I received this book as a Christmas gift from my brother and sister in law and I was really excited to get it. I am a born and raised Michigander, I love my state with a passion that is almost scary at times. It has been heartbreaking to see some of our cities deteriorate and people leaving. I get it though, we had to leave for 3 years for work ourselves. We were lucky enough to come back for awhile, and it seems as though things may be on the up.
All of this to say, there are quite a few books about the downfall of Detroit and the sad state of affairs that have happened there. I have read some of them, including Detroit: An American Autopsy by Charlie LeDuff. Detroit is on the rise again, you heard it here. The city and it's people are fighters, and they are going come out stronger. But this book isn't about Detroit, and I could wax poetic about Detroit all day. I will end this little soapbox stand by saying if you get the chance to visit Detroit -- DO IT. I have written several blog posts about just a few things you could do there; DIA, Cinema Detroit and I am thinking I need to do more. There is so much more.
But this book is about another city in Michigan. Flint, Michigan is the birthplace of General Motors (GM) and once had one of the world's highest per capita income levels and now has is one of the country's most impoverished and dangerous cities. I live about 45 minutes away from Flint, and have been there numerous times; so naturally I was interested in this memoir. The author is from Flint, but now lives in San Francisco, and the book is his account of coming home again.
The Plot
Author, Gordon Young, had a sudden yearning to return to his hometown of Flint, Michigan. He decided to go back to look into purchasing a home there; for what purpose he was undecided. He most definitely lacked the financial resources to be procuring a second home, but he was confident that due to the housing market he would be able to get a house for peanuts. The book follows his trips back to Flint and his rediscovery of his hometown.
My Thoughts
I will not lie, I did not love the start of this book. Part 1 was very boring, a lot of bank/interest rate talk. The parts of the book I really liked were when he was in Flint talking to people who live there, work there and refuse to leave their deteriorating neighborhoods. I did not enjoy the way they often spoke of Flint, quotes such as, "We knew you didn't have any money. You may live in San Francisco now, but you still have Flint stink on you." Granted, Young states after that statement that he took that as a compliment. I did like that despite Flint's lesser qualities, Young took it all in stride. He appeared to have an unwavering love and affection for his hometown. Ultimately, he does not end up purchasing a home but he does continue to come back and help with rehabbing homes and seems dedicated to helping Flint find it's feet. He still maintains his Flint Expats website, which you should check out.
Ultimately, I had a hard time with some of the negativity surrounding Flint that was spoke of in this book. But, unfortunately, it's all true. It is a very interesting read, includes a lot of history of Flint and current (as of 2013 at least) politics and economic issues. I gave this 3 stars on Goodreads.
My Thoughts
I will not lie, I did not love the start of this book. Part 1 was very boring, a lot of bank/interest rate talk. The parts of the book I really liked were when he was in Flint talking to people who live there, work there and refuse to leave their deteriorating neighborhoods. I did not enjoy the way they often spoke of Flint, quotes such as, "We knew you didn't have any money. You may live in San Francisco now, but you still have Flint stink on you." Granted, Young states after that statement that he took that as a compliment. I did like that despite Flint's lesser qualities, Young took it all in stride. He appeared to have an unwavering love and affection for his hometown. Ultimately, he does not end up purchasing a home but he does continue to come back and help with rehabbing homes and seems dedicated to helping Flint find it's feet. He still maintains his Flint Expats website, which you should check out.
Ultimately, I had a hard time with some of the negativity surrounding Flint that was spoke of in this book. But, unfortunately, it's all true. It is a very interesting read, includes a lot of history of Flint and current (as of 2013 at least) politics and economic issues. I gave this 3 stars on Goodreads.
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