Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner
A woman was the daughter of an American father and Korean mother. She was challenged by her Korean heritage. However, she began to respect it more after her mother died young. She also talks a bit about her experience with music and joining a band. It is an interesting look at split desires to fit in and respect heritage.
Reaching Out (The Circuit book 3) by Francisco Jiménez
The third book in this autobiographical series covers the undergraduate experiences at Santa Clara. The whole family drove up to drop him off at school, though father was feeling reluctant. His younger brother took over his jobs to help support the family. Additional challenges happened back home that would test his resolve. Their father moved back to Mexico. He was suffering and felt bad that he could not support the family. The family house also burned down. His family did not tell him about either of these until he came home. They didn't want to negatively impact his schooling.
At school, he had a football-playing roommate from Woodland, California. They bonded with their hard-working bootstrap background, though they had differences. Francisco was not into school spirit and sports. He preferred to focus on academics. He struggled initially with English and Spanish and needed to work hard at school. He also needed to find a way to support himself and his family. He had a great deal of help from teachers and priests at school. They saw some of his struggles and helped counsel and encourage him. They also found opportunities for him to work and better support himself as well as thrive in service-minded extra-curricular activities. Toward the end of his time, they nominated him for a graduate fellowship and helped him through the process, even getting him a suit to make it through the interview. We may have lost a lot as religious schools are dropping much of their religious character and requirements. There is value in the higher purpose and service. It seems that he may have benefited significantly by ending up at a small Jesuit institution instead of a large public school.
Breaking Through (The Circuit Book 2) by Francisco Jiménez
The second book in Francisco Jiménez's autobiographical series focuses primarily on his high school experience. It begins with his family's deportation. His father did have a green card and his little siblings were born in the USA. However, his mother, his older brother and Francisco were all in the US illegally. Their immigration experience would advocate for a policy that differs from both the Republican and Democrat one today. When three family members were caught, the whole family decided to leave. They willingly deported themselves to Mexico. However, once in Mexico, there was a path for them to apply for legal immigration status. They were able to get it within a short time frame and return to the United States. This seems the ideal balance. Don't give extra rights to those that are here illegally as the Democrats are want to do. And don't permanently banish workers as Republicans prefer. Instead, encourage all to remain as legal contributors to society.
Once back, the family tried to hide their deportation experience. However, this time away did cause the older brother to lose his job. (Luckily, the replacement didn't work out and he was hired back.) They did eventually recover from the time off from school.
The author had a number of friends and mentors that encouraged him through his high school career. The value of hard work instilled by his family was also important. He and his brother were working hard to support themselves while the rest of the family was away. He had friends that encouraged him to perform in a school variety show and later run for school office. He helped lead a Spanish club and led a Christmas food drive. Teachers and counselors helped him to excel in academic areas and go down a path where he could be a teacher. He also had those that helped support him to find a job. It was not all rosey. There were families that did not want him to be seen with their daughter after they learned he was Mexican. He did need a few special pushes. His loyalty to work and family led him to consider working to support them rather than going to college. School officials helped push him to apply. He missed some scholarship opportunities, but was able to get into Santa Clara and between loans and scholarships afford the initial tuition.
The appropriate support is very important for success. Some people may feel unwilling to receive handouts. Finding a way to help in that way can be beneficial. (As an example, rather than just give him a typewriter, a man charged him $5 for typewriter and ribbon.) There are many people that are hard workers that can achieve more in different fields. They just need support.
I wonder how things are different today. There is much more of a safety net available for immigrant families. Do they take advantage of it? Or is the loyalty to family and hard work still of prominent importance? Do child labor restrictions hurt? It feels that people would be evicted from some of these habitations today. Cigarette smoking is also not as prominent. How is life different for modern immigrant farmworkers? How is it the same?
When he was a young child, the author's family migrated from Mexico to the United States. They worked as migrant farm workers, traveling to various places in California to work the fields. The living condition ranged from very poor to acceptable. The migrants were all hard workers, but they would not put up with demeaning activities.
