Class

Hill's collection is deeply concerned with questions about class and the ways in which it disadvantages individuals on a deep systemic level. The protagonists of "Art Pop," "You Will Hear the Locust Sing," "In the Rundown," and "Voluntary Committal" all deal, in some sense, with the burdens placed on them by their class backgrounds. In each case, Hill contemplates either the conditions that these circumstances create or the means through which one might lift themselves above them.

"Art Pop" and "You Will Hear the Locust Sing" are arguably the more optimistic of the four stories mentioned above. In "Art Pop," the narrator receives a constant and steady stream of abuse from his father, who is defensively proud of his low-income status and berates the narrator whenever he shows interest in anything academic or outside of his expected class setting. The narrator is able to escape these...