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rlinnyc's review against another edition
3.0
An important topic well documented, but I found it a slow read. The afterword was more poignant and better paced than the chapters. Worth noting that the book was not originated in English, so maybe momentum was lost in translation. This story is not over, regardless of the book, so I'm glad to have been exposed to this exploration.
kalmanovich's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
The Beast is a fascinating book that centers around years of travel up and down the migrant trails of South and Central America. There was a lot to love about this work - the foremost for myself being that it is composed almost exclusively of descriptions of in person interviews and conversations with everyone Martinez could get behind his notepad. Whatever writing wasn’t based on a conversation being had was providing either the occasional author’s remark or context in the form of expert testimony, statistics, or callback to an earlier conversation. Writing as a journalist, and not an author, Martinez generally removed himself from the story, writing based on interviews from all actors and providing little political commentary. I liked that about this book - while I’ve seen a few reviews lament this stance, I find that the focus on the perspective of the migrant (or any interviewee) added significantly to the narrative. From my experience reading The Beast, most of the book’s flaws come from the fact that this book was not meant to be a book at all, but rather a collection of independent essays, stories, and journals.
Because of this, the pacing wasn’t ideal, with long chapters in the middle with repetitive content, and what felt like much shorter descriptions of lives on either end of the trip. Most of the book was organized by stage in a migrants journey, the plot moving upwards through Central America, full of stories about both the trail and individually notable towns and locations. With this, it would have been nice to see a map that tracked where exactly on the journey the reader was, and where we could have expect to go moving forward. My last stylistic comment on this book is that the writing itself wasn’t immediately gripping, but my theory is that this comes from the fact that translating any sort of narrative form is difficult (The Beast was initially written in Spanish).
In terms of content and substance, Martinez did a stunning job. The entire novel is deeply holistic, with interviews coming from all angles: migrants, those adjacent to organized crime, the authorities, non-travelling civilians, to name a few. If any form of representation was lacking, it was that of women, who were only interviewed on (I believe) two occasions - once to discuss the sex work industries along the trail and once to explain the border situation. The interviewee in the second instance was a border guard. Women had more physical descriptions in their introductions than did men - but do with this information what you will.
I really do recommend reading The Beast, perhaps with the goal of learning from individual chapters, rather than on the basis of reading a whole book. Very cool!
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual violence
lmurray74's review against another edition
5.0
An incredible book that tells the stories of people too often forgotten. When reading I thought of the ad campaign against ocean pollution where someone is 'lifting up' the ocean at the seaside to show the rubbish that is in it. We hear so often about undocumented workers and while I never imagined it was easy, I didn't realize how difficult it is. Martínez spent three years living and traveling with Central American migrants on their way hacía el Norte. As well as being eloquently written, Martínez is respectful and admiring of the people he writes about. I saw him speak here in San Francisco and he embodies investigative journalism in a way little seen in our world. His courage and will to expose life on the edge of violence, to tell the stories of people caught up in the maelstrom, is unparalleled in recent experience. He richly deserves all the accolades coming his way and he is someone I will follow closely to read about what really is going on in Central American people's lives and hearts
bookmarkparty's review against another edition
3.0
This book is intense. But SO eye opening.
I came across this book after doing my research to find an authentic narrative about the journey of Central American migrants to the United States. Originally published in Spanish, the book reads more like a series of chronological articles rather than a singular narrative, as Martínez and his photographer tag-along with a variety of different migrants, government officials and others throughout the perilous journey across Mexico to the US border. They encounter narcos, thieves, gangs, sex workers, kidnappings, murders and tragic accidents.
At one point Martínez comes across a man who lost a leg to “the beast” (the trains many migrants ride atop to travel across Mexico). Despite his condition and near-death experience, the man was still determined to continue his journey north.
Honestly this book blew my mind. I had a bit of a hard time working through the second half, but I’m so glad I read it in it’s entirety. As an American in the age of Trump
I came across this book after doing my research to find an authentic narrative about the journey of Central American migrants to the United States. Originally published in Spanish, the book reads more like a series of chronological articles rather than a singular narrative, as Martínez and his photographer tag-along with a variety of different migrants, government officials and others throughout the perilous journey across Mexico to the US border. They encounter narcos, thieves, gangs, sex workers, kidnappings, murders and tragic accidents.
At one point Martínez comes across a man who lost a leg to “the beast” (the trains many migrants ride atop to travel across Mexico). Despite his condition and near-death experience, the man was still determined to continue his journey north.
Honestly this book blew my mind. I had a bit of a hard time working through the second half, but I’m so glad I read it in it’s entirety. As an American in the age of Trump
bibliosteph's review against another edition
5.0
I received an ARC of this book, and after just 16 pages, I have to say I'm really excited for all that this book can present. The voice is honest and easy to read, and the topic very relevant. I'm looking forward to finishing it and seeing how my teen readers would react to this.
My opinion on this book remained at the top throughout my reading of it. It was an amazing journey, one which I was ignorant of, and now one that I can erase from my mind. The author travels the migrant trail and trains with his photographer, and the situations they put themselves in blow my mind. I'm so grateful there are people in the world willing to risk their lives for the betterment of humanity, and that's what this book can do. It raises awareness about the brutalities migrants face in their homelands and through the Mexico. As an American in Chicago, I feel more removed from the border situation than my friends in Texas, but reading this book has changed my perspective. It is honest, exciting, violent, heart-wrenching, and infuriating all at once. I would recommend this book to anyone who thinks they have an opinion on the Latino immigration situation or anyone who is looking to educate themselves more. I would absolutely recommend portions of this book as reading excerpts for English, Sociology, Law, and Social Studies classes at my high school (due to the language and some of the mature content, teachers would have to pre-read to find passages that suit their curricular needs best.) I would also advocate for students interested in doing something about immigration to read this book. I feel it would motivate them further.
