Customer Reviews

Squat

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Squat by Taylor Field is the compelling story of 24 hours in the life of a homeless man. Squid lives in a squat (an abandoned tenement building) with his friend Unc. After Squid makes a bad deal with a drug dealer named Saw, he spends the next 24 hours running for his life and trying to make sense of the life he lives. Field writes almost cinematically; you can see the book unfolding like a movie in your mind. Some descriptions fall a little flat, but the dialogue (minus profanities) is realistic. As Squid searches for some safe place, the reader goes back and forth between empathy and disgust with him. The book also raises some powerful questions about what is society's responsibility to the poor, how much culpability do we have for their condition? Squid's conversation with Rachel is life-changing, and the outcome while perhaps a bit unbelievable is not out of the question. All royalties from this book go to Graffiti Community Ministries Inc.

"We live in a squat. We don't know squat. We don't have squat. We don't do squat. We don't give a squat. People say we're not worth squat." In the shadow of Wall Street's wealth, homeless people with names like Squid, Saw, and Bonehead live in abandoned buildings known as "squats" where life is hand to mouth, where fear and violence fester. One of these people is Squid, an obsessive compulsive young man who has escaped normal society to live among the homeless. Squat follows a 24 hour period of his life in which he deals with the boredom and terror of living on the streets, wanders, begs, fights for his life and learns who are his true friends and who are not.

Squat is Taylor Field's first novel. Field was worked since the mid 80's in New York's inner city where he pastors East Seventh Baptist Church and Graffiti Community Ministries. Working in that environment, he is clearly familiar with the people he writes about. The book has an authenticity that surely cannot be duplicated by those who have never experienced such poverty, such disillusionment. It presents a world that is worlds apart from mine.

I find that a lot of Christian novels are really not a whole lot different from other novels, just that relationships are consummated not by sex but by a Christian conversion. Many novels read like any other novel but with a thin veneer of religion forced into it. Squat does not read like this but is, in many ways, a statement about people who are driven to live on the streets, the conditions that put them there, and the conditions that keep them there. Field presents both people who are there by circumstances outside their control and people who are there by consequence of their own poor decisions. There is much for Christians to think about.

Fields crafts interesting characters and characters you'll find that you care about. While the characters are a far cry from ones I'd be likely to bump into in my life circumstances, they are intriguing and interesting. Squat was an enjoyable read and one I'd be happy to recommend to others.

An edgy story which I personally love! A quick read, this book is wonderful . . . a story where the hopeless find hope! The author knows insides of the world. HIs characters are so well developed that you feel like they're people you'll know and they haunt you long after you've put down the book. I felt myself falling apart like Squid. Buy at least ten copies to give all your friends because this author is donating his proceeds to the homeless.

The story of Squid offers insight into the life of a discarded young person living in condemned quarters. The dialogue was realistic, although I found the ending somewhat unlikely. Nonetheless, the author's challenge is clear: find ways to change not just the conditions of homeless, deserted people like Squid, but participate in efforts to change their lives.

Taylor Field's "Squat" is a hard novel to read. It's not because the writing is dense or difficult -- it's not, being a spare kind of prose that doesn't waste words. The novel is difficult because it's about the people we turn our eyes from when we see them or pass them on the street -- the homeless, the drunks, the addicts and the beggars.

Field describes a day in the life of Squid, a younger man living in a "squat," or abandoned building inhabiated by similar homeless people. But it's not an ordinary day; Squid is on the run from Saw, a shadowy gangster type who dabbles in animal sacrifice and who wants Squid to repay the $100 he borrowed. If Saw or his minions find him, Squid will be in serious trouble.

Squid's avoidance of Saw is complicated by his attraction for Rachel, the woman who works at the local mission/soup kitchen. Rachel talks to Squid about Christ, and Squid eventually finds himself suffused with a love he's never experienced. But that only sets up the final confrontation with Saw.

It's easy to miss the importance of names in the novel. The Christians working at the mission have "real" names; the homeless characters all have aliases or nicnames -- Squid, Bonehead and his baby squirrel, the philosopher Unc (a kind of homeless, gentler version of today's militant atheists), Saw, Peaches and others.

"Squat" opens your eyes, forcing you to see the people you'd rather avoid as you hurry down a city street. Its depiction of homeless life seems real -- a combination of violence, desperation, mental illness, daily struggle and, yes, even hope.

I am not typically a big fan of Christian fiction. Too many insanely perfect people, implausible situations, and impossibly happy endings. I like fiction that rings true, not trite. That's why I am impressed with Squat. First, Field writes from his experience-- one who has lived and ministered among the homeless for a long time. The book reflects the reality of homeless life lived up close. Second, Field knows the pain of the street and is not afraid to share it with the reader. It is that pain which makes us hurt and empathize. Finally, it rings true. It tells a gritty story in a way that is plausible and engaging. It's a great read.

I loved this book.
Mostly for it's ability to make me examine myself, and identify parts of myself that are a bit of Squid, Bonehead, Unc, Jason and Rachel. I hope that can make me kinder to my neighbor, slower to judge, and quicker to love.

The author draws on his experience with the homeless to weave a tale of life on the streets through the eyes of his unique main characters. I found the storyline gripping, suspenseful, and witty as the reader enters into their unpredictable world of hopelessness and danger. I recommend this book highly and have never read anything quite like it.

Squid is a homeless man in a world of trouble. He has violated a cardinal rule of the homeless subculture and now Saw, the recipient of Squid's violation and a drug dealer with a volatile temperature, has placed a bounty on his head. The cash hungry street people respond and even his closest friend, the street philosopher Unc, abandons him to his fate. Only the slow Bonehead remains and he has a few surprises of his own.

Taylor Field has written a book that offers a unique glimpse into a world most Americans choose to ignore. He brings a unique perspective; he is a pastor at the 7th Street Baptist Church on Manhattan's lower East Side and has worked extensively with the homeless for years. "Squat" covers twenty-four hours in Squid's life, making it a short book and a fairly quick read.