Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

15 reviews

albernikolauras's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

A heart-wrenching nonfiction book following families in Milwaukee that were evicted during the 2008 and 2009 recession. Desmond gives each individual humanity within his writing as he describes them without judgment or censor, from the landlords to the eviction company to the individuals left homeless afterward.

There wasn't a moment that you didn't feel the anger and frustration that we choose to treat people this way - as if their life doesn't matter. Desmond is clear about the ripple effect instable housing has on people - emotionally and physically - and the community they live in. How it effects the children stuck in this cycle, hopping from school to school while balancing taking care of their siblings.

Desmond wraps up the book describing his place within these situations, how he lived near them, when he intervened to help the families he followed, and what we can do to help prevent the worst of this. It is frightening that this has likely only gotten worse with the increasing housing prices and cost of living with no real increase in government support.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Drug use, Addiction, and Mental illness

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Violence, Toxic friendship, Racism, Gun violence, Sexual assault, and War

lily1304's review against another edition

informative sad medium-paced

4.5

Honestly this was a brilliant ethnography - people don't take sociology seriously as a field of research, but this is an example of why they should! Personal stories hit home more than impersonal statistics, but Desmond cites plenty of research too to back up the stories he records.

Do not skip the epilogue and afterword about his research methods!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, and Violence

Descriptions of eviction, homelessness, hunger, and poverty

drinaiscold's review against another edition

emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Violence

julesapollo's review against another edition

dark relaxing fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Violence

samvanz12's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Racial slurs