Nomadland by Jessica Bruder has been on my TBR list for some time now but I have stayed away because the subject matter scared me a bit. Normally I love books about people who hit the road in their vans and discover what they want in life.
But that is contingent upon the van dweller having had a choice with regard to living in their van. The men and women profiled in Nomadland had no such choice. As to how it could get to that point, Jessica Bruder explains it well:
"Among the people I met, some had their personal savings wiped out by bad investments or saw their 401(k)s evaporate in the 2008 market crash. Some hadn’t been able to create enough of a safety net to withstand otherwise survivable traumas: divorce, illness, injury. Others had been laid off or owned small businesses that folded in the recession. And though workers under fifty were a minority, I met them too ... problems compounded by student debt and degrees that turned out to have little practical value. Many hoped life on the road would be an escape from an otherwise empty future"
In another part of the book Jessica tells us that vandwellers may seem similar to the hobos and Hoovervilles of the 1930's but there is a key difference:
"For the nomadic Dust Bowl–era refugees who were once snubbed as “Okies,” self-worth meant keeping alive the embers of one precious hope: that someday the status quo would return, moving them back into traditional housing, restoring at least an iota of stability. Along with many of the wayfarers he came to inspire, Bob saw things differently. He envisioned a future where economic and environmental upheavals had become the new American normal".
As I began Nomadland I was concerned it would be a grim read. But I found it to be a thought-provoking and fascinating book about an off the grid and growing subculture here in the US. Vandwellers have their own blogs, stores, meeting places. They have created cities like Quartzsite, Arizona, a ghost town during the summer but full of life every winter as hundreds of thousands of people arrive in cars, vans and RV's to set up camp, socialize, find work and help each other out.
Non-fiction books come and go but I predict Nomadland will last because of the excellent journalistic job Jessica Bruder did, living and researching the vandwelling life for two years. But also because social security, salaries and savings accounts are increasingly not keeping up with the skyrocketing cost of apartment dwelling even if all you require is a studio. This problem is not going away and Nomadland will be relevant for many years to come.
Good review. It’s one thing to hit the road to see the country in a shiny new fully equipped with every convenience rv and quite another to be forced by circumstances to find oneself a nomad seeking seasonal jobs. Credit to these folk who learn to make do and help each other survive in this tenuous life into which they have been thrust. Catch the movie when you can. I read the book and watched the movie some time ago. Both worth it.
ReplyDeleteAgree Iris and I definitely want to see the film particularly since some of the van dwellers featured in the book were cast in the movie.
ReplyDeleteVandwelling unless something changes for the better is increasingly America's future. Time was when rent was maybe half one's monthly paycheck. Now for many even the entire paycheck doesn't cover it.
I loved this book! It's so compelling and fascinating. It made me contemplate what living a nomadic life would be like...and while I might find it fun for a few weeks, maybe even for a month or two, I know I would miss the security of having a home that didn't move. This is a book I would totally read again, it was so good.
ReplyDeleteHi Lark, I really liked the book too and agree the one problem with vandwelling is the security. You can't simply park wherever you want and itt takes money to maintain a van and keep it supplied with gas. But it would also be a really great experience to travel throughout the southwest, camp out under the stars. I must see the movie. A number of the people the author profiled appear in the film.
ReplyDeleteYeah I loved the movie with Frances McDormand and wonder how close it is to the book, which I have not read. I think the book must raise interesting questions and details about this whole subculture of van dwellers. I can see how it would be increasing each year. People simply can not keep pace with inflation and all sorts of woes that wipe out incomes. I think it would be hard to live out of car for long periods.
ReplyDeleteHi Susan, Glad to hear you loved the movie and I really want to see it. The book is also first rate and I submit that it's one of those rare non-fiction books like Silent Spring that will stay around in the public's consciousness for years to come because the problems addressed in Nomadland are not going away. They are sadly getting worse.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but I wasn't all that crazy about the movie but really did love the book. The movie somehow just seemed too "staged" to me. I came away from the book wondering if all these unfortunate elderlies think they are just going to die in their campers someday without ever losing their nomadic lifestyle first. I don't remember that issue being addressed in the book or the movie by any of them - unless I missed or forgot it.
ReplyDeleteHi Sam, It's not addressed too much in the book although at one point Linda May my favorite vandweller is not doing well and has to move back in with her family. Bob Wells who founded the movement encourages the campers as much as they can to build an emergency fund. I am thinking the vandwellers know though that if something goes wrong with their vans they are in big trouble. It's a very precarious lifestyle but the rents are unaffordable these days
ReplyDeleteYou would think that since this book was made into a film that I would know more about it, but I really did not know much at all until I read your review. I did not know it was nonfiction, for instance. I can see that this would be very interesting but also disturbing and somewhat depressing. I will look for an affordable copy.
ReplyDeleteHi Tracy, I stayed away from the book for that reason too, that I thought it would be depressing and kind of scary and it is disturbing and yet it's also fascinating and inspiring when you meet people like Linda May and Bob Wells who have hope and are survivors. The book is well written and researched and above all its a population that's growing and so people need to prepare as much as one can.
DeleteGreat blog
ReplyDeleteThanks and I think you will like Nomadland, written very well and about an important subect.
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