I've always loved stories about people moving to other countries, and I certainly appreciate those stories much more now. Here are some books I've read recently that I highly recommend.
Waiting for Snow in Havana: The best out of all of these, this is the memoir of a Cuban man who came to the US right after the Revolution, starting from his romanticized childhood as an upper class city boy to a penniless immigrant in Miami and Chicago. Though the story is absolutely fascinating, the writing is also amazing.
Shanghai Girls: I never really appreciated how much Asian immigrants have struggled in the US, and this book really opened my eyes. It tells the tale of two Chinese sisters who flee their upper-crust lives in Shanghai during World War II and end up in a slum in California in arranged marriages.
Strength in What Remains: Though I think Tracy Kidder is incredibly overrated as a writer, he is a good storyteller, and this tells the story of a refugee from Burundi who escaped genocide in Rwanda and in his country. It also tells the story of his troubled, impoverished childhood and the horrors of war, and his miraculous adventure of an immigrant in New York.
No exilio: Written by Clarice Lispector's sister, Elisa, this is her heart-breaking memoir of escaping the pogroms in the Ukraine and ending up as a Jewish refugee in Brazil. The book focuses on the struggles of her family and of the Jews, though the overall theme is the universality of human suffering.
De Oiapoque a Chui: I actually read this awhile ago and probably wrote about it already, but it's my favorite book about Brazilians in the US. It's dozens of short stories about Brazilians living in New York City, from supermodels to illegal laborers. The author also happens to be a lovely Jewish Brazilian journalist who's lived here for awhile, and the book is a great read.
Before Night Falls was an ok movie, but Antes de Anochecer by Reinaldo Arenas was a fantastic book about a Cuban and his move to the US.
La Carreta is great to show the story of Puerto Rican migration from the mountains to San Juan to New York.
I need to read No Exilio. I've heard great things.
Posted by: Ernesto | October 16, 2009 at 06:39 AM