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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
This was both moving and sorrowful. I felt for all that Qian went through, trying to fit in but also hide. Trying to be a child, but also care for her parents. It moved a little slowly at times, but it was pretty good overall.
3.5 Stars
3.5 Stars
reflective
sad
slow-paced
April 2024 Book Club read
Long Story Short: At 5-years-old, Qian Julie Wang and her mother left China for the “Beautiful Country” to reunite with her father, who’d been in the US for two years already. This memoir follows the strife, sacrifice, and resilience of the next five years through the lens of a child’s eyes.
<blockquote>“There was a Chinese idiom I came to know later because Ma Ma and Ba Ba would repeat it to me in those moments: “Purple comes from blue but is superior to blue.” It was inevitable, they seemed to believe, that I would one day outshine them in the best and worst ways.”</blockquote>
I greatly admire Qian Julie Wang’s bravery to share her childhood trauma and the imperfections of her family, and as a random reader I’m not owed any further acknowledgement or explanations of her life’s story and experience in America. At the same time, because so many explanations were left out, I found myself having to guess about catalysts, intentions, and reasonings. <i>Beautiful Country</i> reads more like a child’s diary, which is fine, but not what I expected based on the blurb and “How It Began” sections. So many things were glossed over despite them feeling really important.
Enjoyment: 2/5
Craft: 3/5
Overall: 2.5/5
Long Story Short: At 5-years-old, Qian Julie Wang and her mother left China for the “Beautiful Country” to reunite with her father, who’d been in the US for two years already. This memoir follows the strife, sacrifice, and resilience of the next five years through the lens of a child’s eyes.
<blockquote>“There was a Chinese idiom I came to know later because Ma Ma and Ba Ba would repeat it to me in those moments: “Purple comes from blue but is superior to blue.” It was inevitable, they seemed to believe, that I would one day outshine them in the best and worst ways.”</blockquote>
I greatly admire Qian Julie Wang’s bravery to share her childhood trauma and the imperfections of her family, and as a random reader I’m not owed any further acknowledgement or explanations of her life’s story and experience in America. At the same time, because so many explanations were left out, I found myself having to guess about catalysts, intentions, and reasonings. <i>Beautiful Country</i> reads more like a child’s diary, which is fine, but not what I expected based on the blurb and “How It Began” sections. So many things were glossed over despite them feeling really important.
Enjoyment: 2/5
Craft: 3/5
Overall: 2.5/5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Racism, Xenophobia
Minor: Domestic abuse
Poverty, hunger, child labor
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
fast-paced
This was one of the best memoirs I've read. I appreciated how Wang wove the fear of deportation through everything along with her family trying to chase the American Dream. It makes me wonder how many people I pass daily living in that same fear, chasing that same dream, making similar decisions to the Wang family.
challenging
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Gripping portrayal of undocumented childhood
slow-paced
I was not as knocked out by "Beautiful Country" as other reviewers, and I'm trying to discover why. Immigrant stories are some of my favorites--the courage it takes to upend your life and make another is inspiring. Qian Wang is an excellent writer and she's an interesting character in her own story.
Both parents were highly educated people, and their decision to overstay their visas and sentence themselves to gruelling, brutal, invisible lives seemed a strange one. It's especially hard on Qian, who is a truth-teller at heart. She spends a lot of her younger years in the sweatshops where her parents work, helping out under the radar. As she gets older, she manages to gather friends--surprising, because this girl is tough.
Does Qian find success and satisfaction? Do her parents forge a way? A lot of "Beautiful Country" is harrowing, and Quian is notable for acknowledging her trauma as well as overcoming it.
Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this early copy.
Both parents were highly educated people, and their decision to overstay their visas and sentence themselves to gruelling, brutal, invisible lives seemed a strange one. It's especially hard on Qian, who is a truth-teller at heart. She spends a lot of her younger years in the sweatshops where her parents work, helping out under the radar. As she gets older, she manages to gather friends--surprising, because this girl is tough.
Does Qian find success and satisfaction? Do her parents forge a way? A lot of "Beautiful Country" is harrowing, and Quian is notable for acknowledging her trauma as well as overcoming it.
Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this early copy.
I don't want to be rude and say this was boring, because it was the story of her very depressing and deprived childhood. I am proud of how successful she became when all the odds were against her. I can appreciate her creative writing style and the chuckle-worthy moments as it was told from a child’s perspective, but if you're looking for an exciting read, this ain't it.
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced