Maid

I think what you would call this is a failure to connect.

I really wanted to like this book. To be moved by it. And, while the subject matter was certainly worthy of such a connection, such a stirring of emotion, the story itself simply fell flat.

Stephanie Land's journey is certainly compelling. A single mom, struggling to escape the cycle of poverty while raising her daughter in the shadows in western Washington. She cleans homes to make ends meet, all the while dreaming of the life she could lead. The people whose homes she cleans barely know her name - most have never seen her face - yet she finds herself learning of them through the patterns of their lives they unintentionally leave behind. She spends long days scrubbing, cleaning other people's messes, while unable to crawl out from a financial hole. She's somehow hopeful - and, in the end, prevails.

Seems compelling enough, right? And, people have likened this story to the one told in Educated. But, for me, it never got that deep. I can't even explain why. I never felt hopeful for her, I never felt despair. I just never really felt at all. The stories of frustration she told were clearly worth connecting to; hers is one of failed relationships, lack of family support and a frustrating system of state assistance. But, I didn't feel - and, I didn't learn anything about what can be done for others to overcome what is an unfortunately common story.

Was it the writing? Perhaps. Either way, I don't think it deserves to be named in the same breath as Educated. For me, a magazine article would have sufficed.