My opinion on this book remained at the top throughout my reading of it. It was an amazing journey, one which I was ignorant of, and now one that I can erase from my mind. The author travels the migrant trail and trains with his photographer, and the situations they put themselves in blow my mind. I'm so grateful there are people in the world willing to risk their lives for the betterment of humanity, and that's what this book can do. It raises awareness about the brutalities migrants face in their homelands and through the Mexico. As an American in Chicago, I feel more removed from the border situation than my friends in Texas, but reading this book has changed my perspective. It is honest, exciting, violent, heart-wrenching, and infuriating all at once. I would recommend this book to anyone who thinks they have an opinion on the Latino immigration situation or anyone who is looking to educate themselves more. I would absolutely recommend portions of this book as reading excerpts for English, Sociology, Law, and Social Studies classes at my high school (due to the language and some of the mature content, teachers would have to pre-read to find passages that suit their curricular needs best.) I would also advocate for students interested in doing something about immigration to read this book. I feel it would motivate them further.
qiaosilin's review against another edition
4.0
The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail is about Óscar Martínez, a journalist from El Salvador, who goes along the Migrant Trail (the usual route migrants from Central America take up through Mexico and to the USA) to tell their stories.
This book really shocked me when I read it. I honestly didn't know much about the lives of migrants before reading it with much of my knowledge coming from distanced news reports about things in Mexico that didn't affect me. But The Beast changed that. It brought these people's lives to light so I could actually empathize with them. I didn't know much about the strife in Central America either. Now, the internal issues the countries in that area have are something I actually understand.
Martínez doesn't take sides in his book; he doesn't say the USA is right for severely restricting the access undocumented migrants have to gaining a better, safer life, and he doesn't say the migrants are right to try to get across illegally. However, it's clear from the way he humanizes the migrants, how he empathizes with them, that the migrants are not necessarily in the wrong either. Politics, government and economics are huge driving factors in keeping undocumented migrants out of the USA even though the USA went into Central America first and fucked their shit up. But as the Border Patrol agent in the book says, it's just a big game of cat and mouse. No one really wins.
This book really shocked me when I read it. I honestly didn't know much about the lives of migrants before reading it with much of my knowledge coming from distanced news reports about things in Mexico that didn't affect me. But The Beast changed that. It brought these people's lives to light so I could actually empathize with them. I didn't know much about the strife in Central America either. Now, the internal issues the countries in that area have are something I actually understand.
Martínez doesn't take sides in his book; he doesn't say the USA is right for severely restricting the access undocumented migrants have to gaining a better, safer life, and he doesn't say the migrants are right to try to get across illegally. However, it's clear from the way he humanizes the migrants, how he empathizes with them, that the migrants are not necessarily in the wrong either. Politics, government and economics are huge driving factors in keeping undocumented migrants out of the USA even though the USA went into Central America first and fucked their shit up. But as the Border Patrol agent in the book says, it's just a big game of cat and mouse. No one really wins.
ivanainthecity's review against another edition
5.0
Brave (hell, fearless) journalist’s horrifying account of Central American migrants’ journey to El Norte. The book is a solid 4.5 stars for me because it is bit disjointed (and redundant) since it’s comprised of different stories Martínez wrote for ElFaro.net, but it’s still one-of-a-kind and extremely compelling. I am so fed up with people’s misconceptions and plain hatred of undocumented people here in the U.S. Some of these articles should be required reading... I definitely feel much more informed about the plight of undocumented people and feel even more respect for what they have to go through to build better lives for themselves and their families.
archytas's review against another edition
3.5
A highly evocative series of essays about the experiences of migrants headed from Central America to the USA without a visa. The essays tackle a variety of scenarios - from the precarious of the train that gives the book its name, complete with decapitation risk, the search for coyotes in border towns, and the experiences of Mexican cities. The last essays deal with what happens on the northern side of the border. It is a catalogue of horrors, told with empathy and respect for those who decide to subject themselves to it. The staggering, unbelievable statistic of 80% of women migrants being raped is well understood by the women who choose to try this, for example.
The book was written as a series of essays for a Salvadorean audience. This gives it a couple of weaknesses as a book - much of the factual content is repeated in each essay, growing tiresome if you read it in a long sitting, and there is a tight focus on the migration experience, with much less explanation about what would bring people to take such risk. I am searching now for a good book to help contextualise this, and if it is half as readable and memorable as The Beast, I'll count myself lucky.
The book was written as a series of essays for a Salvadorean audience. This gives it a couple of weaknesses as a book - much of the factual content is repeated in each essay, growing tiresome if you read it in a long sitting, and there is a tight focus on the migration experience, with much less explanation about what would bring people to take such risk. I am searching now for a good book to help contextualise this, and if it is half as readable and memorable as The Beast, I'll count myself lucky.
zachkuhn's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating look at the path Central American refugees take through Mexico. Whenever I hear a rabid, Ted Cruzian conservative talk about "government corruption and waste," I want to point them south of the Rio Grande. Then when they talk about how "easy it is" to get into the United States from Mexico, I'll have them ride on top of a train for days at a time, avoiding gangs and "police" and the elements, all while facing an uncertain future in the US. Or I'll just save my breath, probably, as they don't tend to care about reality.
uuurrrsssuuusss's review against another edition
5.0
Everyone who wants to have an opinion on migrants should be required to read this book.