Beautiful Country

A Memoir of An Undocumented Childhood

Beautiful Country
Qian Julie Wang
RRP:
NZ$ 26.00
Our Price:
NZ$ 20.80
Paperback
h198 x 129mm - 320pg
14 Jul 2022 UK
International import eta 7-19 days
9780241514702
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
An extraordinary memoir of a girl who learns to live - and then escape - an invisible lifeIn China she was the daughter of professors. In Brooklyn her family is ' illegal. ' Qian is just seven when she moves to America, the ' Beautiful Country' , where she and her parents find that the roads of New York City are not paved with gold, but crushing fear and scarcity. Unable to speak English at first, Qian and her parents must work wherever they can to survive, all while she battles hunger and loneliness at school. Thus begins an extraordinary story that describes, in vivid colours, days labouring in sweatshops and sushi factories, nights scavenging the streets for furniture, and the terrifying moment when the family emerges from the shadows to seek emergency medical treatment for Qian' s mother. Qian Julie Wang' s memoir is an unforgettable account of what it means to live under the perpetual threat of deportation and the small joys and sheer determination that kept her family afloat in a new land. Told from a child' s perspective, in a voice that is intimate, poignant and startlingly lyrical, Beautiful Country is the story of a girl who learns first to live - and then escape - an invisible life.
A story that needs to be heard. Moving, beautiful, heartbreaking and even funny . . . I never wanted it to end -- Philippa Perry, author of The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did) Deeply compelling. . . I was moved by the love and resilience of this family thrust into darkness. The book casts an urgent light on a reality that extends way beyond America' s borders -- Hisham Matar, author of The Return and A Month in Siena Astonishing . . . Inrestrained but beautiful prose, Wang honours her family' s sacrifices, but alerts us to the urgent realisation that they should not be necessary -- Nesrine Malik Intricate and penetrating . . . a beautiful and hopeful read that also underlines what can truly happen to people who are simply seeking refuge * Stylist, an Unmissable Memoir for Summer 2021 * A powerful, gripping insight into the world of an undocumented migrant in New York . . . beautifully written, with vivid scenes that linger in the mind long after finishing it -- Helena Merriman This beautifully expressed memoir of the immigrant experience charts her parents' struggles to survive as "illegals" in New York while their daughter battles hunger and loneliness at school, and is all the more moving for being related from a child' s point of view * The Bookseller, Editor' s Choice * A vital and unforgettable read * Refinery29 * Consider this remarkable memoir a new classic * Publishers Weekly *
Qian Julie Wang is a graduate of Yale Law School and Swarthmore College and is managing partner of a law firm dedicated to advocating for education, disability, and civil rights. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times and the Washington Post, among other major U. S. publications. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their two rescue dogs.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9780241514702
Published: 14 Jul 2022
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: Viking
Publisher: Penguin Books
Format: Paperback
Height: 198mm
Width: 129mm
Spine: 35mm
Weight: 500g
Pages: 320

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