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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
I have complicated feelings about this book. I really did not like the author's writing style. I feel like some of that comes from her trying to give the reader a sense of what it was like for her to be an immigrant in America. Her story was very grim and I found it difficult to sympathize with her parents. I think I need to discuss this book with another person to gain their perspective. I have had a summer so I am having a hard time dealing with books that delve into tough topics.
A 3.5 from me! The story was moving and it had some creative and honest lines that blew me away. However, I had a hard time following the story sometimes and found myself unable to focus on the writing.
I really appreciated the perspective of the child, but I had hoped the book pwrspective would evolve with the life of the author. I could only track the narrative from this perspective for so long because a child at that age doesn't know many things that I, the reader, really wanted to know.
The author is a truly incredible woman, I just wanted a lot more!
I really appreciated the perspective of the child, but I had hoped the book pwrspective would evolve with the life of the author. I could only track the narrative from this perspective for so long because a child at that age doesn't know many things that I, the reader, really wanted to know.
The author is a truly incredible woman, I just wanted a lot more!
Beautiful Country is a really beautifully written, page turning, and at (many) times a heart-breaking memoir. Ms. Wang writes about her experience as a young child (age seven) traveling to the United States from China and the struggles she and her mother and father faced living in the U.S. as undocumented immigrants. Her story is uniquely told through the eyes and understanding of a child leaving the life she knew and the struggles and hardships she finds in this strange new world.
Ms. Wang vividly describes the struggles she faced – working in a sweat shop, having no understanding of the English language, constant fear of deportation, very little money for basic needs – and the toll these took on her family. Her story is one of both struggle and perseverance, and at times she finds joy in the simplest things – discovering Clifford the Big Red Dog, family dumplings on Sunday, teaching herself English at school.
At times this memoir was difficult to read, thinking about this child living in poverty in a strange country, her parents – highly educated professionals in China – barely able to feed and cloth her. It is a moving and important look at the “American Dream” and the struggles immigrants face when they make the decision to leave everything behind in the hopes for a better life.
Ms. Wang vividly describes the struggles she faced – working in a sweat shop, having no understanding of the English language, constant fear of deportation, very little money for basic needs – and the toll these took on her family. Her story is one of both struggle and perseverance, and at times she finds joy in the simplest things – discovering Clifford the Big Red Dog, family dumplings on Sunday, teaching herself English at school.
At times this memoir was difficult to read, thinking about this child living in poverty in a strange country, her parents – highly educated professionals in China – barely able to feed and cloth her. It is a moving and important look at the “American Dream” and the struggles immigrants face when they make the decision to leave everything behind in the hopes for a better life.
What a powerful, beautiful and harrowing memoir Qian Julie Wang has written. Written on her iPhone while riding the subway to her job everyday, she shares with us snippets of her childhood. Her childhood, first filled with joy and an over abundance of all things in China and then of her journey as an undocumented child in the Beautiful Country. The contrast between the first 7 years in China and the next 5 years in the USA is gut wrenching and heartbreaking. It’s a life you could never imagine. This is a stunning debut that should be required reading.
Thank you Netgalley and publishing house for this early copy in exchange for mu honest review.
Thank you Netgalley and publishing house for this early copy in exchange for mu honest review.
This book was fascinating--frank, loving, deeply vulnerable. You have to admire young Qian's incredible resilience, but it's also incredibly sad that people who come to our "beautiful" country are not given a fair chance to share it. This is truly a worthwhile read both as literature and as a look at our world through the eyes of an immigrant to the USA.
Wang left me haunted and hopeful with her honest, beautiful, scathing look back into her childhood. I appreciated how she wrote about her parents, their trauma and how that impacted her, and her deep love for them.
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
This is an emotional, page-turning memoir of life as an undocumented immigrant in New York from the point of view of Qian, a 7 year old girl. The family leaves a comfortable yet restrictive life in China behind to realize that life in America without papers faces its own limitations. Housing and jobs don’t measure up, homesickness, loneliness and fear are constant companions. The emotional and physical stresses encountered on a daily basis leave their marks, not just on her parent’s marriage, her mother’s health, but certainly on Qian, who, even after finding what we traditionally refer to as success, is still grappling with the aftermaths of trauma long into her adult life. The family’s perseverance is certainly impressive, but we should find ways to lessen the struggles so many immigrants face in our privileged society.
On a side note: a shoutout to public libraries that welcome everyone to read and learn without questions asked.
On a side note: a shoutout to public libraries that welcome everyone to read and learn without questions asked.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced