Reviews with content warning for Classism - Beautiful Country

it always feels so odd to me, in some way, to talk about and rate memoirs because its somebodys life that youre, in essence, putting a number value on, so rather than try and do that ill just say that i loved the way Qian spoke about her life in the most intimate way that somebody can do; giving us the bad times, the good times, the scary times, and the times that maybe didnt paint her in the best light.

Content Warnings

mildlypretentiousreader's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

“Our family was closest in the face of pain.”

“Why were we expected to speak English while praising Americans for even the crumbiest dribble of Chinese?”

Qian Julie Wang’s Beautiful Country details her life as an undocumented immigrant in New York City. As a young child, Qian and her mother reunite with her father in “Mei Guo,” the Chinese word for America meaning “Beautiful Country.” Mei Guo turns out to be anything but beautiful.

Told through the lenses of a child, we peek into the fearful and harrowing life of an undocumented Chinese immigrant family. The Wang family is forced to live

Content Warnings

ortizzyy's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I couldn’t put this book down. I wanted things to get better for Qian and her parents so desperately.

Content Warnings

a_sleepy_berry's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

The story itself was beautiful and it was very easy to draw parallels to my own life as someone who also immigrated to the United States from a non-English speaking country. However, the pacing was kind of too slow for me and the writing style made it harder to read. Overall, if you love reading memoirs, I would highly recommend this book.

Content Warnings

emilyrose724's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

Probably the best written and most moving book I’ve read all year, I wish I could rate it more than 5 stars

Content Warnings

savvylit's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

Beautiful Country is a damning description of the emotional damage experienced by undocumented families in the United States. From the moment they arrive, Qian and her parents' lives are constantly dictated by the fear of being discovered as illegal. Excruciating medical concerns are ignored until it's nearly too late. Her mother, who was a professor of Computer Science in China, is forced to take exploitative and horrific jobs just to survive. Qian attends public elementary school and feels pressure to constantly portray herself as a born-American -- even early on when she can barely speak English. Her parents buckle under the stress and fear, becoming emotionally abusive and depressed.

As a whole, Beautiful Country deftly unveils the powerful myth of the American Dream. Though Wang does eventually become a powerful lawyer, it is in spite of America -- not because of it. This memoir is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the challenges of living as an undocumented child in the U.S.

Content Warnings

margaretrose's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

Content Warnings

More...