Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams

Rating:
Summary: The best non-fiction book I've ever read
Review: When I heard Alfred Lubrano on NPR talking about his book, the topic and how he portrayed it was so riveting I stopped and pulled over my car so I could listen to what he had to say. The way he interspersed personal details of his upbringing - ones that were obviously painful to him - with the stories of others who felt the same way was compelling listening.
That interview prompted me to read the book, which I just finished. I found it hard to put down. Lubrano is such a wonderful writer that his prose draws you deeper into the tale and keeps you going until the very end. He calls those of us who come from blue-collar families and now live middle-class lives "Straddlers." If there's a more perfect way to describe this newly identified group, I don't know what it is.
In the book, Lubrano gives dozens of examples of the difficulties of straddling both worlds. He tells you why blue-collar values - i.e. blunt talk - doesn't play well in the white-collar world of doubletalk and indirectness. He shows you how in some cases it distances you even further from your relatives and the friends you grew up with yet still makes you feel like you don't quite belong with your middle-class neighbors and colleagues, who never had to worry about a part-time job or two while they were in college.
Lubrano doesn't pretend to have the answers. It's obvious he's still struggling with the dichotomy of his life now vs. his upbringing, as many of us are. What he does, though, is identify an issue that has been rarely written about or studied. By doing so he elicits an "Ah-hah" feeling from people like myself who were struggling with the same issues but didn't know what the problem was. Maybe it's enough to know that you're not alone.

Rating:
Summary: smart and funny
Review: Wielding his street-savvy reporter's instincts, Lubrano explores the issue of class in America through the prism of his own transition from Bensonhurst ``corner boy'' to Ivy League-educated journalist. The author's personal journey intersects with stories from other ``straddlers'' who have one foot planted in the working-class world, the other in the middle class and feel at home in neither. Lubrano's recollections and observations are often hilarious and poignant; his insights always thought-provoking.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for Teachers
Review: Wow! I could barely put down Limbo once I started to read it. Alfred Lumbrano touches on a rarely discussed topic that receives lip service during highschool graduations or during university alumni updates but rarely gets the attention it deserves.

Meritocracy versus Aristocracy.

As a first generation Latvian Canadian with a graduate degree I can wholeheartedly remember my own experiences being introduced to the white collar lifestyles of fellow students when I attended university. I particularly remember some interesting conversations I had with upper class, old moneyed WASP families when I was in my twenties and dating.

Discriminatory comments, blanket generalizations and outright stupidity from a privileged, educated group who did not see past the insular white collar and white picket fence culture that showed minimal tolerance for "the other side of the tracks". A culture that they and their forefathers created and upheld with hidden discrimination and stereotypes.

One mother of a former boyfriend pulled me aside at our first meeting and eagerly wanted to know about my father * a painter*. She wanted to know about the kind of work he was commissioned to do and also inquired about gallery showings. When I explained that my father was a painter, a contractor who painted walls the dinner conversation fell silent.

On another occasion I recall a fellow I was dating ask me about my ancestory. Whether or not my parents had foreign sounding names and whether or not my parents spoke with an accent.

Quickly as I went through graduate school I discovered that the [...] politics in an academic bucreacy along with having the right contacts e.g., an uncle in the field that you desired to enter, a neighbour with connections helped garner my classmates many entry level jobs and internships that politely shut the door in my face when I went knocking on their doorstep.

It wasn't until I hit my early thirties and through my education and profession entered to the "other side" that I decided to cling proudly to my blue collar roots and immigrant family background.

That my success although bitter sweet at times was achieved on my own merit and not because Daddy or Mommy had an *in*. I hope to pass on to my own children the best of both worlds. And continue to treat any paid help under my wing as part of the family, not an employee.

Saluting fellow Straddlers out there who made it through hard work, resilence and perserverance. Rolling out the red carpet for themselves. Rather than having somebody hand hold and walk them to the front door and gain entrance the easy way.

Thank you Alfred. Parts of your book made me emotional and relive the feelings of being on the inside and outside. Which made me thankful that I am not alone as a fellow straddler living the best that both worlds offer , not forgetting the roots implanted to keep a foundation from wavering in the strongest of winds.

Rating:
Summary: Bravo Alfred !! Best nonfiction book I read in 2004!!
Review: Wow! I could barely put down Limbo once I started to read it. Alfred Lumbrano touches on a rarely discussed topic that receives lip service during highschool graduations or during university alumni updates but rarely gets the attention it deserves.

Meritocracy versus Aristocracy.

As a first generation Latvian Canadian with a graduate degree I can wholeheartedly remember my own experiences being introduced to the white collar lifestyles of fellow students when I attended university. I particularly remember some interesting conversations I had with upper class, old moneyed WASP families when I was in my twenties and dating.

Discriminatory comments, blanket generalizations and outright stupidity from a privileged, educated group who did not see past the insular white collar and white picket fence culture that showed minimal tolerance for "the other side of the tracks". A culture that they and their forefathers created and upheld with hidden discrimination and stereotypes.

One mother of a former boyfriend pulled me aside at our first meeting and eagerly wanted to know about my father * a painter*. She wanted to know about the kind of work he was commissioned to do and also inquired about gallery showings. When I explained that my father was a painter, a contractor who painted walls the dinner conversation fell silent.

On another occasion I recall a fellow I was dating ask me about my ancestory. Whether or not my parents had foreign sounding names and whether or not my parents spoke with an accent.

Quickly as I went through graduate school I discovered that the [...] politics in an academic bucreacy along with having the right contacts e.g., an uncle in the field that you desired to enter, a neighbour with connections helped garner my classmates many entry level jobs and internships that politely shut the door in my face when I went knocking on their doorstep.

It wasn't until I hit my early thirties and through my education and profession entered to the "other side" that I decided to cling proudly to my blue collar roots and immigrant family background.

That my success although bitter sweet at times was achieved on my own merit and not because Daddy or Mommy had an *in*. I hope to pass on to my own children the best of both worlds. And continue to treat any paid help under my wing as part of the family, not an employee.

Saluting fellow Straddlers out there who made it through hard work, resilence and perserverance. Rolling out the red carpet for themselves. Rather than having somebody hand hold and walk them to the front door and gain entrance the easy way.

Thank you Alfred. Parts of your book made me emotional and relive the feelings of being on the inside and outside. Which made me thankful that I am not alone as a fellow straddler living the best that both worlds offer , not forgetting the roots implanted to keep a foundation from wavering in the strongest of winds.