Book Review: Beautiful Country: A Memoir by Qian Julie Wang-Memoir

Hello dear Readers,

Below my book review of Beautiful Country: A Memoir by Qian Julie Wang.

Title: Beautiful Country: A Memoir

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Author: Qian Julie Wang

Publisher: Doubleday Books
Publication Date: September 07, 2020

Language: English

Hardcover: 320 pages
Meet the Author: Qian Julie Wang
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

The moving story of an undocumented child living in poverty in the richest country in the world—an incandescent debut from an astonishing new talent.

“Heartrending, unvarnished, and powerfully courageous, this account of growing up undocumented in America will never leave you."—Gish Jen, author of The Resisters

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, 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 work in sweatshops and sushi factories. Instead of laughing at her jokes or watching her sing and dance, they fight constantly. Qian goes to school hungry, where she teaches herself English through library books, her only source of comfort. At home, Qian's headstrong and resilient Ma Ma ignores her own pain until she's unable to stand, too afraid of the cost and attention a hospital visit might bring. And yet, young Qian, now acting as her mother's nurse, her family's translator, a student, and a worker cannot ask for help. The number-one rule in America still stands: To be noticed is to risk losing everything.

Searing and unforgettable, Beautiful Country is 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

What a heartbreaking story, and then, one of self-discovery and courage. 

Qian. All that she had to endure at such young age, knowing all the pain and the memories will last forever. We live so immersed in our own lives, our own difficulties and successes, that when we read stories like this, it feels almost like a distant thing, like if that could only happen to people far away but not to us. 

I had to admit, it was almost impossible not to cry reading Qian's memoir. Especially when talking about her mother. All the sacrifices and the changes she went through, and how she relied on her daughter and not the other way around. It was really hard to digest all of it.  And Qian's father. I believe deep inside, one reason for his behavior had to do perhaps with feeling guilty about leaving his family behind to pursue a better life in the United States so he could ensure a better life for them as well but as we know, sometimes in life, things don't go as planned and everything can change, people can change. A place can make people become a completely different person.  

Really hard story to read but I hope that Qian tells us more about the rest on her life in another book. 

Thank you Doubleday Books and Netgalley for the free Advanced Copy, in exchange for an honest review.

Wendy