Book Review: On to the Next Dream by Paul Madonna

It is such a coincidence that I bought this book during the time when a passenger was dragged off an United Airlines flight. I said it's a coincidence because the story in the introduction of this book is almost about the same situation. As a metaphor of the overheated housing market, the story uses the metaphor of someone being kicked off the plane (while the plane is in air) because there's someone paying a higher price for the seat he/she's in. It's harsh, heartless even. But it's a powerful metaphor.

I bought this book because I follow Paul Madonna's work, more specifically his All Over Coffee series. I love his art. I bought this book to see more of them. Well, this isn't an artbook. It's like a book of short stories that brings you into the lives of people who are affected by the overpriced housing market. There's a solemn and sinking feeling that starts in the first chapter where Paul Madonna was evicted. The stories go on to tell you how he searches for a place to live, and how others are doing the same.

There's use of metaphors and sometimes I can't tell if the events actually happened in real life. In some instances, potential renters have to pretend to be people in the demographic the landlord is looking for. It says a lot about the situation in San Francisco.

The book's mostly text with the occasional beautiful drawings by Paul Madonna. The drawings are not related to the stories though, even if they are drawings of architecture, presumably in the neighbourhood.

I finished reading the book in one seating. It's a quick read. Overall, it's a rather enjoyable book to read, even if it's upsetting at times. But that's just how it is with the world today.

On to the Next Dream is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP | CN)

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