Desmond: Evicted

Mini Book Review #23: Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond. A short-and-sweet summary.

This gripping, Pulitzer-prize winning work follows the lives of several Milwaukee families in deep poverty as they experience evictions and homelessness. The author of Evicted treats these families with understanding, even when they turn to drugs for relief. He also follows an inner-city landlady (a landlord who often refuses to keep her homes in decent, livable condition but who is capable of sudden acts of compassion). Readers catch the perspective of both evicted and landlords.

My Take

Evicted is an eye-opening and beautifully written study of poverty. I didn’t agree with all of the conclusions Desmond drew, but I think this kind of compassionate view of those who live in the deepest poverty needs to be soaked in by those of us who have been placed in more stable circumstances. I thought his recommendation that the process of eviction be fairer (with court representation) was excellent. It’s incredibly disheartening to realize just how easy it can be for a landlord to mistreat his tenants. (A note: some of the people interviewed use very hard language, which means at times the conversations made me wince.) 

Read more of the mini book reviews in this series here.