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nmp's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Eating disorder
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Car accident, Child death, and Death
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Children of the Land is a heartbreaking memoir highlighting the very real toll that the immigration process takes. So often the focus is on the journey over the border, yet in many ways that is just a small part of the overall process. In this memoir the author shares his experience, which involved crossing the border from Mexico with his family when he was 5, desperately trying to live below the radar and not attract any attention lest the family’s undocumented status be discovered, seeing his father be deported, experiencing the reality of living as a divided family with members on both sides of the border, and then the seemingly unending struggle to obtain the desired visas so their presence in the country became legal. The emotional and mental toll is immense and some of that can be seen in anger management problems, relationship struggles, mental health issues and addiction. The book unfolds in a series of shortish fragments that alternate between past and present. I thought the structure really reflected the author’s reality of feeling fragmented, as if he belonged in neither Mexico or the United States, and of being unable to fully live his life or plan ahead, constantly waiting for immigration decisions which often felt arbitrary, capricious and lacking in humanity.
An eye opening read spotlighting the messy reality for many migrants.
An eye opening read spotlighting the messy reality for many migrants.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, and Physical abuse
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