This is taken from a popular blogging website, one used for reviews on films, songs and books. however the issue with this is that anyone can put their opinion on critical view on a page. Which is where we find this blog, unfortunately the blogger is unnamed which means that the review is probably not academic or on a popular critic's standard. Although it does offer another person's view and opinion on the subject, detailing how they feel the novel expressed certain issues and also more thoroughly in this blog; the views on the public's reaction to the novel.
This blogger feels disgusted about the reaction the novel had on the middle class American's, as many of them felt the book to be eye-opening, where as this blogger feels many texts have revealed the lower class working situations before; like the film 'Crash'. This blogger may feel anger towards the reaction however, but he also criticises Barbara Ehrenreich as an author as well saying that she is not a novel writer and how most of the text is written as a narration of her personal experiences. This may seem to be unhelpful for the blogger, but the object of the text was to illustrate the experiences, therefore the blogger has misunderstood the purpose.
The blogger's personal opinion of Barbara is as follows:
"She always has the option of pulling out and returning to the home she owns in New York — and of getting emergency medical care, dipping into her savings renting a hotel to avoid being on the streets — and doesn’t have the same long term worries, such as having no benefits, no retirement funds, or inadequate medical/dental care. Even though she acknowledges this, it still feels incredibly insulting and patronizing. This might have more to do with the target readership than the book itself; seriously, do people not know these things? Have they really never heard what it’s like to live poor, or do they just need someone who is actually rich to tell them to believe it? Do people not believe the firsthand experience of someone who lives this reality day to day? I know I am asking a lot of rhetorical questions, but I am doing it because I am truly incredulous"
This blogger constantly demeans the novel, stated overall that one should only read it if you were interested in the facts of low-wage employment in the U.S. However i would disagree with this and say that it offers not only the facts of low-wage employment, but it also offers first-hand experience of discrimination, segregation and explores the journey that many people overcome everyday in their American lives.
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