I was moved by the love and resilience of this family thrust into darkness. Qian Julie Wang tells a remarkable story of displacement, heartache and resilience * Guardian, Best Biographies and Memoirs of 2021 *ĭeeply compelling. Now a successful lawyer, Qian is working through her trauma in this book, but it's joyous too, with moments of brightness breaking through even the most trying times * Sunday Times, Books of the Year *Įlegantly affecting. I never wanted it to end - Philippa Perry Moving, beautiful, heartbreaking and even funny. Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd ISBN: 9780241514702 Number of pages: 288 Weight: 202 g Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 17 mm MEDIA REVIEWSĪ story that needs to be heard. In restrained but beautiful prose, Wang honours her family's sacrifices, but alerts us to the urgent realisation that they should not be necessary' Nesrine Malik The book casts an urgent light on a reality that extends way beyond America's borders' Hisham Matar, author of A Month in Siena and The Return beautifully written, with vivid scenes that linger in the mind long after finishing it' Helena Merriman 'A powerful, gripping insight into the world of an undocumented migrant in New York. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. In China she was the daughter of professors.

'Hunger was a constant, reliable friend in Mei Guo. BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK, OBAMA 2021 BOOK PICK and INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Julie wang beautiful country