I had not heard of Darren McGarvey before I read this book but I understand that he has been active on TV and social media and that he has also performed as a rapper. Poverty Safari is the story of his life, growing up in Scotland, his addiction issues and how he feels that he, and others, have been trapped by poverty. He has his own views about how mass poverty might be addressed, which would involve a large change in thinking by those in power but also by those in poverty.
This book is, therefore, a bit of a mix of memoir and opinion for which the author declines to apologise. It’s a book by an angry man who has, to some extent, escaped his background but who sees others trapped by poverty and lack of opportunity. He shows how a poverty industry has grown up to help people but which actually reinforces society’s view of the poor and how the poor have to conform to get the help they need. Controversially, he also considers that those living in poverty have a responsibility to get a grip on their situation and actively get themselves out of the mindset and the conditions which trap them.
This book is a criticism of and a lament for a society which systemically disadvantages those who have no money or prospects. The author is angry and encourages the poor also to become angry and not to give in. He wants, and advocates for, radical change in how society works and how the poor are regarded and helped. It’s a piece of powerful writing with many good ideas but I am not sure that it will be taken on board by those who prosper because of the poverty of others.
This isn’t your typical misery memoir of a hard life and a difficult background. It’s a book which takes that as a base and uses the author’s experiences to propose radical change. I am not an expert on poverty and nor do I have personal experience of the conditions that the author describes but I can see, from what he says, why this problem needs a new approach. I found his book challenging and interesting.
Anne Is Reading 