts are that the book was pretty good after all. I read 5 of the 7 essays and skimmed over the remaining 2 (I was really struggling to finish the book). Like I said, I have been aware of the serious problems in America: economical, political, class-related, medical, the list goes on. But, before reading this book, I didn't have the perspective I have on America now. Of course I love my country, but I do recognize that it's not the America it once was. Time has changed the nation and its people. I particularly liked Bageant's coined term of the American Hologram. I realized that the perspective I gained after reading this book was not so much new as deeper, and I'm glad I took the time to read it.

Turns out Inga is going to read it next. I think it's pretty cool that Sara brought a book about America abroad with her and has shared it with others (mainly non-Americans) and myself.

If you're planning on going abroad, I really recommend you the book. It will help you see where you're coming from on a really different level (mainly because if you're able and interested in going abroad, you don't truly know what it's like to be in America's "middle" class). Here's my advice: at least read the introduction. = )

-Amanda