For January we're reading the story of an undocumented child living in poverty in the richest country in the world. Hope you can join us. New members welcome; feel free to try a session. It's hard to put this author's first book down.
Book: Beautiful Country: A Memoir by Qian Julie Wang (Swarthmore '09)
Online: Please email Ashley Kellner for Hangout link
Date & Time: Sunday, January 16 6:30pm
Accompanying playlist and discussion questions by the author are available here.
Book summary:
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 full of curiosity, 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.
Inhabiting her childhood perspective with exquisite lyric clarity and unforgettable charm and strength, Qian Julie Wang has penned 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.
A NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER AND NOTABLE BOOK OF 2021 • ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2021 • A TODAY SHOW #READWITHJENNA PICK