Publication Info:
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City was written by Matthew Desmond and originally published in 2016 by Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. It was later reprinted on February 28, 2017 by Broadway Books, which is a subsidiary of Crown Publishing Group. Evicted is a New York Times bestseller and was also named one of the "10 Best Books of 2016" by the Times. Finally, Evicted has won several awards including, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award in 2016, the Pen/John Kenneth Galbraith Award in 2017, the Andrew Carnegie Medal in 2017, and many more.
Brief Synopsis
Evicted follows the life of eight different families in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. By doing this Desmond is able to give an inside look on the struggle between renters and landlords within this city. Throughout the book, the themes of desperation and hopelessness are ever-present. It is hard for the reader to not feel something for these people they are just getting glimpses of.
Throughout the book, we are introduced to many different characters. Some of which are landlords such as Sherrena and Quinton Tarver, and Tobin Charney. Through these characters, we see from the point of view of the owners and keepers of these properties. While these characters have more money than the others throughout this book, they are not exempt from problems and heartache. The reader can begin to sympathize with these characters as they are constantly making difficult decisions that are affecting real people each and every day.
On the flip side, however, we have characters like Arleen and her sons Jori and Jafaris, Crystal, Vanetta and her sons, Scott, Pam and Ned, and Lamar. With these characters, we get a unique insight into what these people struggle with and how everything seems to be intertwined. Eviction, job loss, drug addiction, poverty, these are all things that many of these people deal with every single day. When reading this book the reader quickly begins to feel and ache with the characters. Many of the situations that they are facing are beyond their control, and therefore make things all the more difficult to watch unfold.
Now that I have mentioned both parties, I have to make things clear; no one is in the right within this book. The reader will always want to feel for one party over the others. Maybe the landlords because of all they have to deal with due to the tenants. Or perhaps the renters because of the horrible hand that they have been dealt. I am telling you now that no one is beyond blame. Every person in this book does things to put them in the situation that they are in. However, this does not keep the reader from sympathizing with them. There were many times throughout the book that I found myself screaming (not physically) at the characters because of the decisions that they were making.
Review
I both enjoyed and despised this book. Evicted provides a new and exclusive look into the day and life of people struggling with poverty in the American city. Desmond brings to light many of the issues, not only within the people's lives, but also in the political and social-economic circles that have the ability to right this wrong that has been going on for too long.
I enjoyed this book for many reasons, but perhaps the biggest reason is that it got me to think differently about these topics and themes. Growing up in a rural, middle-class suburb of Oklahoma City, I never dealt with, or was even exposed to, many of the themes discussed in this book. Throughout my life, I have obviously seen and been aware of the homeless and those who are less fortunate than myself but never directly affected by it. Evicted helped my understanding, and helped me to grow in my sympathy for people in these circumstances.
This book is also not the easiest book to read. The format of this book is not one that I enjoy as much as others. Some may not like that I am being this harsh on a book for formatting, but it seriously distracted me at several points. Desmond chooses to break up the stories within the pages of the book. Each chapter focuses on different characters and will then come back to them several chapters later. This made the book more difficult for me personally. I read this book over the course of several weeks and as a result, often found myself having to go back to previous chapters to remind myself of where these characters had already been. I would have preferred Desmond to focus on each family for the number of pages necessary, then move to the next family. I believe that in doing this, Desmond would have a more cohesive story, and therefore made the book more readily available for the average reader.
Evicted is an amazing book that gives an in-depth look into one of the major problems we are still facing in our country today. Eviction is a problem that threatens millions of Americans every year, and Desmond uses this book to stir the minds of the readers so that we can begin to take the necessary steps to bring equality into the housing market in the United States. While this book is filled with great insights and perspectives, I have a difficult time enjoying it as much as I want to. The way Desmond chooses to write pulls me out of the story and therefore fails to grip me to its full potential. While I do recommend this book, know that it can be difficult to follow and stick with.
Rating - 3.5/5
Next Review - Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Currently Reading - The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
* I must also mention that there is strong language throughout and several racially tense moments, which will deter some from reading.
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