A review by linsvlasak
The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail by Óscar Martínez

4.0

This was so good. Heartbreaking, but worth it in order to learn more about the Central American migrants who risk everything for the chance of a better life in the United States. After reading American Dirt, and seeing the controversy it provoked, I wanted to read about this subject from a Central American author. Oscar Martinez is a Salvadoran investigative journalist who spent two years traveling with migrants through Mexico. My favorite quote from the book comes from the afterword - “I’m not hoping readers will feel compassion for the men and women who go through this hellish trial in order to wash your plates, to cut your grass, to make your coffee. I hope, rather, that the book generates respect for these men and women, for those who have done something for their families that many of us could hardly find the strength to do.”