Elizabeth R. (esjro) -
Helpful Score: 4
Wow, this is the most depressing book in the history of the universe! Evicted follows the lives of several individuals and families as they struggle to find housing. It also tells the story of the landlords (who some might call "slumlords") that rent to these people.
It reads like a page-turner, but is heart breaking because the stories told are real. The author is admirably balanced, in that the landlords are not unsympathetic (they make a nice profit but put up with a lot of drama to do so), and he does not hide the fact that some of his subjects make poor decisions which exasperate their situations.
At times I wondered whether some of the dialogue was fictionalized. In the afterword of the book, the author tells the story of the project that became Evicted. He lived in a trailer park and in the slums of Milwaukee in order to meet (and sometimes live with) his subjects. That experience is a story within itself.
I like that the book ends with concrete suggestions for what can be done to address the problem of a lack of affordable and safe housing for everyone. Of course none of the ideas would be cheap or easy to implement, but this book is a step in the right direction in that it humanizes a problem that many of us are lucky enough to not see.
It reads like a page-turner, but is heart breaking because the stories told are real. The author is admirably balanced, in that the landlords are not unsympathetic (they make a nice profit but put up with a lot of drama to do so), and he does not hide the fact that some of his subjects make poor decisions which exasperate their situations.
At times I wondered whether some of the dialogue was fictionalized. In the afterword of the book, the author tells the story of the project that became Evicted. He lived in a trailer park and in the slums of Milwaukee in order to meet (and sometimes live with) his subjects. That experience is a story within itself.
I like that the book ends with concrete suggestions for what can be done to address the problem of a lack of affordable and safe housing for everyone. Of course none of the ideas would be cheap or easy to implement, but this book is a step in the right direction in that it humanizes a problem that many of us are lucky enough to not see.
Helpful Score: 1
I had added this book to my paperbackswap.com wish list--it apparently had been on someone's list of good books. When I got the book from paperback, a previous reader had enclosed a clipping of a book review on "Evicted." I think it was from the "Parade" magazine that is an insert in many Sunday papers. I probably had seen the same review when it came out which is why I added it to my wish list.
The book reads like a novel--detailed descriptions of apartments, mobile homes, people's clothing. The author also wrote conversations in quotes. I wondered how he knew all this--was he actually in all these places and was he recording all these conversations? It wasn't until I read the "About This Project" at the very end of the book that I learned that the author had, indeed, lived in the trailer park for a substantial length of time as well as other parts of Milwaukee. He tape recorded conversations.
As some Amazon reviewers noted, it was sometimes hard to keep the cast of characters straight. Might have been nice to have an alphabetical list in the back of the book. Like many Amazon reviewers, I had little sympathy for most of the people the author "shadowed." It seemed that most of them got to where they were by bad choices they made and continued to make. Author Desmond seems to think that if there was more housing assistance available, people would be able to live in better housing and get themselves out of poverty. Even with more housing assistance, people won't necessarily get out of poverty. Desmond noted that one woman who lived in the trailer park took her last $80 and blew it on lobster because, well, (as she justified it) she wanted lobster so why shouldn't she have lobster? When a person has that kind of mindset, it's hard to get ahead.
Desmond's argument to provide more housing assistance so people don't have to live in substandard housing isn't (in my opinion) going to fix the problems that low income folks have. Unless people learn to make better choices, better housing won't necessarily move them out of poverty.
The book reads like a novel--detailed descriptions of apartments, mobile homes, people's clothing. The author also wrote conversations in quotes. I wondered how he knew all this--was he actually in all these places and was he recording all these conversations? It wasn't until I read the "About This Project" at the very end of the book that I learned that the author had, indeed, lived in the trailer park for a substantial length of time as well as other parts of Milwaukee. He tape recorded conversations.
As some Amazon reviewers noted, it was sometimes hard to keep the cast of characters straight. Might have been nice to have an alphabetical list in the back of the book. Like many Amazon reviewers, I had little sympathy for most of the people the author "shadowed." It seemed that most of them got to where they were by bad choices they made and continued to make. Author Desmond seems to think that if there was more housing assistance available, people would be able to live in better housing and get themselves out of poverty. Even with more housing assistance, people won't necessarily get out of poverty. Desmond noted that one woman who lived in the trailer park took her last $80 and blew it on lobster because, well, (as she justified it) she wanted lobster so why shouldn't she have lobster? When a person has that kind of mindset, it's hard to get ahead.
Desmond's argument to provide more housing assistance so people don't have to live in substandard housing isn't (in my opinion) going to fix the problems that low income folks have. Unless people learn to make better choices, better housing won't necessarily move them out of poverty.
Valerie S. (VolunteerVal) -
Helpful Score: 1
I highly recommend this heartbreaking, non-fiction book. The serious subject of adequate housing for Americans with low incomes living in Milwaukee is very approachable. The author tells the powerful story through six struggling families and two landlords. To do so, he lived in a trailer park and an inner city apartment building for several months.
If you've never experienced the challenges these families face, I encourage you to read this book. For the most part, Matthew Desmond states the facts and allows readers to draw their own opinions.
If you've never experienced the challenges these families face, I encourage you to read this book. For the most part, Matthew Desmond states the facts and allows readers to draw their own opinions.
Lynda C. (Readnmachine) reviewed Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City on + 1474 more book reviews
This is not a fun read, but it's an important one.
Desmond's investigations into the housing situation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the first decade of the 21st century exposes the systematic abuses in a housing market biased in every way against low-income renters. From obscene profit levels taken by landlords to one-sided court proceedings to protective systems that increase rather than decreasing hardship among the population they are designed to serve, the story is thought-provoking, brutal, and depressing.
Desmond keeps his focus tightly on two groups of people -- the very poorest of the poor, many of whom spend upwards of 80% of their income to obtain substandard lodging, and on two landlords with large investments in inner-city rental properties. He also looks at the ways in which the struggle to keep a roof over one's head impacts social relations, and clarifies the incredible disruption caused by eviction actions.
No one comes out of this war zone unblemished. Certainly not the reader.
His recomendations to ameliorate the situation may or may not be practical, but they assign an entirely new meaning to the term "housing crisis".
Desmond's investigations into the housing situation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the first decade of the 21st century exposes the systematic abuses in a housing market biased in every way against low-income renters. From obscene profit levels taken by landlords to one-sided court proceedings to protective systems that increase rather than decreasing hardship among the population they are designed to serve, the story is thought-provoking, brutal, and depressing.
Desmond keeps his focus tightly on two groups of people -- the very poorest of the poor, many of whom spend upwards of 80% of their income to obtain substandard lodging, and on two landlords with large investments in inner-city rental properties. He also looks at the ways in which the struggle to keep a roof over one's head impacts social relations, and clarifies the incredible disruption caused by eviction actions.
No one comes out of this war zone unblemished. Certainly not the reader.
His recomendations to ameliorate the situation may or may not be practical, but they assign an entirely new meaning to the term "housing crisis".
