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oceanatthesky's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
moniprieto's review
5.0
A collection of a stories from refugee writers. Powerful and quite emotional. I highly recommend this book! I had to take breaks at times because a few stories really got to me.
carladelgado's review
5.0
I saw the book on sale at a bookstore and my interest was immediately piqued after seeing the cover. Even though I had just bought a new book recently, I knew that I needed to buy this one. It cost around $23 but because it was on sale, I got it for appx. $4. It is SO worth the buy. I hardly even buy physical books anymore but this one is certainly a good read.
"This yearning to hear the voiceless is a powerful rhetoric but also potentially a dangerous one if it prevents us from doing more than listening to a story or reading a book. Just because we have listened to that story or read that book does not mean that anything has changed for the voiceless. Readers and writers should not deceive themselves that literature changes the world. Literature changes the world of readers and writers, but literature does not change the world until people get out of their chairs, go out in the world, and do something to transform the conditions of which the literature speaks."
The Introduction by Viet Thanh Nguyen was so, so powerful. I loved the stories and they were amazing, but the introduction really sets you up and prepares you for what you are about to read. I was reminded on an activity we had back in college where we were tasked to write an introduction to an anthology of short stories. The introduction reminded me of this because it is an example of how an intro should be done.
I also liked the following stories (in the order of how they appeared in the book):
1. Last, First, Middle - Joseph Azam
2. How Succulent Food Defeated Trump’s Wall Before It Has Been Built - Ariel Dorfman
3. The Parent Who Stays - Reyna Grande
4. 13 Ways of Being an Immigrant - Porochista Khakpour
5. The Ungrateful Refugee - Dina Nayeri
My favorite stories in the book would have to be 1 and 3.
"Last, First, Middle" showed the importance of names and language in a person's identity. It's something that some people never pay attention to. The story was easy to digest and it reminded me of how even celebrities try and change their name just to be assimilated more easily into a place.
"I wondered whether it stung my parents that on top of the many things they lost and left behind in Kabul, a decade and a half later they felt compelled to surrender my name as well." - Last, First, Middle
I also love "The Parent Who Stays" because it captures the sad fact of being strangers to your family while also acknowledging that you'd do anything for them. The storytelling was so raw and it's bound to be remembered when the reader is done with the book, even after reading so many stories after it.
"Unfortunately for us immigrants, the trauma doesn't end with a successful border crossing. I believe that for the rest of your life, you carry the border inside of you. It becomes part of your psyche, your being, your identity. [...] Immigration had turned my parents and me into strangers. The family I once had in Mexico no longer existed."
"Perspective" and "What Gets Lost," the illustrations by Thi Bui, were also very powerful! I like that a collection of short stories like this included illustrations.
I want to lend my copy to so many people because I believe that this book really needs to be read. And, like the editor's intro said, we shouldn't just listen to what the stories say -- we should also stand up and change the system that renders these people voiceless.
"This yearning to hear the voiceless is a powerful rhetoric but also potentially a dangerous one if it prevents us from doing more than listening to a story or reading a book. Just because we have listened to that story or read that book does not mean that anything has changed for the voiceless. Readers and writers should not deceive themselves that literature changes the world. Literature changes the world of readers and writers, but literature does not change the world until people get out of their chairs, go out in the world, and do something to transform the conditions of which the literature speaks."
The Introduction by Viet Thanh Nguyen was so, so powerful. I loved the stories and they were amazing, but the introduction really sets you up and prepares you for what you are about to read. I was reminded on an activity we had back in college where we were tasked to write an introduction to an anthology of short stories. The introduction reminded me of this because it is an example of how an intro should be done.
I also liked the following stories (in the order of how they appeared in the book):
1. Last, First, Middle - Joseph Azam
2. How Succulent Food Defeated Trump’s Wall Before It Has Been Built - Ariel Dorfman
3. The Parent Who Stays - Reyna Grande
4. 13 Ways of Being an Immigrant - Porochista Khakpour
5. The Ungrateful Refugee - Dina Nayeri
My favorite stories in the book would have to be 1 and 3.
"Last, First, Middle" showed the importance of names and language in a person's identity. It's something that some people never pay attention to. The story was easy to digest and it reminded me of how even celebrities try and change their name just to be assimilated more easily into a place.
"I wondered whether it stung my parents that on top of the many things they lost and left behind in Kabul, a decade and a half later they felt compelled to surrender my name as well." - Last, First, Middle
I also love "The Parent Who Stays" because it captures the sad fact of being strangers to your family while also acknowledging that you'd do anything for them. The storytelling was so raw and it's bound to be remembered when the reader is done with the book, even after reading so many stories after it.
"Unfortunately for us immigrants, the trauma doesn't end with a successful border crossing. I believe that for the rest of your life, you carry the border inside of you. It becomes part of your psyche, your being, your identity. [...] Immigration had turned my parents and me into strangers. The family I once had in Mexico no longer existed."
"Perspective" and "What Gets Lost," the illustrations by Thi Bui, were also very powerful! I like that a collection of short stories like this included illustrations.
I want to lend my copy to so many people because I believe that this book really needs to be read. And, like the editor's intro said, we shouldn't just listen to what the stories say -- we should also stand up and change the system that renders these people voiceless.
clcountry's review against another edition
5.0
It’s hard to find words for this book. It’s beautiful but heartbreaking, inspiring but enraging. This book reminded me that I most love reading when reading helps me learn because it’s one of those books that smacks me in the face with how ignorant I am and how little I know about lives different from my own. The stories here are varied but all compelling, and I cannot recommend them highly enough.
victoriathuyvi's review
5.0
Important reading for everyone. I am upset and hope one day to work towards a future of more justice.