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Welcome To Utopia: Notes From A Small Town (2010)

by Karen Valby(Favorite Author)

3.52 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

038552286X (ISBN13: 9780385522861)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Spiegel & Grau

review 1: WELCOME TO UTOPIA is a biography of Utopia, Texas. With a population of 227 people in 2010, A small town with a population of fewer than 2000 people, it is isolated in the Texas Hill Country about 90 miles northwest of San Antonio. There are very few outlets for entertainment within a sixty mile radius. The closest movie theater is sixty miles away. There are no book stores or music stores. But the internet is beginning to have an effect. Most of the residents are descendants of families that have lived there for generations. They know each other well and, as Karen Valby points out, “But for all the grudges people in a small town are capable of holding, rare is the public confrontation. To get byin such a cramped community, people put on civil faces and politely ... morenod hello to one another....A town like Utopia is too small to accommodate open hostility for very long.” The book focuses of four residents: Ralph, the owner of the general store which is a major hangout for older residents, Kathy, a waitress in the main restaurant whose sons are serving in the military, Colter, a high school senior trying to figure out what to do with his life, and Kelli, another high school senior who is part of the only black family in town. Much if the book discusses about the futures of the children: Will they stay in Utopia or move away? Will they go to college? One loved character suffers from seizures after being treated for cancer. The description of the petit mal flashbacks is very accurate. The book mentions some differences in attitude between residents of Utopia and the tourists, many of them Yankees. Hunting is one of them. “The problem the men had with so many of these weekend hunters was their lack of respect. They figured a man ought to eat what he killed.” One character notes that ninety percent of the deer killed “never hit the table.” The book ends with the election of Barack Obama as President, how some of the people deal with his race, and how they think the government should work. The book is a gentle, portrayal of a tight community living with its past and trying to prepare for its future. After reading WELCOME TO UTOPIA, I read some information about the town on-line. One thing that was very prominent on-line but omitted from the book was the beauty of the area. While Karen Valby does refer to tourists, it’s a shame that did not write more about that. It would have added some insight as to why some people chose to continue to live there and why other people chose to move there.
review 2: Utopia, Texas seems like a town forgotten by time. It lacks many modern amenities, and that doesn’t seem to much bother its older inhabitants. Popular culture has only recently begun to seep in through the cracks of this town’s carefully maintained facade, but it’s definitely catching on amongst the younger generations.Valby’s informal ethnography of Utopia documents how these changes are affecting various members of the community. She follows an old-timer with a strong influence on local politics and culture; a young Black teenager faced with sometimes subtle and other times overt racism in a largely White town; another teenager with cowboy roots and emo proclivities; and an Army mom coping with the challenges that come with having loved ones far away at war. Though seemingly at odds, their stories all demonstrate the struggle of living in an insular community, as well as a larger, globalized world.For me, this book was of particular interest because Utopia is only a little over an hour away from where I currently reside. We pass a sign for it whenever we drive to San Antonio, and I recognize a lot of the towns that are mentioned in the book. I’m also familiar with the small town mentality in which outsiders and outside thought are held in suspicion. Despite the very different circumstances, I could really identify with some of the sentiments expressed in this book about wanting something that those around you can’t understand. It also helped me understand the feeling of security that many gain in a local culture that changes at the pace of dripping molasses. less

Download links for: Welcome to Utopia: Notes from a Small Town

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