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jessmferguson's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
baa_baa77's review
5.0
ONE OF MY TOP BOOKs OF 2023. It was brutal and beautiful and illuminating and infuriating and I need so many words to express how I feel. The fact that Oliva is a translator and the art and act of translation is a key topic seems apropos to this dilemma I'm facing trying to write a review that truly expresses how I feel. I just want everyone to read this! How Oliva grapples with volunteering and activism and the self has left a lasting impression of me. I keep pondering over her views on immigration systems and humanity and their inability to exist together. How do we know the "good" we are doing is truly good? Does aid work have to be selfless? Who does law and order really help? Do we have the right to claim space in the trauma of others? A favorite quote of mine: "Being reminded of love however also feels like a different kind of rhetorical issue, a way of cheapening the work or making my support of any one person contingent on my own selfish whims …that by allowing love, or some kind of messy self-identification into the mix I’m putting myself where I don’t belong, or confusing the issue, or limiting the help I give in some kind of critical way..."
noahbw's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
A beautifully-constructed weaving of national politics and policies with individual stories — yes, it’s about migration, but so much more: language, bearing witness, family, grappling with our roles amidst suffering and injustice.