My rating: 3.5/5 stars
‘Us People’ started as a new, and refreshing, perspective of the life of homeless people, their lifestyles, their struggles and how – despite many may think – human they are. It takes a closer look at the hardships they experience to live, sleep and eat, and the discrimination they experience from the wider society. By telling the story from the perspective from a once, and still relatively, “normal” nineteen-year-old boy it emphasizes the similarities between them and everyone else is humanity itself.
The story is an illustration of how the main character, Sam, although times are often tough, finds solace in a lifestyle that was saving him from a fate he never wanted, from demons he wanted to escape from. With his guardian, Cam, you get a clear understanding of how society works on both sides of the fence. He explains most things to Sam while imploring him to refer to themselves as “us people” to show the reader how dehumanizing the term “homeless” is. The author laces many issues and themes that forces you to think of the next man or woman you see on the street and really consider the person they are and the situation they’re in.
There’s a lot of things I liked about this book like the hostile yet endearing dynamic relationship between Sam and Cam. I also liked the way the inner workings of the homeless community were presented without coming off as direct exposition. There were some problems I had with the writing that did make reading some passages uncomfortable. Otherwise, I think it’s a story worthy of being read.
Available on 01 Jan 2018.
Book and Pen In Hand 