Janesville is a tale of an American industrial town as it went through the tough years following the closing down of a GM plant in 2008 where many of the townspeople were employed. The book follows about a dozen people and their families in the years after 2008, and how they were impacted by the plant shutdown, even if they themselves did not work there. There are so many examples of resilience and can-do spirit in this tale, but there are also examples of how those just weren't enough.
While I found these stories to be sad yet hopeful, I do feel that there weren't any revelations in here. I didn't gain much insight from reading this book other than confirmation of what I already knew happened to towns like this during the recession. Goldstein kept the story of each person fairly on-the-surface instead of including more in-depth analysis or interpretations. For example, I would have liked to know more about why retraining workers who have lost their jobs don't lead to more pay, which the book mentioned in passing during the main sections and then included an appendix of data to this effect, but no explanations of reasons. Or if there was anything the townspeople or the government could have done to prevent this or to have made it easier or to learn for the future, that would have been nice to include. Without any analysis or deeper thoughts, this book was a tale that barely scratched the surface.
Readaroo Rating: 3 stars
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