-
Creators
-
Publisher
-
Release date
September 26, 2017 -
Formats
-
OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781681687193
- File size: 287095 KB
- Duration: 09:58:06
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
AudioFile Magazine
This audiobook explores a subculture of Americans who have taken to life on the road in response to financial stress. Don't call them homeless, though; these nomads, most of them victims of the disappearing middle class, prefer "houseless." Author Jessica Bruder immersed herself in their world for three years and reports in depth on the positives and negatives of such a lifestyle. Karen White's narration is capable, if a little mechanical. She doesn't hit as many emotional beats as one would expect with a story that is, at its heart, about people struggling for survival. The overall result is still a fine piece of journalism--but one that doesn't fully capture its own humanist spirit. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine -
Publisher's Weekly
May 29, 2017
Journalist Bruder (Burning Book) expands on an article originally published in Harper’s where she examined the phenomenon of aging Americans adjusting to an economic climate in which they can’t afford to retire. Many among them have discarded “stick and brick” traditional homes for “wheel estate” in the form of converted vans and RVs and have formed a nomadic culture of “workampers,” evoking the desperate resourcefulness of those who lived through the Great Depression. Bruder follows her subjects as they harvest sugar beets, work at Amazon fulfillment centers during the holidays, and act as campground hosts. She conducts extensive interviews, attends the workampers’ gatherings, and tests out survival tips, to the point where she makes “houselessness”—a lifestyle born out of necessity and compromise—seem like a new form of freedom, with its own kind of appeal. Of course, she also addresses the often-crushing financial and social circumstances in which these people live, and pointedly touches on the racial considerations that make this nomadic lifestyle a predominantly white trend. Tracing individuals throughout their journeys from coast to coast, Bruder conveys the phenomenon’s human element, making this sociological study intimate, personal, and entertaining, even as the author critiques the economic factors behind the trend. Agent: Joy Harris, Joy Harris Literary Agency. -
Publisher's Weekly
Starred review from January 22, 2018
Actor White engages listeners in Bruder’s sociological study of a group of low-income, mostly white elderly Americans who travel from job to job in RVs to avoid the cost of a permanent home. These are men and women in their 60s, 70s, and even 80s who consider themselves not homeless but houseless, having lost their homes or opted to ditch their mortgages, taxes, and repair bills. Listeners will feel as if they are right there in Bruder’s passenger seat, traveling with her to RV campsites, researching, and sharing grief and friendship with the “workampers.” Among the people profiled is 64-year-old Linda May, who lives in a tiny trailer she calls the Squeeze Inn—“yeah, there’s room, squeeze in”—and works as a “host” in trailer camps registering newcomers, repairing RVs, and cleaning toilets all day. She then heads to Amazon warehouses for long, exhausting night shifts sorting packages. White’s friendly voice and easygoing conversational rhythm embeds listeners in the misery but also the camaraderie of these under-the-radar 21st-century nomads. A Norton hardcover.
-
Loading
Why is availability limited?
×Availability can change throughout the month based on the library's budget. You can still place a hold on the title, and your hold will be automatically filled as soon as the title is available again.
The Kindle Book format for this title is not supported on:
×Read-along ebook
×The OverDrive Read format of this ebook has professional narration that plays while you read in your browser. Learn more here.