Nomadland

Two books in one: Bruder in part explores the aftershocks of the 2007 collapse that left so many people in deep poverty; she also dives into some of the systems that keep people trapped there. The book, in part and in whole, serves as a distressing indictment of our American need for Cheap Crap™.The Premise: a disturbing number of people lost jobs and homes in the crash. Some of those have resorted to living in vehicles, quasilegally hopping between campgrounds, parking lots, and streets, chasing livable temperatures across the seasons.The Twist: when you can't change your situation, change your perspective. These people (justly) take great pride in their resourcefulness; many go the next step, calling it a blessing, or liberating; an escape from the consumer rat race. They're actually psyched about it. This is a core element of the book, one which Bruden analyzes from many angles.The Catch: even nomads need money. Large corporations (notably, but not only, Amazon) prey on these vandwellers, offering physically and emotionally grueling jobs for pitiful pay, with the promise of free van parking. No insurance, obvs, but who cares? When workers are injured or killed, there are more lining up. There are always more and more desperate people; our system depends on it (and guarantees it).The writing is disjointed, the timelines confusing. Only cursory and slightly sheepish acknowledgment of white “privilege” (if such a word can be used in this context): vandwellers are predominantly white, because, duh, think about it for two seconds. I found myself wondering often: vandwelling may be a last resort, but it's one not available to all. How much worse are things for the darker-skinned poor?Quibbles aside, five stars because it taught me and made me think; and because more people need to be aware. If you've read [b:Nickel and Dimed 1869 Nickel and Dimed On (Not) Getting by in America Barbara Ehrenreich https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442378091l/1869.SY75.jpg 1840613] and/or [b:The Working Poor 11095 The Working Poor Invisible in America David K. Shipler https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388266050l/11095.SY75.jpg 430062], you probably want to read Nomadland.

This book will make you want to save for the future, and get your pension sorted out if you haven't already. An eye-opening look at the growing population of retirees in the US that are reduced to living a nomadic life travelling around the country to find seasonal work to make ends meet. The sections on Amazon and their ‘camperforce' were particularly interesting, and the behind the scenes look at their robot-assisted warehouses just reinforced the suspicions we all have that they couldn't care less about their employees. Well researched, engaging, and unsettling.

I really appreciated Bruder's research and the thoughtful, compelling way she's presented it here–it's a stark look at how little safety net there is for older Americans, but she also captures some of the joy and camaraderie that some of the nomads manage to eke out in spite of the difficulties they face. I read this just before watching the movie and the movie clearly focuses more on the latter aspect, which I can understand, but I was glad to have the additional context from the book in mind as I watched it. (I still liked the movie although I know that's controversial!) I also think it's interesting that so much has been made of the movie showing the Amazon CamperForce program–which is a big part of the book and which like, yeah, does totally suck for workers. But all of these jobs suck–the beet industry and state parks are also taking advantage of these seasonal workers. We need universal healthcare and a better safety net for workers period!!! But also yeah definitely fuck Amazon (which I know owns GoodReads...help...)