Gordon Young (5)Critiques

If there's a book about Flint, I am eventually going to read it. And if there were a category for people feeling conflicted between their hometowns and wherever else they end up, that would overlap pretty thoroughly with my bookshelf. This author is a youngish guy trying to buy a house with his wife in already too expensive San Francisco, while at the same time wishing to somehow keep a presence in his hometown of Flint. As an admittedly indecisive person, I liked his forays into the city and what didn't work. What he could have done better, though, was to distinguish between the relatively local (like the ghastly but tidy subdivision where he crashed with a friend) and distinctly global (like the auto industry and thriving cities that attract Michiganders away) phenomena that Flint has to fight against.

This book was entertaining, informative, depressing, and hopeful. It was interesting to learn about the history and politics of Flint, and the important role that race relations have played. A few times I found myself laughing out loud at Gordon Young's account of his visits. At the same time, his nostalgia for his hometown was deeply moving. I could relate to that because though my hometown is a rather drab Detroit suburb as opposed to a once-great city, I recently felt the desire to live there again. Only later did I realize that the desire stemmed from a longing to return to a time when I was young and anything was possible. In other words, it was a mid-life crisis. In the end, the author found ways to support Flint without getting into even greater debt and risking his relationship with his girlfriend, Traci. All around, it was a satisfying read.