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82 reviews for:
A Map Is Only One Story: Twenty Writers on Immigration, Family, and the Meaning of Home
Nicole Chung, Mensah Demary
4.02 AVERAGE
82 reviews for:
A Map Is Only One Story: Twenty Writers on Immigration, Family, and the Meaning of Home
Nicole Chung, Mensah Demary
4.02 AVERAGE
A must read for diversity in literature. What I enjoyed about this collection of 20 writers on some facet of the immigrant experience, is that they all focused on a variety of subjects, from speaking love through food, to body image stuck between two ideals of American, and Japanese, even to finding the strength to laugh at the fake mourners at your fathers funeral, because HE would have laughed at them. They are stories about more than just making a switch to one country, they flesh out what it is to be an African in Italy, or an Iranian-American in Los Angeles in New York, etc!
Read it as an act of defiance to ignorance.
Read it as an act of defiance to ignorance.
Definitely some stronger essays than others, the usual hazard of anthologies. One absolute clunker in the bunch, and several head-scratchers, but an engaging read overall. Loved “A Map of Lost Things” by Jamila Osman and “What Miyazaki’s Heroines Taught Me” by Nina Li Coomes in particular.
Generously, I thought this collection was of mixed quality (which is often true of course), but on the whole, I don't recommend it. Two pieces that I did like were Return to Partition by Nur Nasreen Ibrahim and the graphic memoir Say It with Noodles by Shing Yin Khor.
My favorite kind of personal stories. Very glad to hear they are planning to publish more of these.
Lovely essays on borders, migration, family, home, language, and liminal spaces, mostly by women, some essays more memorable than others. I liked the length and variety; the essays were long enough to have depth but short enough to keep my interest :)
Favourites: Should I Apply for Citizenship? (Bix Gabriel), How to Stop Saying Sorry When Things Aren't Your Fault (Kamna Muddagouni), Carefree White Girls, Careful Brown Girls (Cinelle Barnes), My Indian Passport Is a Bitch (Deepti Kapoor), Why We Cross the Border in El Paso (Victoria Blanco), A Map of Lost Things (Jamila Osman).
Favourites: Should I Apply for Citizenship? (Bix Gabriel), How to Stop Saying Sorry When Things Aren't Your Fault (Kamna Muddagouni), Carefree White Girls, Careful Brown Girls (Cinelle Barnes), My Indian Passport Is a Bitch (Deepti Kapoor), Why We Cross the Border in El Paso (Victoria Blanco), A Map of Lost Things (Jamila Osman).
I think I would've been more impressed by this one had I not already read The Good Immigrant. But regardless, there were a few lovely essays in here.
Early in the book I was reading one essay and it really provided a shift for me. She grew up in my city? What's her name? Oh, there's a family two doors down with that surname! What if she is one of the daughters? This really made me pay attention to the story. Later, there was one more fact that confirmed it was the same family. Knowing the essay was written by my neighbor really personalized the story. This perspective colored the rest of my reading of this book in a very positive way. I loved this collection for the variety of perspectives and experiences it illustrated.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
A beautiful and honest collection of essays about the immigrant experience. The writers all have different stories about how immigration affected their sense of self, family, culture, and home. They talk honestly about the things they've lost and the things they've learnt and how it affects their life. The stories they told to fit in and the assimilation that they have to endure to survive in this country. The missing moments from your hometown because you're apart and what it means to immigrate. Being a stranger in both your home country and your new adopted country, trying to forge your own path but not knowing or understanding a sense of belonging or ownership. Being in two places because others still see you as to where you came from, not who you are in this new country. All these immigration experiences and stories speak to me.
I'm an immigrant too and I've experienced a fair share of that experience. During a book discussion for another book about immigrant stories, someone made a comment about how an assimilated character is boring. I was afraid to speak up as the only immigrant person of color in that room, others speak out, but I don't think it did the character justice. I regretted not speaking out about it. This experience, not being able to speak out, fearing that your opinion is not counted, and the invisibility, are the experiences that the writers go through. Experiences that's somewhat universal amongst immigrants regardless of your country of origin. This American dream that some have achieved and gained you privilege, but some still chasing.
I'm an immigrant too and I've experienced a fair share of that experience. During a book discussion for another book about immigrant stories, someone made a comment about how an assimilated character is boring. I was afraid to speak up as the only immigrant person of color in that room, others speak out, but I don't think it did the character justice. I regretted not speaking out about it. This experience, not being able to speak out, fearing that your opinion is not counted, and the invisibility, are the experiences that the writers go through. Experiences that's somewhat universal amongst immigrants regardless of your country of origin. This American dream that some have achieved and gained you privilege, but some still chasing.