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keekbeeek's review against another edition
This is an incredibly sad book. Within these pages we relive the trauma that Qian experienced as a child in America. It’s almost as if Qian wrote this book in order to process her childhood trauma— every single page and story was filled with visceral pain and trauma. May you feel grateful for your own childhood after reading this? Possibly. But at what cost?
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Sexual violence, and Pedophilia
bookish_garden's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Pedophilia
Minor: Abortion and Domestic abuse
parasolcrafter's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Deportation, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Violence, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Racism, Sexism, Chronic illness, Grief, Hate crime, Pedophilia, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Excrement
erebus53's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful Country is a direct translation of the Chinese term for USA 美国 - Mĕiguó . Whenever I hear " Mĕiguó " spoken, I picture the characters in my mind. A year working at a Chinese Newspaper will do that to a nerdy lass who likes languages. I have always been struck by how ironic the name is. The memoire written is an awakening from a childhood where the author needs to protect herself over and again, from the perils of being an "illegal" migrant. When any false word could get you deported, you learn to say what people want to hear.
From sweat shops, and bigoted teachers, buying the cheapest food possible, and making do with forgaed treasures, this is a candid story of poverty, Racism, and survival. I found the descriptions reminded me of many things that have been part of my life, and drew stark contrast between some of my own experiences as a White New Zealander ( Pākeha ) living in a country with social security.
I expect that some of this recounting may be affronting to those who are unaware of the type of life that oppressed people can easily fall into. The story is that of someone who has survived, but doesn't really feel as saccharine as a lot of inspiration stories can be.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Vomit, and Sexism
Moderate: Chronic illness, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Body shaming, Bullying, Deportation, Grief, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Minor: Pedophilia, Abortion, and Gun violence