Now that I’m almost halfway through the non-fiction book Evicted by Matthew
Desmond, I’ve begun to think about why this novel got the recognition it did.
There are dozens of books about poverty, so why did this one win the Pulitzer
Prize?
Desmond, I’ve begun to think about why this novel got the recognition it did.
There are dozens of books about poverty, so why did this one win the Pulitzer
Prize?
I think the answer lies in the question (granted, my own question). That’s
because this book isn’t about poverty. It’s about a crisis, one that’s occurring
in our own backyard, yet many of us aren’t aware of. This book isn’t solely
about eviction either, but the actual people it affects on a daily basis. It’s about
learning to see these people not based on their credit history, criminal
background, or number of evictions in their file.
because this book isn’t about poverty. It’s about a crisis, one that’s occurring
in our own backyard, yet many of us aren’t aware of. This book isn’t solely
about eviction either, but the actual people it affects on a daily basis. It’s about
learning to see these people not based on their credit history, criminal
background, or number of evictions in their file.
More than anything, Desmond manages to write about human beings, and not
just his “subjects”, and this distinction is actually very clear in the book. For
example, Desmond states, “Arleen and Trisha began talking and sharing meals.
Arleen could be quiet and cautious around new people, guarded, but Trisha was
an open book. She told Arleen that this was her first real home in eight years”
(60). While this type of positive description is common in fiction novels, it’s not
typically seen in non-fiction ones, and certainly not about poor, black, single
mothers. By writing about these families in a positive way, he changes viewer’s
perspectives of them.
just his “subjects”, and this distinction is actually very clear in the book. For
example, Desmond states, “Arleen and Trisha began talking and sharing meals.
Arleen could be quiet and cautious around new people, guarded, but Trisha was
an open book. She told Arleen that this was her first real home in eight years”
(60). While this type of positive description is common in fiction novels, it’s not
typically seen in non-fiction ones, and certainly not about poor, black, single
mothers. By writing about these families in a positive way, he changes viewer’s
perspectives of them.
Although I haven’t even finished the book yet, Evicted is truly beginning to
change the way I view poverty. The families in this novel didn’t choose this life,
and somehow, we have to find a way to break this cycle.
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