Evicted

Narrator Dion Graham brings to life the struggles, frustration, and tragedies of the impoverished in an audiobook that explores life at the margins of shelter. Desmond examines the legal, financial, social, and emotional burdens suffered by those who rent in the poorest neighborhoods of the nation's cities. Graham solemnly narrates Desmond's prose and breathes life into the different people presented throughout the book. He never gives in to vocal caricature, though, given Desmond's descriptions, opportunities are abundant. Graham executes a balancing act of tone and emphasis that shifts among legalese, Desmond's observations, eclectic speaking styles, and the oppressive nature of the topic itself, which is often expressed in sentence fragments and asides throughout the writing. L.E. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Starred review from August 1, 2016

Desmond's (sociology, Harvard Univ.) eye-opening and revelatory book clearly conveys that one will never truly understand poverty without grappling with the crisis of precarious housing. The narrative follows the lives of several families and individuals living in some of the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee and tracks their harrowing searches for affordable shelter. This nearly futile pursuit of home is made worse by an uncaring bureaucracy. Desmond lays out evidence that the relationships between landlords and low-income tenants and the apparatus that supports the status quo--eviction courts being one conspicuous piece--are thoroughly broken. This timely examination of some of the root causes of systemic poverty is flawlessly read by Dion Graham. VERDICT A copy of Evicted should be in every public library and in the hands of every politician. ["This resource is highly recommended for academic libraries as well as public-policy advocates seeking to understand issues relating to the lack of affordable housing": LJ 1/16 starred review of the Crown hc.]--Denis Frias, Mississauga Lib. Syst., Ont.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.