✰✰✰✰½ Imagine suddenly finding yourself unemployed and houseless. Many Americans have found themselves in just this predicament and have turned to living the nomadic vanlife. Chasing seasonal jobs and warmer weather, this resilient group of people fly under the radar to eke out a living. Being itinerant is not easy. One must constantly keep moving and figuring out how to get by with very little. What makes this story even more fascinating is the fact that many of these people are older adults. Instead of living out their retirement years in comfort, they are trying to stretch out their meager finances while living on the road. This is truly an interesting read that gets one thinking about their own future.
The Bottom Line: This book was both easy to read and fascinating. I quickly became invested in learning about the main characters' lives and wondering how they were doing. What struck me is that these are regular people just like me. Many have worked hard their entire lives. Yet, one stroke of bad luck can quickly change your future plans. I was surprised that this book was so engaging, and I appreciated how the author immersed herself in the nomadic community. Highly recommended reading for everyone. This would be great reading for college students as well.
Book Club Notes: So far, this title has been one of the group’s most favorite books since we began meeting in 2017. We respected that the author actually “lived the life” without being judgmental. This was a world outside our own experience filled with lots of obstacles and prejudice. It’s a solitary existence. Bruder obviously had done deep research on the topic. Additionally, she was able to get first-hand experiences from many of the people she met along the way. The personal experiences that were related were eye opening.
It was interesting to see how social media started playing a role in people’s lives during that time as well. How social media contributed to people communicating and helping each other out.
On a scale of 1 - 5, with 5 being the highest, the book garnered an average rating of 4.6 stars. Ratings ranged from 4 - 5. Sadly, several of the group did not have a chance to watch the movie. Those that did rated it much lower than the book; the movie came in with an average rating of 3.25. Ratings ranged from 3 - 3.5.
What’s really interesting about the movie is that several of the people from the book played themselves. It was really cool “meeting” those people on the big screen. For further reading, check out these articles from Fodor's Travel and Time Magazine.
Book discussion questions can be found at Norton and PBS. Also, check out the insights & questions from Blanche's Book Club.
Details: Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-first Century by Jessica Bruder. Paperback published by W. W. Norton & Company in 2017. 288 p. ISBN: 978-0-393-35631-1
