Has JD Vance been injecting Barron Trump’s new energy drink straight into his veins? It would explain a few things, including how the man manages to juggle so much. First there’s the parenting: Vance has three young kids and a baby due soon. Then there’s the vice-presidenting. But despite his long to-do list, Vance still makes time for endless holidays. And he’s even managed to get some writing done: the bestselling Hillbilly Elegy author recently published his second book. It’s a memoir about his spiritual journey called Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith.
So, should you find your way to a bookshop to buy a copy? Most book critics seem to say no. It’s hard to know exactly what regular readers think because two of the biggest review platforms have restricted feedback. Amazon says reviews are limited to verified purchasers because of “unusual review activity” (translation: a torrent of one-star reviews), while Amazon-owned Goodreads has suspended reviews altogether. It’s a shame that Usha Vance, a voracious reader whose Goodreads account notes she just finished Communion (shortly after reading Death Comes for the Archbishop), hasn’t had a chance to give hubby a five-star review.
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While Communion may not have been rapturously received, it is proving to be a useful distraction for Vance, who seems more eager to talk about his memoir than his day job. Last week the vice-president appeared on the influential talkshow The View, where the hosts immediately started grilling him on politics. “Let’s talk about the book – I’m here to sell books,” he begged.
“Eventually we will, but this is a good opportunity for us to get some clarity on stuff,” the moderator, Whoopi Goldberg, replied.
I would also like to get some clarity on stuff. Namely, why the vice-president thinks it’s a good idea to do a book tour amid negotiations with Iran. Particularly as even his boss Donald Trump has admitted the world is on the brink of a war-instigated “economic catastrophe”. Vance didn’t really explain this on The View but, a couple of days later, he joked to reporters that being on the talkshow meant he had “great experience in very hostile negotiations”. He certainly doesn’t seem to have much other experience. On Friday Vance went on Fox where he expressed frustration with diplomatic protocols vis-a-vis Iran and said: “I’ve gotta be honest with you – I don’t really understand these things. [But] I’m trying to be respectful. Given my position in the last year-and-a-half, I have to care about diplomatic protocols all of a sudden.”
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I’ve gotta be honest with you: I’d much prefer it if the vice-president of the US, who is angling to be the next president, did “understand these things”. Can you imagine if Kamala Harris had laughed about how she didn’t understand diplomacy while in the middle of important negotiations? She would have been crucified. The Fox News hosts, by contrast, just seemed amused by Vance. “Love it,” one chuckled.
You know what I would love? If Vance didn’t use his time in public office to pen self-serving books. If he loves writing so much, I suggest he leaves politics and go back to literary endeavours full-time. Now that he’s tackled hillbillies and God, maybe he can turn his talents to parenting advice? In Communion Vance writes that his infamous comment about “childless cat ladies” was “one of the dumbest things [he] ever said”. Nevertheless, he remains obsessed with falling birthrates and mentions babies 33 times in the book. Why not share his recommendations for finding the energy to raise multiple children? I suspect these could be summed up in one sentence: “Get the grandma and your wife to do everything.”
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Speaking of the gendered division of labour, it hasn’t gone unnoticed that Vance’s two book titles seem to have been inspired by the Black feminist writer bell hooks, who wrote one book called Appalachian Elegy and another called Communion: The Female Search For Love. Perhaps the next hooks title Vance can borrow is The Will to Change. The original was about how patriarchy harms men, but Vance’s version could be about how willing he was to change his view of Trump, whom he once called America’s Hitler.
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Or maybe Vance should abandon memoir altogether and switch to fantasy. Given his antics over the last year-and-a-half, he appears comfortable making things up. Think about it, JD! It could be a great new chapter for all of us.
