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nacho_lvn's review against another edition
5.0
This is a very important story. By narrating parts of his family’s struggle to be/remain/come together MHC perfectly illustrates the challenges migrants face when their human experience comes face to face with bureaucracies, not necessarily concerned with human suffering but checking boxes.
Throughout the nearly 400 pages of the book the reader comes face to face with the emotional and human cost of shortsighted and brutal migration policies focused on palliating racist fears not developing options for an organized and humane migration process.
Finally, MHC’s writing is powerful . He minces no words and does not shy away from even the most intimate moments to tell his story. But most importantly, he makes the reader a part of his story- one cannot read this book and not feel the urge to take action, to do something to change this system bent on dehumanizing and “unpersoning” persons.
Throughout the nearly 400 pages of the book the reader comes face to face with the emotional and human cost of shortsighted and brutal migration policies focused on palliating racist fears not developing options for an organized and humane migration process.
Finally, MHC’s writing is powerful . He minces no words and does not shy away from even the most intimate moments to tell his story. But most importantly, he makes the reader a part of his story- one cannot read this book and not feel the urge to take action, to do something to change this system bent on dehumanizing and “unpersoning” persons.
green16's review against another edition
Too hard to follow - the timeline was all over the place
adambwriter's review against another edition
5.0
Suggestion: Read this instead of American Dirt.
Thoughts: https://roofbeamreader.com/2020/03/15/children-of-the-land-by-marcelo-hernandez-castillo/
Thoughts: https://roofbeamreader.com/2020/03/15/children-of-the-land-by-marcelo-hernandez-castillo/
avkesner's review against another edition
4.0
Marcelo Hernandez Castillo is a poet and you can tell in every line of this memoir. Castillo writes of growing up undocumented in the United States. He writes how he never feels entirely a part of Mexico, or the United States. He explains his struggles seeking citizenship, supporting his father who was deported to Mexico, and his mother who stayed in the US apart from his father. This is a beautiful heartbreaking story about identity, perseverance, and family. It was a fantastic audio book, even if not read by the author.
balletbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
I was trying to read this at the same time I was listening to The Devil's Highway and had to pause because I was unfortunately mixing up the two books (in total, they aren't the same at all except for being the stories of migrants to the US, but my brain kept swapping details between them)
A very poetic memoir about a poet's childhood in the US as an undocumented immigrant contrasted with the lives of his parents and grandparents who each crossed the US border several times. There were a few sections where I think the form Castillo used muddied the story he was trying to tell but overall it is a powerful story about a family looking for a better life, the experience of being undocumented (including the experience of graduate school) then given the chance to apply for a green card, and the terror of his mother's experience in asking for asylum at the US border in 2016. A necessary book for 2020.
A very poetic memoir about a poet's childhood in the US as an undocumented immigrant contrasted with the lives of his parents and grandparents who each crossed the US border several times. There were a few sections where I think the form Castillo used muddied the story he was trying to tell but overall it is a powerful story about a family looking for a better life, the experience of being undocumented (including the experience of graduate school) then given the chance to apply for a green card, and the terror of his mother's experience in asking for asylum at the US border in 2016. A necessary book for 2020.
sakaloar's review against another edition
4.0
An honest and intimate look at the history of the author's family and the incredible trauma and anguish they experienced navigating the US immigration system. As an "informed" American, I was surprised how much is shared in Marcelo's story that I didn't know before. He is a poet, so the format and language are lyrical and impactful.
angiew23's review against another edition
4.0
This memoir is divided into 5 sections or migrations, each with several short chapters therein. The migrations explore the deportations of the author's father and mother, as well as his own travels between the US and Mexico and the challenges his family faced in trying to become American citizens. Despite being divided into sections, this book is by no means chronological and even within a section it time hops often between one chapter and the next. As long as you are paying attention, this is no problem, but I'll be honest and share that I did zone out a bit and get a little confused at times! The author is actually an award winning poet, and this is quite clear very early on, as it was one of the most literary memoirs I think I've ever read. It was extremely well written and would make a perfect book to discuss figurative language and prose, but there were times where I felt it dragged a bit, especially with all the time hopping added in. As with other immigration novels and audiobooks I've consumed lately, there were similar themes of discrimination/prejudice, the meaning of being a citizen or member of a country, and the multi-year struggles with many hoops to jump through to meet all of the legal requirements. It certainly makes me thankful to have been born in Canada and automatically a citizen, but I can't imagine how hard it must be living in that limbo for so many years, with a constant fear of being deported, as was the case for the author's family. While this was not my favourite memoir, I did enjoy it, and I would definitely recommend it to readers who enjoy a more literary writing style!
rachelannak's review against another edition
I read the majority of this in 2021 but finished first thing in 2022.
I bought this book years ago when the author was to attend the Tucson festival of the books. Then Covid happened and the festival was cancelled and the book sat on my shelves. Fast forward to the present and my rediscovered love for audiobooks. I am so glad to have finally read this. It is an own voices author and his story. It shouldn’t be this difficult to come into America. People should read this. That’s all.
Ps - the narrator took a while to get used to, I feel like his voice didn’t match the voice of the author
I bought this book years ago when the author was to attend the Tucson festival of the books. Then Covid happened and the festival was cancelled and the book sat on my shelves. Fast forward to the present and my rediscovered love for audiobooks. I am so glad to have finally read this. It is an own voices author and his story. It shouldn’t be this difficult to come into America. People should read this. That’s all.
Ps - the narrator took a while to get used to, I feel like his voice didn’t match the voice of the author
fjsteele's review against another edition
4.0
This is (alas) a book I abandoned at 80% done I just want it off my currently reading shelf.