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

[Ashley]

I decided to go a slightly different route and read the graphic novel The Arrival. Say what you will about the medium - this novel is GORGEOUS. The artwork, not to mention the message, are just astounding. Highly, highly recommend!

[Ozge]

I recently read Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera and I enjoyed it immensely. Even though it is more about the journey, it is about immigration and I believe that it would fit into this category. I would love to hear what others would think about using this book for this task.

[Mary]

I'm just finishing Exit West - and sort of surprised it hasn't been mentioned here. refugees and immigrants ... really two sides of the same coin?

[Judy]

Laura wrote: "Does the new book In the Country We Love by Diane Guerrero fit the challenge?"

That is what I read for this challenge.

[Sarah]

I just finished The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir, which I am penciling in for this task. While I can't say it ranked as one of my favorite memoirs, I am glad to have read it. I had read a little about the Hmong people prior to this book, but not anything that was written BY a Hmong person, so it was nice to finally do that!

[[deleted user]]

Does Homesick by Roshi Fernando belong to this category?

[Ali]

Just finished Stealing Buddha's Dinner for this category. It was a great read portraying a relatable picture of an immigrant growing up in US. Highly recommend it.

[Amber]

About to start The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri for this challenge. The description says it's about the immigrant experience and clash of cultures. Anyone read it before?

[Bonnie G.]

Amber wrote: "About to start The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri for this challenge. The description says it's about the immigrant experience and clash of cultures. Anyone read it before?"

It is spectacularly good. I read it when my now 18 year old was in preschool and it is still a favorite of mine. And though the book was worlds better, the movie was really pretty enjoyable as well.

[Ann]

I'm reading Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. It's so good. It's also on sale today on Amazon for Kindle for $3.99. I started as a library book, but had to return it when I was half-way through it. A worthy book of its length (752 pgs.)

[Rachel]

I'm reading What Lies Between Us, which includes an immigration storyline and the author also moved from Sri Lanka to Nigera and later to the US.

[Cristy]

This challenge has been my favorite of the first ten! The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures and Middlesex were fantastic choices and I'd consider putting them both in my permanent library collection.

[Ramona]

Last week I read Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, which I'll count for this prompt and highly recommend it. It's an important book, very powerful.

[Britany]

Finished by Imbolo Mbue-- 4 Stars.

I really enjoyed this book about race, class, and immigration in the US.

My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Melissa]

I'm going to read Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue. It is also a debut, so if I can't finish without double dipping, I figure I can use this one. Our local bookstore recommended this to me.

[Jo]

I read Warsan Shire's book of poetry, Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth - it's very short, but beautiful.

[Elizabeth]

I already did my book for this category, so this won't count for me, but I read American Street, and it fits this category perfectly. It's also a debut novel (which I have also already read). It's definitely worth reading.

[Rebecca]

I read Americanah and really didn't enjoy it. (Really disappointing, because I loved Purple Hibiscus!) Some parts were really engaging, but most of the time I felt like the book was just meandering around with nothing driving the narrative. I think it could have definitely been pared down. I found the love story (and the ending) totally unbelievable. I was honestly more interested in Aunty Uju and Dike than any of the main characters.

I listened to the audiobook, and I have now vowed to never listen to anything read by Adjoa Andoh again. Her American accents were terrible. And even worse - there were several words and names she mispronounced! One of them (quinoa) was even described in the book as being hard to pronounce...I don't know why you wouldn't double-check that when preparing. I'm curious why no one on the production team caught any of these and corrected them. (And, to be clear, many of these occurred in dialogue spoken by American characters, not just exposition text read in the narrator's "normal" voice.)

[Chinook]

This was my last task and I've finished off with Exit West, which I enjoyed immensely, though it wasn't at all what I was expecting.

[Nancy]

I read The Buddha in the Attic. It was perfect for this category.

[Jolynne]

[Sam]

I listened to the audiobook Brooklyn and really enjoyed it. I can't actually figure out why I liked it so much but I couldn't stop listening to it and wanted it to be longer.

[Elise]

Hmm...does this have to be realistic? Or can the immigrant be a person who is moving to another planet?

The Book of Strange New Things was about a preacher who immigrates to another planet to proselytize to the natives there. Unless humanity is a requirement, it would seem to fit.

Edit: I decided to go for it. If the challenge needed biography, or nonfiction, or non-science-fiction, it would have said so. :)

[Yrinsyde]

I'm running out of time to complete this challenge so I am doing some double-dipping. I read Francoise Frenkel's account of being an immigrant then refugee in France during the Nazi occupation. Just heartrending but very readable. I recommend it!

[Teresa]

This task was difficult because my first 6 choices were unavailable to me.
I read The Last Days of Café Leila and enjoyed it. It's about how an Iranian American woman navigates the relationships with her adulterous Spanish American husband, their totally American daughter and her father in Iran. She travels to Iran and learns her father is dying of cancer. Much of the story takes place in the cafe attached to his home, with so many food references I got hungry each time I read it.