Review: Class: A Guide Through the American Status System

Class: A Guide Through the American Status System by Paul Fussell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Like any good satire, this has a lot of truth in it. At least it did once upon a time, and according to the author.

Unfortunately many, if not most, of the points are pretty much out of date, but it's still an entertaining read, and (somewhat) thought-provoking.
I do wish someone would write an updated version, preferably with the same satirical tone. Probably the most interesting chapter was the last one, talking about Class X people, and I imagine any update would feature these heavily, since this category seems to have grown immensely in recent years.


Higher classes tend to drive buicks and chevys, while lower (middle) ones drive BMWs and Mercedes. Proles will have speedboats in their driveway.

A lot of points seem to work on a scale, as in:
The more you weigh the lower your class
The more writing on your clothing, the lower your class
The sweeter the food you eat, the lower the class
The faster you drive, the lower your class
The smaller the balls in the sport you play, the higher your class
The more electronics you buy, the lower the class (would this still be true??)


All in all a fun read. On the other hand, if you're going to make fun of middle classes with their "peudo-latinisms", like "in Suburbia", don't carry on to say how they don't honor the accusative case and say "in Suburbiam". I'm pretty sure "in Suburbia" wouldn't call for the accusative. Possibly the Ablative?



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