Task #5: Read a book by an immigrant or with a central immigration narrative

[Jaime]

Just finished The Prince of Los Cocuyos by Richard Blanco. The memoir focuses on Blanco's childhood as a Cuban Immigrant near Miami. Two thumbs up!

[Jaime]

Wanted to add, some of it also focuses on the influence of his grandmother and the challenge of her homophobia, as he realizes that he is gay in his teens.

[Kirsten]

I read The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon.

The two main characters are a Jamaican undocumented immigrant whose family is due to be deported and the son of Korean immigrants. It's a great book!

[Allie]

Anna wrote: "The New York Times has just published this list of books by refugees."

Thank you for sharing this link! I got Madam Secretary: A Memoir for Christmas, and I didn't realize that Madeleine Albright was a Czech immigrant until I saw the list! So that's my pick. :)

[Jocelyn]

Is Little Bee a book with an immigration narrative? It's dual perspective about a refugee girl and a woman who takes her in.

[Thegirlintheafternoon]

I listened to Binti on audiobook, and it was GREAT! Wonderful performance of a really quick, interesting read.

[Allie]

I just realized I never recommended one of my favorites from last year here: Inside Out & Back Again. It's a fictionalized YA version of the author's own emigration from Saigon to Alabama during the Vietnam War. It's told in verse, and it's incredible.

[Zara]

Kirsten *Make Margaret Atwood Fiction Again!" wrote: "I read The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon.

The two main characters are a Jamaican undocumented immigrant whose family is due to be deported and the son of Korea..."

I loved this book so much!

[Jess]

Last year a friend lent me a copy of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and I've been meaning to read it so I can give it back. I think it'll fit this challenge nicely, and that gives me the extra bit of motivation I need.

[Emily]

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon-- great audio, too.

[Kirsten]

Emily wrote: "The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon-- great audio, too."

Excellent!

[Monica]

Just finished Never Look an American in the Eye: A Memoir of Flying Turtles, Colonial Ghosts, and the Making of a Nigerian American by Okey Ndibe. Enjoyable and well written memoir about his immigration experience and the famous authors among other things.

[Mandie]

I've already picked up a few books about Irish immigration before I found this challenge, so either Erin's Daughters in America: Irish Immigrant Women in the Nineteenth Century or The Irish Americans: A History will be occupying this spot on my challenge.

[Leslie]

Would How to Read the Air by Dinaw Mengestu count in this category? Although immigration is a prominent theme of the novel, I don't know if the other "competing" themes would make it the central theme. (Either way, a great read!)

[Tania]

I chose Chicago's Polish Downtown, because it's been on my TBR (and my bookshelf) for years. It's a great look at how the Polish immigrants settled in Chicago, their community in that city, and the influence that this group of immigrants had on Polish immigrants throughout the U.S. and even back in their own country. I originally bought it to better understand why my Polish great-grandparents settled in Chicago and what their lives were like at that time. I learned a lot.

[Brent]

I read Americanah for this task and task #24.

3 down and lots to go.

[Kris]

I read THE MURALIST, by BA Shapiro. it talks about immigrants and refugees during the beginning of WWII. It has an interesting parallel between federal refugee policies then and now.

[Elizabeth]

Bright Lines by Tanwi Nandini Islam is the book I'm interested in reading. Before I had a bike crash, in the height of my passion for bikes- I picked it up because of the cover (silly, I know- but that caught my eye). It seemed like a good story, I've read about it, and now I am pushing it to the top of my TBR list... (for non-bike reasons).
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

[Simant]

I'll go with The Sun Is Also a Star for this prompt

[Sonia]

I stumbled upon this one Amaras a dios sobre todas las cosas at a friend's house and she let me borrow it for this task!

Since it's about south american immigrats in Mexico and I live near the southern mexican border, it's pretty ideal for me.

[Leslie]

Sonia wrote: "I stumbled upon this one Amaras a dios sobre todas las cosas at a friend's house and she let me borrow it for this task!

Since it's about south american immigrats in Mexico and I ..."

This looks great! I am going to try and track down a copy for this challenge.

[Bonnie G.]

Just jumped into The Madonnas of Echo Park for this one, and so far it is excellent.

[Lucy]

I read The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver for this challenge and absolutely loved it

[Sonia]

I listened to The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. I loved it and highly recommend it.

[Kirsten]

Amen, Sonia! Loved the book! Can't wait 'til she writes another!

[Rachel]

Just finished young adult novel American Street by Ibi Zoboi and found it beautifully written and compelling, about a teenager who immigrates from Haiti to Detroit to stay with her cousins and aunt. Her mom is supposed to join her but gets detained. She has to adjust to a new life and place and learning about her family's secrets that have been kept from her, and navigating a whole new set of problems and joys, including falling in love.

[Julie]

I read The Sun Is Also a Star for this.

[quietprofanity]

I read Brick Lane by Monica Ali -- a book about East Pakistan/Bangladeshi immigrants to England by a Bangladeshi woman who immigrated herself when she was very young -- because I watched the film adaptation a decade ago. I remember enjoying the movie a lot more, unfortunately. I liked the characters but had trouble finding the story itself compelling. (I reviewed the book here.)

