Limbo

Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams describes the experiences of people from working-class backgrounds who enter the middle class. The author, journalist Alfred Lubrano, the son of a Brooklyn bricklayer, provides anecdotes and analysis that portray the lives of the people, who he calls “Straddlers”, bridging the gap between two differing American subcultures.

As someone who grew up in a middle-class household, I was surprised at some of the working-class expectations that Straddlers deal with. While many, though not all, working-class parents view college as a ticket to a better life, they’re afraid that college will corrupt their children’s values. Working-class families expect their kids to remain nearby and disapprove why they move across the country to further their careers. People in the blue-collar world honestly state their concerns, an approach that doesn’t work so well when it comes to office politics.

My main quibble involves Lubrarno’s idealistic view of people who grew up in middle-class families. He treats his classmates at Columbia, along with others at first-rate universities, as representative of the middle class when they’re actually upper class or the intellectual elite of the middle class. Many people from middle-class backgrounds have difficulty navigating the subtleties of office politics.

Limbo was a quick read, though it was a bit repetitive at times. He provides some insight into one group of citizens, including a few friends of mine. People who’ve made that class transition would find the book a lot more resonant.