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A review by biblioauds
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Ethnography is not a term I've ever read before this book. This sociological field of study is the scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures. By inserting himself right into the field, that being Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Matthew Desmond delivers a brutal narrative about human desperation in the private housing market.
Desmond doesn't waste much time by offering socialist solutions or playing politics. Evicted depicts devastation on both the predominantly black North Side and predominantly white South Side of Milwaukee. It tells an American story through the lens of both tenants AND landlords. This narrative format had me devastated and rooting for both.
Without a home, everything else falls apart. In his Epilogue, Desmond deviates from his narrative format and instead critically outlines how important not just a roof over one's head is to their survival, but to their well-being. Throughout the narrative you find people food-stamp-less for missing appointments, going hungry because their dates were mailed to the incorrect address from having moved so many times. In the Epilogue, statistics show how frequently this occurs. It reveals that the human desperation that happens in America's cities are not unique to the few people who have chapters dedicated to them and their families- it happens to the poor, period.
This book, published in 2016, lifts up a rock on American cities and shows what ecosystem lies beneath it, one that requires time to understand and has cultural intimacies I had never thought of. I believe that this book should be required reading for every American, in all schools. It actually had something new to say about poverty- something to say about people. Instead of focusing on statistics, Desmond focuses on stories. It was a truly enlightening read and actually one that empowers me to action, looking into what I can do for even just my smaller city's population. If you're American, or even just interested in the city-life of America, do yourself a favor and read this book.
Desmond doesn't waste much time by offering socialist solutions or playing politics. Evicted depicts devastation on both the predominantly black North Side and predominantly white South Side of Milwaukee. It tells an American story through the lens of both tenants AND landlords. This narrative format had me devastated and rooting for both.
Without a home, everything else falls apart. In his Epilogue, Desmond deviates from his narrative format and instead critically outlines how important not just a roof over one's head is to their survival, but to their well-being. Throughout the narrative you find people food-stamp-less for missing appointments, going hungry because their dates were mailed to the incorrect address from having moved so many times. In the Epilogue, statistics show how frequently this occurs. It reveals that the human desperation that happens in America's cities are not unique to the few people who have chapters dedicated to them and their families- it happens to the poor, period.
This book, published in 2016, lifts up a rock on American cities and shows what ecosystem lies beneath it, one that requires time to understand and has cultural intimacies I had never thought of. I believe that this book should be required reading for every American, in all schools. It actually had something new to say about poverty- something to say about people. Instead of focusing on statistics, Desmond focuses on stories. It was a truly enlightening read and actually one that empowers me to action, looking into what I can do for even just my smaller city's population. If you're American, or even just interested in the city-life of America, do yourself a favor and read this book.