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A review by gothicgunslinger
Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos
5.0
The saddest book I've read in awhile, mostly because of how real it is. I thought at first that the author was embellishing the situation slightly -- I do plenty of research into post-9/11 government policies and I had never heard of a registration program for immigrants from certain countries. In the light of the recent surge of anti-immigration sentiment, I thought perhaps the author was simply forecasting a darker version of America that now threatens to come to fruition. But the story rang so true to me, as someone who works with an international, Muslim-heavy student population, that I began to suspect that this was one more in a line of government practices that has bafflingly escaped the radar. The end note of the book heightened my fears, and a quick Google search confirmed them: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/nyregion/antiterrorism-registry-ends-but-its-effects-remain.html. We've reaped the harvest of some ugly seeds sown in the post-9/11 years, I am increasingly ashamed to learn.
This book was short, but captured perfectly the themes with which I have grown so familiar and fascinated: the struggles of first generation immigrants, particularly from countries America has decided, in its 21st century counter-terrorism hysteria, to inherently distrust. These people have battled hardship and heartache, banking everything on coming to a place where their lives are promised to be better, and often all the system does is kick them in the face. These characters felt like people I know, like a person I could have been, had I not been lucky enough to be born here. My cushy American upbringing was paved by the struggles of my ancestors, at least one of whom certainly entered the country illegally, and I am reminded of that constantly. I related especially to Nadira, remembering myself as an unsure, slow-witted fourteen-year-old who just wanted to be given a clear path to follow. This book exquisitely illustrates the tenacity of the human spirit, summed up in minimalistic poignancy in its final line: "We push forward, into the unknown. Go."
In solidarity, I will try my best to do the same.
This book was short, but captured perfectly the themes with which I have grown so familiar and fascinated: the struggles of first generation immigrants, particularly from countries America has decided, in its 21st century counter-terrorism hysteria, to inherently distrust. These people have battled hardship and heartache, banking everything on coming to a place where their lives are promised to be better, and often all the system does is kick them in the face. These characters felt like people I know, like a person I could have been, had I not been lucky enough to be born here. My cushy American upbringing was paved by the struggles of my ancestors, at least one of whom certainly entered the country illegally, and I am reminded of that constantly. I related especially to Nadira, remembering myself as an unsure, slow-witted fourteen-year-old who just wanted to be given a clear path to follow. This book exquisitely illustrates the tenacity of the human spirit, summed up in minimalistic poignancy in its final line: "We push forward, into the unknown. Go."
In solidarity, I will try my best to do the same.