Publisher: Doubleday Books / Random House Audio
Published: September 7, 2021
Source: ARC E-copy via Netgalley / Audio via Library
Summary:
An incandescent memoir from an astonishing new talent, Beautiful Country puts listeners in the shoes of an undocumented child living in poverty in the richest country in the world.
“Extraordinary…. Consider this remarkable memoir a new classic.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
In Chinese, the word for America, Mei Guo, translates directly to “beautiful country”. Yet when seven-year-old Qian arrives in New York City in 1994 full of curiosity, she is overwhelmed by crushing fear and scarcity. In China, Qian’s parents were professors; in America, her family is “illegal”, and it will require all the determination and small joys they can muster to survive.
In Chinatown, Qian’s parents labor in sweatshops. Instead of laughing at her jokes, they fight constantly, taking out the stress of their new life on one another. Shunned by her classmates and teachers for her limited English, Qian takes refuge in the library and masters the language through books, coming to think of The Berenstain Bears as her first American friends. And where there is delight to be found, Qian relishes it: her first bite of gloriously greasy pizza, weekly “shopping days”, when Qian finds small treasures in the trash lining Brooklyn’s streets, and a magical Christmas visit to Rockefeller Center – confirmation that the New York City she saw in movies does exist after all.
But then Qian’s headstrong Ma Ma collapses, revealing an illness that she has kept secret for months for fear of the cost and scrutiny of a doctor’s visit. As Ba Ba retreats further inward, Qian has little to hold onto beyond his constant refrain: Whatever happens, say that you were born here, that you’ve always lived here.
Inhabiting her childhood perspective with exquisite lyric clarity and unforgettable charm and strength, Qian Julie Wang has penned an essential American story about a family fracturing under the weight of invisibility, and a girl coming of age in the shadows, who never stops seeking the light.
My thoughts:
Even though I had a print copy, I knew that I was going to be listening to this one as soon as I saw that the author herself was narrating it. I often find that when an author narrates their memoir, it is such a powerful experience and that was so true here.
Qian Julie Wang moved to “Mei Guo” (‘Beautiful Country’ in Mandarin – the name her family gave America) when she was seven. She recalls their experience, with a child’s frankness and naivety, which is really what makes this book stand out. She watches her parents, who in China were educated and highly regarded, take menial jobs in America because they were undocumented just to make ends meet. And we see her struggle internally in trying to understand where the beauty is in this new country.
As hard as it was to see the struggles that Qian and her family go through, I also loved seeing her persevere. She teaches herself English by watching TV, she realizes that the library can be safe place with free books! And she makes the most out of her education, not worrying about what anyone else thinks.
I was so moved by this book. It reminded me of the work I used to do with immigrants when I volunteered as a literacy tutor. How many of the students I had met that were well regarded and highly educated in their home countries and now were working minimum wage jobs if they had jobs at all because they had to move or wanted to move and needed to start all over again.
This book is a powerful read that really broke my heart. I had so many reactions to it and to me, those are the best types of reads because I know those are the ones that really stick with me.
Audio thoughts:
I highly recommend picking up the audio of this book. The author herself narrates it and she really does such a fantastic job with it. I was completely captivated by her story and really felt the emotion pour out.
