160 reviews for:

America Is in the Heart

Carlos Bulosan

3.76 AVERAGE

ginnypig's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

joannemae's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark hopeful slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Brutal.

America is also the nameless foreigner, the homeless refugee, the hungry boy begging for a job and the black body dangling on a tree. America is the illiterate immigrant who is ashamed that the world of books and intellectual opportunities is closed to him. We are all that nameless foreigner, that homeless refugee, that hungry boy, that illiterate immigrant and that lynched black body. All of us, from the first Adams to the last Filipino, native born or alien, educated or illiterate—We are America!

eglum's review

3.25

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

gellyreads's review against another edition

4.0

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

redisveryyummy's review against another edition

3.25

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: N/A

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation

herald_of_carcosa's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

tolentino's review

3.75

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

thejenhiller's review against another edition

3.0

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I’m glad I read this classic fictionalized autobiographical novel about a Filipino migrant worker during the Great Depression. The novel starts with Allos’ family life in the Philippines, but most of the story centers on his work, and later activism, in America. The book dragged for me after the first third. Bulosan’s accounts of his migrant work reads more like a list than a story. I found a few beautiful passages, but I found more that felt like a long, dry essay on activism. So all in all, an important book in the landscape of America’s immigrant experience but not necessarily an enjoyable read.

hanaspages's review against another edition

3.25

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

milamoo's review

3.0

challenging dark sad slow-paced