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balletbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
A moving memoir told through essays and poems about the author’s childhood in Guatemala and migrating to the US at the age of 10. It’s a very slice-of-life book, full of the details that a child remembers about playing with neighbors, the oddities of the neighborhood, and being raised by strong women.
abbie_'s review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
I flew through this little memoir, which I picked from my Scribd (Everand) queue at random. Told in three parts and interspersed with gorgeous pieces of bilingual poetry, Knitting the Fog tells Hernández’s story of growing up between Guatemala and the US, crossing the border with coyotes, then returning to Guatemala in order to return to America legally. Her storytelling is so vivid, particularly the sections set in Guatemala. She spent time living with an auntie and a grandmother in two very different villages - one sweltering and one bitingly cold, one swampy and stagnant, the other beautiful and full of life in spite of the chill. She transports the reader to both of the villages.
Hernández’s home life wasn’t easy, with a reticent mother, alcoholic father, and an older sister struggling with depression. When her mother leaves her three girls for America to try and make a better life, things do get more stable under the influence of their auntie and grandmother, though of course they miss their mother intensely. When they eventually join their mother in the US, they have to contend with xenophobia, being the only Guatemalans among mostly Mexican immigrants. Hernández’s telling of the perilous journey across to America with the coyotes was brilliant, told on a fine line between childish innocence and a growing awareness of the more sinister aspects of the world.
I’m not the biggest lover of poetry but I really did like the poems woven in here, especially the ones written first in Spanish then in English. I have a working knowledge of French & Italian, and with Spanish being so similar, I could work out enough to see the differences in translation between the Spanish and English, which was fun!
Would highly recommend to people who enjoy personal memoirs with a focus on immigration and family dynamics.
annakim's review against another edition
3.0
Powerful story of family and immigration, though the main focus is on Claudia Hernandez's life before her journey to the US. I didn't dislike this book, but I'm not very familiar with Hernandez or her work, which is probably why it took me a long time to finish reading her memoir.
jentea's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
The first two sections and the poems were so good! If it had just been those parts, I would give this book 5 stars. Alas, the third part fell very flat for me, which messed with the momentum of building up to the fourth and final part. Perhaps because the third part is a bit short and less reflective, their return to Guatemala didn’t have the gravity that it could have had. It was still a beautiful book, I just wish it had more to it.
idleutopia_reads's review against another edition
5.0
A memoir weaving bilingual poetry with an economy of words that are full of such linguistical riches that truly prove that sometimes less is more. I’m not sure how Claudia D. Hernandez was able to do it but she truly transported us back to her childhood and we got to see her life through that innocence. The importance of this story is that it gives voice to three generations of women that are simply trying to survive while dealing with the immigrant experience of having a mother leave her daughters behind; making the ultimate sacrifice to leave behind a toxic marriage and to provide a better future for her daughters. The trauma that linked each generation is so wonderfully explored, that in the end I felt I understood each women, I was in their circle crying with them at their pain and admiring the strength it took to survive everything that came their way. To top it all off, Claudia takes us with her through her 21 day journey of crossing the border to El Norte, when her mother comes back to Guatemala to take her daughters with her. We bear witness to this harrowing journey and then to the assimilation process that seems to only work by stripping away the unique parts of you and those deemed different. The importance of this story is that it’s an own voices account to the Central American immigration story that is prevalent today but that many of us might not know on a personal level. Claudia D. Hernandez makes the story personal and the vulnerabilities we are allowed to witness make this a story that you are not likely to forget. I also want to commend this story for allowing us to read between the spaces of the line, for allowing us the freedom to guide our own emotions solely based on the vast landscape that Claudia D. Hernandez paints. She never manipulates our emotions by throwing vacuous lines or tawdry sentiments. Even in the sparsity of the words she uses she is able to paint such a beautiful tapestry that in the end we can’t help but empathize with her journey and to admire the work she has crafted in this 178 page story. I would strongly suggest you read this book. It was one of the best things I’ve read this year.
indigotima_'s review against another edition
4.0
It was a beautiful read... the lyricism of the words seemed to float above the density of the topics.
The ending was too abrupt, I wanted it to keep going. There was no closure or point of pause that seemed to make sense. There was no settling into something recognising status quo or an end to the story. That might just be life though?
The ending was too abrupt, I wanted it to keep going. There was no closure or point of pause that seemed to make sense. There was no settling into something recognising status quo or an end to the story. That might just be life though?