Reviews - Beautiful Country

2.23k reviews for:

Beautiful Country

Qian Julie Wang

4.25 AVERAGE

melonhead1215's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

A haunting book that delves into the harsh reality of living as an illegal immigrant and the tolls that takes on a family. I really enjoyed that Qian manages to embed her writing with that same childhood innocence in which she experienced this part of her life. It leaves a lot of questions unanswered, but isn’t that the point? In that moment, she’d never know all the things going on behind the scenes. All she had was the fear embedded into her, the worry, and the determination to try and make life better even when it felt like it was falling apart.

readsewknit's review against another edition

4.0

Qian Julie Wang writes a touching memoir, unafraid of opening her childhood experience to others. We gain a front-row glimpse of what it was like for her to live undocumented after she and her mother overstayed their tourist visa so as to be reunited with her father in America. We see her experiences of China and the United States juxtaposed against each other and how they get by. This was a touching audiobook, revealing a perspective on life, work, values, and family that is valuable to reflect on.