Review: Nomadland

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Nomadland tells a revelatory tale of the dark underbelly of the American economy – one which foreshadows the precarious future that may await many more of us. At the same time, it celebrates the exceptional resilience and creativity of people who have given up ordinary rootedness to survive, but have not given up hope.

From the beetroot fields of North Dakota to the campgrounds of California to Amazon’s CamperForce program in Texas, employers have discovered a new, low-cost labour pool, made up largely of transient older adults. These invisible casualties of the Great Recession have taken to the road by the tens of thousands in RVs and modified vans, forming a growing community of nomads.

Genre: non-fiction

Publication date: October 2020

Mature content: no

 

Review: Nomadland is a book everyone should read. Not because it's now an award-winning motion picture, but because it paints a - sadly - very realistic portrait of today's society, where a significant number of people (some of them older, yes, but not all) cannot afford to have a home.

A lot of these people have worked all their lives, and once they reach retirement age they are forced to continue working - and often to live in cars or RVs. They will work until the day they die and will have enjoyed very little of what were supposed to be their golden years.

   

Nomadland should be a wake up call for all of us - not only because we may all end up in the same way - but most especially because this is an issue society has been mostly ignoring, looking the other way, and doing very little to solve. These people are still contributing to society - and how is society contributing to help them?

Totally recommended.

 

Happy readings,

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