The American social structure allows for the fortunate to prosper and the wealthy to thrive; however, there is another side to this coin. Poverty is overwhelming inner cities, becoming a vicious cycle perpetuated by the process of eviction. Matthew Desmond’s novel, Evicted, tells the tale of this struggle through the perspective of eight unique families each with their own unique story unfolding. As they strive to achieve the American Dream, Desmond makes it clear that there is more to achieving this dream than previously known.
The structure of Desmond’s book is interesting in that it is made up of three sections, each covering a before, during, and after look at the eviction process. This novel is not your typical story of poverty. Desmond also follows the perspective of those doing the evicting: the landlords. This style allows the reader to get a full understanding of the circumstances surrounding the topic of poverty.
Throughout my reading of the novel, my interest ebbed and flowed. For me personally, I found it difficult to follow eight families on such a surface level detail. Although I appreciated the variety of people studied, I wish that I would have had a greater understanding of a few rather than lesser understanding of many. Perhaps, Desmond needed to cut down his families to four or six. The scope of the topic would have been maintained, while allowing readers to connect to the people studied.
In addition to level of depth of the individuals, the chosen individuals could have been less connected. I understand that the individuals featured in the novel were chosen to demonstrate interconnectedness and the tremendous impact it has on a community. However, I found it difficult to separate certain characters from one another. Some chapters overlapped families and individuals. This made it somewhat confusing as to whom the focus is to be centered on.
Despite my minor critiques from my own reading perspective, I do feel that Evicted is deserving of it’s praise. Desmond gives an unbiased, authentic depiction of the many aspects of poverty told through the lense of eviction. The novel is at times hard to read, but only because of the level of truth. A complete eye-opener, Desmond gives insight to an issue that needs more coverage in order to prevent further perpetuation of the poverty engulfing the American society.
The structure of Desmond’s book is interesting in that it is made up of three sections, each covering a before, during, and after look at the eviction process. This novel is not your typical story of poverty. Desmond also follows the perspective of those doing the evicting: the landlords. This style allows the reader to get a full understanding of the circumstances surrounding the topic of poverty.
Throughout my reading of the novel, my interest ebbed and flowed. For me personally, I found it difficult to follow eight families on such a surface level detail. Although I appreciated the variety of people studied, I wish that I would have had a greater understanding of a few rather than lesser understanding of many. Perhaps, Desmond needed to cut down his families to four or six. The scope of the topic would have been maintained, while allowing readers to connect to the people studied.
In addition to level of depth of the individuals, the chosen individuals could have been less connected. I understand that the individuals featured in the novel were chosen to demonstrate interconnectedness and the tremendous impact it has on a community. However, I found it difficult to separate certain characters from one another. Some chapters overlapped families and individuals. This made it somewhat confusing as to whom the focus is to be centered on.
Despite my minor critiques from my own reading perspective, I do feel that Evicted is deserving of it’s praise. Desmond gives an unbiased, authentic depiction of the many aspects of poverty told through the lense of eviction. The novel is at times hard to read, but only because of the level of truth. A complete eye-opener, Desmond gives insight to an issue that needs more coverage in order to prevent further perpetuation of the poverty engulfing the American society.