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A review by sometimesbryce
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
5.0
Evicted deserves six stars – it’s that good. Desmond’s project is not only a richly documented field study, it’s an engaging page turner that’s so well structured it reads like fiction. I loved every minute of it.
Desmond’s greatest strength is his unflinching honesty. The landlords are both understandable in their “evil” deeds, for business is business, and demonized as sadists who seem to lavish in their tenant’s pain. These tenants are sometimes victims we cheer for, and, other times, are fools whose pain has been earned. Never, though, does Desmond appear to have a bias. He simply introduces us to a cast of characters, all a little good and a little evil, and draws his truthful conclusions from there.
He is a master of his craft, for his book is as well researched as it is compelling. He makes his readers care about his subject, and he takes them on a ride through the urban “ghettos,” experiencing life as a single mother, as a recent foster-care “graduate,” as a person with disabilities, a landlord fighting for respect and decency. Desmond makes his readers angry, depressed, and hopeful. He makes us so invested that, like a train wreck, we do not dare to turn away.
I loved this book. I loved the characters and reading about their lives; I loved the prose; I loved the research. There is nothing bad I can say about this. Please, pick it up.
And, to learn how you can help homeless or at risk families and individuals, please visit the author’s site, justshelter.org
Desmond’s greatest strength is his unflinching honesty. The landlords are both understandable in their “evil” deeds, for business is business, and demonized as sadists who seem to lavish in their tenant’s pain. These tenants are sometimes victims we cheer for, and, other times, are fools whose pain has been earned. Never, though, does Desmond appear to have a bias. He simply introduces us to a cast of characters, all a little good and a little evil, and draws his truthful conclusions from there.
He is a master of his craft, for his book is as well researched as it is compelling. He makes his readers care about his subject, and he takes them on a ride through the urban “ghettos,” experiencing life as a single mother, as a recent foster-care “graduate,” as a person with disabilities, a landlord fighting for respect and decency. Desmond makes his readers angry, depressed, and hopeful. He makes us so invested that, like a train wreck, we do not dare to turn away.
I loved this book. I loved the characters and reading about their lives; I loved the prose; I loved the research. There is nothing bad I can say about this. Please, pick it up.
And, to learn how you can help homeless or at risk families and individuals, please visit the author’s site, justshelter.org