[Morgan]

Just finished The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez. I didn't do it specifically for this challenge, but it fits perfectly. It's a beautiful and graceful narrative that reads like YA.

[Kirsten]

Julie wrote: "I read The Sun Is Also a Star for this."

Excellent book!

[GeeketteKathy]

I'll be reading The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen for this challenge. It is listed as one of the most-anticipated-books-of-spring-2017 in Publisher's Weekly. It's described as a series of short stories that shows the struggle of an immigrant 'caught between 2 worlds' as he experiences culture shock while living in San Francisco, CA.

[Viv]

I read Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran for this task. It was beautifully written and somewhat heartbreaking but really brought home to me the impact of immigration policies on real people's lives. I would highly recommend it.

[Elyse]

Viv wrote: "I read Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran for this task. It was beautifully written and somewhat heartbreaking but really brought home to me the impact of immigration pol..."

Especially in this time in America...

[Eujean2]

There are a lot of great graphic novels about the immigrant experience. I am particularly excited about The Best We Could Do.

[Laura]

Does anyone know if Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt counts? I know he was born in America, but his parents were immigrants, and they moved back to Ireland, and then he moves back to America...seems awfully immigration-themed to me!

[Lynnette]

I read Into the Beautiful North by Luis Urrea. A great read for those looking for a quick and fun read.

[Travis]

Laura wrote: "Does anyone know if Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt counts? I know he was born in America, but his parents were immigrants, and they moved back to Ireland, and then he m..."
Immigration is not the central theme. There are so many immigration-themed books right now. Try Little Bee by Chris Cleve, well, the list just goes on and on.

[Emily]

I'm reading American Street by Ibi Zoboi. (Sorry I can't link to the book on my tablet app!)

[Laura]

Travis wrote: "Laura wrote: "Does anyone know if Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt counts? I know he was born in America, but his parents were immigrants, and they moved back to Ireland,..."

Thanks! I've been wanted to read Little Bee so I guess this is my chance! Is Exit West by Mohsin Hamid immigration themed? I have it, but haven't looked at it too closely yet.

Although the prompt actually says a book BY an immigrant OR with a central immigration narrative. So I'd think Angela's Ashes might count. Or I might re-read My Own Country: A Doctor's Story by Abraham Verghese because it moved me so much the first time.

[Veronica]

I read In the Country We Love: My Family Divided. I thought the story she tells is really important, even if the writing itself is not terribly great. Hopefully, because people know the actress from Orange is the New Black and Jane the Virgin, they'll be more apt to pick up her book and learn what immigrants and their children really face. Full review here.

[Tracy]

Laura wrote: "Travis wrote: "Laura wrote: "Does anyone know if Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt counts? I know he was born in America, but his parents were immigrants, and they moved b..."

Little Bee was a great story :-)

[Laura]

I ended up deciding on One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter by Scaachi Koul. I got it through the Book of the Month club. It could also fit into the debut novel category. Scaachi is a first generation Indian in Canada, and a good deal of the book focuses on the lives of her parents and why they decided to emigrate to Canada. Not to mention the struggles Scaachi faced for not being white, a common question in school being "Where are you from?" which she learned to answer with the fact that her parents were immigrants from India.
The book was entertaining and a quick read, although a bit immature for my tastes.

[Kerris]

I know a couple of people have already said that Americanah is on their TBR list, but just to confirm that I've just read it and its a brilliant book. I'm about halfway through this year's challenge and this is the best book that I've read this year. Some books have been a challenge to finish and I've been pleased to see the end of them, but this one completely gripped me.

[Monica]

Kerris wrote: "I know a couple of people have already said that Americanah is on their TBR list, but just to confirm that I've just read it and its a brilliant book. I'm about halfway through this year's challeng..."

I've read Americanah and I loved it too!! Excellent choice for this task!!

[Karen]

I'm starting The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende today. She was born in Peru and raised in Chile.

[Stina]

I'm almost done with The House of Shattered Wings, and I think it might count for this prompt. It is set in Paris (alternate history, 20th century) and one of the main characters is from Annam (French Indochina, now Vietnam). Does its being a French protectorate make him technically not an immigrant? His story is very much treated as an immigration narrative and is of central importance to the plot of the novel.

[Chinook]

I would say he's still an immigrant.

[Hannah]

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is an incredible book. Written by an immigrant, and about the plight of the Afghan refugee. Gave me a huge dose of what the refugee life must be like. Heart wrenching, yet utterly beautiful! Hosseini doesn't hold back! Also, there's a movie adaptation. I haven't seen it, so I can't vouch for its accuracy or whether it's good or not.

[Kate]

The Good Immigrant edited by Nikesh Shukla is a great option if you're in the UK. It really made me think about my own role in immigrant experience.

[Elyse]

Hannah wrote: "The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is an incredible book. Written by an immigrant, and about the plight of the Afghan refugee. Gave me a huge dose of what the refugee life must be like. Heart wrenc..."

The movie is good too.