He had struggles with his upbringing. He would make friends, only to move away to a new location. He had very few possessions. This made it devastating when his 4-year old sister took some of the pennies from his collection to buy bubble gum. School was something that he found exciting. He had some teachers and administrators that were really looking out for him and his family and supporting him on the way. Alas, since they crossed the border illegally, they were always in fear of immigration authorities and were eventually caught up with them in the end. The book is an engaging look at the child's experience as a migrant farmworker.
Martyr!: A Novel by Kaveh Akbar
An Iranian man, Cyrus, had a rough childhood. His mother died in a plane crash when he was an infant. His father immigrated with him to the US where he worked a blue collar job. The father wanted a better life for his son. They adapted to the new life. The man's father was partially living through his son and died shortly after the son went off to college.
Cyrus went through periods of alcohol and drug use. He had relationships with men and women. He would present himself as "Iranian" or "American" depending on what is convenient. He has taken up poetry. He is attracted to an artist that has put "herself" on display for the last months of her life as she is dying from terminal illness. After talking with her previously, he eagerly goes to talk with her a final time, but finds she has died. He later learns that she is his mother. She had switched id with another woman and was never on the flight.
The book travels back and forth in time and alternates between "real" experience and dreams. There are parts told from the view of important figures of the day as well as the narrative of the main characters. Despite the back and forth, it is fairly easy to follow.
Interior Chinatown: A Novel by Charles Yu
The Chinese have had an interesting place in America. Large populations have been in the country for two centuries. Their waves have preceded significant waves of other European immigrants. However, the others have become "Americans", while the Chinese are still looked at as separate. They have been heavily discriminated against. The were excluded from citizenship and property ownership at times in history. Even marriage with a Chinese person could result in lost citizenship. There have also been violent attacks and destructions of Chinese populations. Yet, Chinese feel unable to take the victimhood like blacks since they have never been slaves. They can't even be like other "colored" minorities because they are seen as being too successful.
This book explores the life of a Chinese man in the form of a script. He aspires to be "Kung Fu Man". However, he seems to be most commonly cast as anonymous Chinese man or delivery boy. Other residents of Chinatown, primarily in the SRO all have their own "anonymous" roles in the world writ large. They struggle to be recognized and find their role. Older brother seems to be better as he actually can be kung fu man. However, he goes off to college. The main guy later meets a girl who can pass as different races. They have a kid together. However, he feels upset that she has more success than him. There is a concluding court case where the primary character is tried for his own death. There are noble speeches, but the jury finds against them. Eventually Kung Fu breaks out and there is a shot with the character being killed off.
I loved the style of the book as well as the interesting look at the Asian condition in North America.
Behind You Is the Sea: A Novel by Susan Muaddi Darraj
This novel tells the interrelated stories of a number of Palestinian integrates who live primarily in Baltimore. Many have become very Americanized, though some cling to beliefs from the past. The religion that comes out most strongly in the novel is that of Palestinian Christianity. There are some struggles with Arab stereotypes (such as being against "Aladin"). However, the novel seems to try extra hard at showing them as primarily American. Some are rich. Some are poor (and may work for the rich.) They have plenty of foibles including sex and violence. Things are not easy in America, but not insurmountable.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
This novel was extremely popular during World War II. It feels like more of a book of sketches than a full novel. We get insights into the lives of various people living in urban America. Most of the people are from immigrant families. (Though there is one story where somebody who responded that their parents were from Brooklyn when asked where they were from.) Most of the stories involved poverty. A man dying shortly after getting kicked out of his union. Little girls get gifted a doll from others. There are prostitutes trying to make a living, as well as somebody trying to adopt a child from a girl who disgraced her family. People are discovering sexuality and their bodies, but in a world where people don't really talk about it. There are plenty of struggles in adapting to the new world and their language. A girl learns to write and the key difference between imaginative writing and lying.
There are a variety of vignettes in the novel. For some, I would zone out and have no idea what just happened. Others were much more engaging.
