Marcelo Hernandez Castillo

this was all over the place for me, in all the worst ways. some of this was gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. he's a poet, and in those moments and pages it was obvious. some of this was important but dry. some of this seemed really extraneous. partly i think i have trouble with this because of how honest he was in talking about himself. i don't like him but i think i understand his anger and his volatility and where it comes from, how we created it. maybe that's part of his point, too. but it made parts of this hard for me. i care about this situation, which is so unfair and nonsensical, and his family's specific situation which feels obvious in how things should have been different for them. but the book, to me, isn't as well done as i would have liked. the story he tells, though, is a crucial one and this is still worth reading.

"So much of my energy was spent trying to avoid getting caught. I wonder how much more I could have done with my life if I'd been spared the energy it took to survive."… (altro)

This is the author's memoir of immigrating with his parents from Mexico to USA as a child, living as an undocumented person, and his attempts to obtain legal residency status for himself and his family. It's a story of the absurdity and injustice of the immigration system, of the years-long struggle to cross a border that the documented can cross in minutes, and of long, painful goodbyes. It's also about the author coming to terms with his dual identity, his abusive father, his sexuality, and alcoholism.

This book is an opportunity for people who never have to worry about being harassed or detained just for existing to understand the perspective of those who do. Unfortunately, there is a lot of filler that gets in the way. The author, a poet by profession, writes extensively about his weird perspectives, which I didn't find interesting or relevant. I skimmed the better part of the book.… (altro)

“When I came undocumented to the U.S., I crossed into a threshold of invisibility. Every act of living became an act of trying to remain visible. I was negotiating a simultaneous absence and presence that was begun by the act of my displacement: I am trying to dissect the moment of my erasure. “

This is a solid memoir about the immigrant experience. Castillo was five years old, when he crossed the border with his family. For the next 2 decades, it becomes a story of survival. Tales of deportation and displacement, a family, struggling to find footing in America, against draconian policies. The writing is good but could have used a little editing. Castillo is also a poet, so I would like to sample some of his poetry.… (altro)