History · Book club
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City book club questions
Here are 12 book club questions for Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. Copy them, print them, or bring them up one at a time.
Evicted is Matthew Desmond's account of eight Milwaukee families — tenants and landlords — living through the American housing crisis at its most basic level: the cycle of eviction.
Matthew Desmond · 2016 · 6h 15m
Full summary and key takeaways →The 12 questions
- 1.
Desmond argues that eviction causes poverty as much as poverty causes eviction. Does the evidence in the book convince you? What would falsify that claim?
- 2.
Sherrena the landlord is one of the more complex figures in the book. How do you understand her relationship to the system she profits from?
- 3.
The housing voucher program is meant to help but often doesn't. What would make a housing subsidy actually work, and why hasn't it been reformed?
- 4.
Many of the families in the book make choices that seem self-defeating — spending on extras while behind on rent. How do you understand those choices in context?
- 5.
Desmond embedded himself in a trailer park and a rooming house. What does that method make possible, and what are its limits?
- 6.
The book notes that the mortgage interest deduction costs the government more than the entire housing assistance budget. What does that comparison tell you about political priorities around housing?
- 7.
Which family in the book stayed with you most after you finished? What do you think happened to them after the reporting ended?
- 8.
Desmond's prescription is a universal housing voucher. Is that a realistic political goal? What would the opposition look like, and would it be correct?
- 9.
How much of what happens in the book is specific to Milwaukee, and how much applies to your city?
- 10.
The book shows landlords making significant profits from the worst housing. Is that a market failure, or is it the market working as designed?
- 11.
Arleen makes decisions throughout the book that the reader might judge harshly. Does Desmond ask us to suspend that judgment? Should he?
- 12.
Desmond is a Harvard-educated sociologist who spent a year in a trailer park. How does that asymmetry of position affect what he could and couldn't see?
How to run the discussion
- Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
- Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
- Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
- Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.
Themes worth steering toward
If the conversation stalls, these are the threads that usually restart it.
Common questions
What are good book club questions for Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City?
Here are 12 book club questions for Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. The strongest openers ask what each reader noticed rather than what they concluded, and the discussion usually turns on housing, poverty, inequality.
How long should a book club discussion of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City last?
Most groups run 60 to 90 minutes of actual discussion. That is roughly six to eight questions, not all of them, so pick the ones that suit your group rather than working down the list in order.
What are the main themes in Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City?
Housing, Poverty, Inequality, Eviction, Urban policy. Those are the threads most likely to divide a room, which makes them the useful places to steer a discussion that has gone quiet.
Picking the next one? See books like Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City or questions for other book club picks.
