Disposable City by Mario Alejandro Ariza

Miami's Future on the Shores of Climate Catastrophe

3 out of 5 🌟 A memoir of an environmental activist

I usually start my reviews with a short description of a book and this is a part I struggled the most while reading this title. What is it about? Each chapter tackles a different issue, either about social justice or environmental matters. The book is all over the place: from selling houses with a 30-year mortgage on sinking parcels, through shrinking Everglades and endangered households of native inhabitants, to redlining and violence towards black residents. Plus huge pythons and one octopus in the garage.

Summarizing, 'Disposable City' is about everything that is wrong with the world today with a special focus on Miami, Florida.

What I turned me off the most was that the whole book is written as a memoir. A highly detailed day-to-day journal about the author's life. It even includes a whole breakfast menu of one of the hotels. If a book can have ADD (*Atention Deficit Disorder), this one has.

However, the book shows several critical topics that are, most of the time, completely ignored by the mainstream media. I was really touched by the chapter about immigrants' problems and how they are mistreated by the officials. Also, the sinking of Florida isn't a hoax but our near Future. All these problems are gravely important but unfortunately, the message is just too hard to read.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and feelings are my own.

Comments

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