Front Desk is the story of a Chinese immigrant family told from the point of view of the tween daughter. After losing a restaurant job, they find a "great" job managing a motel. The well-to-do Taiwanese owner is not the nicest. However, they make good friends with the long-term residents. They also have plenty of experience with kind (and not so kind) guests. The friendships become even more valuable as the family hopes to own their own motel. There is also a funny part where the Chinese immigrant and her Mexican immigrant friend concoct bigger lies about their "wealthy lives", only to discover that both live in struggling families.
There are various struggles in place, including obtaining health care and dealing with loan sharks. Racial relations come into play, with different discrimination towards blacks and Asians. By treating people kindly, the family makes friends and helps achieve their dream. It is not without struggles. Sometimes dispensing pride is needed in order to progress (even if the result is not what is immediately expected.)
In addition to her story of weight, she talks about her life in general. She grew up with a family of Pakistani immigrants. There were the challenges of life in one community that is very foreign to the dominant culture. Career choices and marriage were not necessarily in line with parental desires. She married young, then remarried (and had more children) when older. Pregnancies didn't help her body esteam, nor did life in the public eye. She was willing to work to help exonerate somebody wrongfully accused of murder - even if she would have to view herself on TV.
When she was a small girl, her family made a harrowing escape out of Vietnam at the end of the war. With her father and sister (and some relatives) they made it on a boat that took them to the United States. They eventually settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There she adapted to the new life. Her father married a Mexican woman, giving then a multicultural family and an older step-sister. There were many cultural challenges. There were plenty of struggles and even a reunion with her mother. She became familiar with Western culture, especially literature. She wasn't fully American in America, nor fully Vietnamese when going back to Vietnam.
American Dirt received a great deal of pre-publication praise and scorn. The scorn was mostly due to the fact that a white woman had spent 5 years researching and writing a story about Mexican immigrants. Alas, it is not a memoir, it is a work of fiction. There may be some faults in the details. However, the emphasis is on the challenges and the humanity of the characters involved not the details of Mexican culture. Having it told by somebody that has not experienced it personally could be a benefit. The goal is to bridge the gap to portray the illegal immigrants as people rather than mindless hoards.
American Dirt centers on Lydia (mom) and Lucha's (young boy) voyage to the United States. They come from a middle class family in Acapulco, she runs a bookstore, while her husband is a journalist. Their entire family is murdered by a drug lord. (We later learn that a newspaper article about him caused his beloved daughter to commit suicide.) They want to get as far away from Acapulco as possible. Alas, Lucha doesn't have a photo ID, so they are not able to buy an airplane ticket. They are afraid to drive or take a bus (because they might be found by the crime boss), so they opt to join the migrant route. They jump trains with other (mostly Central American) migrants. They learn about the challenges that led the others to escape their homeland. In the process they have a number of scary encounters and close calls, but manage to make it through, eventually being guided by a coyote across the Arizona desert to finally make it to reach a relative in the US. It is hard to read the book and not have sympathy for everything that these migrants have had to go through.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
This novel is more commonly known by the name of the movie based on it, "Bladerunner". It centers around a "bounty hunter" who kills androids that are living among humans in a dystopian world.
A bounty hunter kills 6 androids in a day, but feels bad because he liked one of the android girls. However, with the money he gets, he hopes to be able to buy an animal. The world has suffered an environmental catastrophe. Thus, even ordinary farm animals are highly sought after. Electric animals are used in some sense to fill the gab. But, they are viewed as inferior.
The world that could create "electric" animals, also created "electric humans." These androids were initially supposed to focus primarily on areas of hard labor on remote colonies. However, some of them sneak back to earth to attempt to make a life there.
The novel can be confusing at times, and can be hard to tell what he is after (environment? Capital punishment? Morals? Consumerism?) You can even see a parallel to the United States immigration situation. The country loves to be able to reap the benefits of cheap labor from 3rd world countries, but doesn't want those people to dare take up residence in the US.
