Tales of Two Americas: Stories of Inequality in a Divided Nation

Tales of Two Americas: Stories of Inequality in a Divided Nation is a 2017 non-fiction collection of 36 essays, poems, and short stories edited by former Granta editor John Freeman and including contributions by Rebecca Solnit, Sandra Cisneros, Edwidge Danticat, Julia Alvarez, Joyce Carol Oates, Ann Patchett, Annie Dillard, Roxane Gay, and more. The text crosses disciplinary boundaries, covering sociology, history, racial and ethnic studies, and gender studies.

The personal essays, stories, and poetry in Tales of Two Americas respond to the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election to the presidency and the United States in November 2016. The book’s collective works also grapple with the problem of American poverty, the many forms it takes, and the discrimination that comes with being poor in America, acknowledging intersecting systems of inequality based on class, race, ethnicity, and gender.

Plot Summary

John Freeman, the editor of Tales of Two Americas, introduces the collection by discussing how he became aware, through childhood experiences and the stories of family members, that social inequality is pervasive in the United States and that even a comfortable upbringing in America does not ensure a stable, comfortable future. The stories in the collection, he explains, help to understand how this situation might be possible. Taking the audience through both urban and rural America, from gentrified San Francisco and Seattle to impoverished Appalachia, south-central Los Angeles, and a small, rust-belt Michigan town, the book offers insight into what it means to live in a country that is socially and politically divided, where all people are not treated equally, and where social equity remains an unreachable reality for most.

As the authors confront and interrogate these issues, their works also address what it means to belong to (or be excluded from) real and imagined communities. Moreover, they question how we might cross communal divides, encourage empathy, and challenge readers to recognize that perception does not always match reality.

Among the works included, Rebecca Solnit investigates the killing of a Latino man by San Francisco police; Sandra Cisneros and Edwidge Danticat illuminate the hardships immigrants face in the United States, from poverty to loneliness; Richard Russo finds explanations for communities’ support for Trump in loss of work; Chris Offutt and Claire Vaye Watkins shed light on the stigma of growing up white and economically disadvantaged; Eula Biss confronts white guilt; and a short story by Nami Mun reminds the audience that pursuit of the American Dream can end in failure and destroy lives.

Freeman’s introduction notes that simply walking a city’s streets can open one’s eyes to the reality of a “broken” America, and Freeman hopes to find a solution to the problems of severe inequality. These poems, stories, and personal accounts remind readers that while structural inequality is pervasive in today’s America, a better world is possible.