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gfruzsi's review
4.0
Being bilingual and having migrated to a country across the world myself, I immediately gravitated towards this anthology from Catapult magazine. It features 20 essays on experiences living between two cultures, existing in two languages, and carrying your home inside your heart, often across continents.
Some of the essays were better than others, some made me cry, some made me think, and some gave me that aching sort of recognition that makes your heart sing – yes, there are other people out there who feel and think the same way I do! I’m not crazy!
My favourites were ‘This Hell Is Not Mine’, looking at the American dream through a Nigerian lense and how we often seek heaven to find hell; ‘How to Write Iranian America’, a witty yet bitter look at “writing what you know”; and ‘Mourning My Birthplace’, which has these deliciously sad last lines “They are the life we could have lived together, and the ones we lived apart. They are a family carrying their same blood to separate lands. They are two ends of a phone call, coiled and stretched thousands of miles, longing to be close enough to whisper.”
If you are a migrant yourself, and even if you’re not, you should give this a read!
Some of the essays were better than others, some made me cry, some made me think, and some gave me that aching sort of recognition that makes your heart sing – yes, there are other people out there who feel and think the same way I do! I’m not crazy!
My favourites were ‘This Hell Is Not Mine’, looking at the American dream through a Nigerian lense and how we often seek heaven to find hell; ‘How to Write Iranian America’, a witty yet bitter look at “writing what you know”; and ‘Mourning My Birthplace’, which has these deliciously sad last lines “They are the life we could have lived together, and the ones we lived apart. They are a family carrying their same blood to separate lands. They are two ends of a phone call, coiled and stretched thousands of miles, longing to be close enough to whisper.”
If you are a migrant yourself, and even if you’re not, you should give this a read!
marcies_8's review
5.0
This is a stunning collection of short stories. What made me love it was the stray from the usual “life is wonderful once we immigrated to a western democracy” style that is often published. This tells of loneliness, depression, love, grief and so much more in what I can assume is a much more realistic telling of the lives of those that have immigrated, willing or not.
courtraemck's review
5.0
“There is nothing easy about migration. It is a search for a better life, but in this way it is also a death. How easily would you choose to leave this life? How quickly, if the decision were made for you? It is a line you cannot uncross, whether you are lucky enough to visit every few years or if you left knowing you will never return. Everyone and everything you knew and loved are gone.” —Natalia Sylvester, “Mourning My Birthplace”
This collection was incredibly rich and a great reminder of privilege from beginning to end.
This collection was incredibly rich and a great reminder of privilege from beginning to end.
aliciarosebane's review
4.0
This collection of essays was really fantastic. Some of the stories are heartbreaking, some are funny, some are both. Each author offers a glimpse into how immigration has impacted their life — one is not able to freely explore the world due to the restrictions of her visa, one has to keep her undocumented status a secret at all costs, one explores how the films of Hayao Miyazaki reflect her experiences of being half Japanese and half American. There are 20 pieces of writing in all, and each feels personal and special. I highly recommend this book.
jennu__u's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
A really well curated collection of essays! After reading each essay, I genuinely felt as if my perspective of the world had been challenged, even if just microscopically, and that is a sign of a great piece for me. Added together, this book is a beautiful portfolio of all the magic and trauma of immigration, and a wonderful tribute to the migration of people around the world.
laura_ge's review
informative
reflective
3.5
Like so many other essay collections, I liked some essays a lot more than others. The standouts for me were "Why We Cross the Border in El Paso" and "Arab Past, American Present." As a whole, this collection of essays explores themes of immigration, forced assimilation, and the ways various ethnic groups preserve their cultures through food, language, and religion.