Memoirs have been one of my favorite types of nonfiction for a long time, and since reading last year's Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett, I have been wanting to find more books about people who have had both amazing and unique life experiences that I know nothing about. So I was excited to find Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang, and follow along as she talks about life as young immigrant growing up in Brooklyn, New York.
Genre, Themes, History: This is a nonfiction book about what it was like as a Chinese immigrant in mid-to-late 1990s New York. When Wang arrives in Brooklyn at the age of seven, it is with her mother as they reunite with her father, who left China for the U.S. years earlier. While both parents were professors in China, in the U.S. they must find work in sweatshops in order to provide for their little family. The usual struggles that come with poverty - near-constant hunger, worn-out clothes, shame, embarrassment, fear of uncertainty - become Wang's reality as she struggles in this new life. Before leaving for the U.S., their destination was known as 'Mei Guo,' or 'beautiful country.' Through 32 chapters, Wang explores her struggles in the beautiful country, with each chapter given a name that relates to its focus, such as "Ascent" for the chapter about the plane ride, and "Shopping Day" for the chapter that follows Wang and her mother as they go through the trash of the neighborhood. And while Wang is the one telling the story, she is also telling her parent's story as they try to achieve the American dream.
My Verdict: I think what amazes me most about this book is how little time it covers in the authors life, and yet there is so much there. And even with as much as this book deals with, I could easily see it going on to include more detail about what came after. Wang explores the time immediately before, and after arriving in Brooklyn, and manages to talk about it almost in a way that a child would. As a young girl - especially a young girl suddenly living in a country where she is not comfortable with the language, and life looks completely different from what she knew - Wang is often confused, hurt, afraid, and annoyed. She can often only describe what is happening without being able to name it, a technique that Wang pulls off extremely well. As a reader, the confusion and fear felt real, even though I have never been in a situation such as this. There are parts that will break your heart, but also help to open your eyes.
Favorite Moment: At one point, Wang manages to apply and gain admittance to a school all on her own, despite the doubts and bad advice of the adults around her.
Recommended Reading: I recommend Educated by Tara Westover, as well as the graphic novel Almost American Girl by Robin Ha.
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