I bought this in the kindle version. The photographs were fairly well reproduced. However, it is cumbersome to flip back to prior photos when one wishes to do so while reading the novel. This was a book club selection, and it will be difficult to review the photos in this edition. I recommend one of the book formats instead of the kindle format.
I really liked the book's content. Reyna Grande put a human face on the tragedies associated with illegal immigration from Latin American countries to the U.S. She tells the tale of her own dysfunctional, neglectful, and abusive parents and grandmother Evila in their yearnings for a better life for themselves and their children. Papi originally went to "El Otro Lado", the U.S., to earn money for his dream house. However, this dream house was merely a three room house made of brick or stucco with an indoor bathroom and perhaps running water and electricity. His family was living in a shack made of bamboo, cardboard, tar and aluminum. It could not protect them from heavy rains or floods. They barely earned enough to eat and sometimes they went hungry. Yet Mami in her lifetime goes on to give birth to a total of five children. The two born in the U.S. are eligible for and receive welfare. Poor Mexican families do not appear to understand the relationship between poverty and the lack of family planning inherant in their culture. The Mexican government should be giving out birth control for free. It should give out incentives to people willing to permanently end their pro-creativity or to use reliable methods of birth control that do not require participant compliance. The Norplant comes to mind. In any case Papi leaves his three children behind and sends small amounts of money to help his wife support their children. He banks the rest to save for his dream house. The children feel abandoned by their father for whom they have fond memories. His framed photograph occupies a central space in their house. Finally, he sends for Mami and she joins him in the U.S. Papi instructs Mami to leave the children in the care of his mother, Evila. But like her name she is evil. She favors their cousin, her first grandchild by her daughter who has also gone north. Papi and Mami send money for the food and clothing of their children. However, Evila spends most of it on herself, her unmarried daughter and the older cousin. The children are literally starving. They suffer constantly from hunger, lice, and other health problems. They are dressed in rags. The townspeople and other children make fun of them calling them orphans. When the parents phone for a few minutes monthly, Evila stands next to the children to make sure they do not tell their parents how hungry they are. Meanwhile, Papi is sending money to Iguala to build his dream house. Construction is begun and the children help with the building. They believe that as soon as the house is finished they will get their family back. Chinta, Mami's mother lives in a horrible shack made of bamboo while Evila's house is made of adobe. Chinta, a widow, also lives with her unmedicated schizophrenic alcoholic son. So Papi was uncomfortable leaving the children in her care even though she is kindly and loving toward her grandchildren. Mami returns when her husband leaves her for another woman. They fight over their 4th child, Betty, born in the U.S. and Papi shoots at her but misses. This is the first we see that the childrens' idealized image of Papi is unrealistic. When Mami returns with Betty and a few toys and clothing for the children she takes them from Evila's house and moves in with her mother. She works selling sandwiches to train passengers and odds and ends to attendees at fancy parties at the one luxurious venue by Iguala standards in their town. Papi is not sending the family any money. The children are literally starving. Mami finally gets a job at a record store and a second job during her time off. Still it is not enough to feed and cloth four children. Further, she continues to abandon them first for one man and then for another. The children never overcome their feelings of abandonment. Mago, the oldest child, has become the defacto mother.
Finally, Papi visits Iguala. Upon seeing his starving, dirty, and raggedy children, he vows to take them to the U.S. with him. He spends all his money on coyote fees for himself and three of the children. Still Mami won't allow Betty who has a U.S. passport to fly with Papi's new woman back to the states. Mami selfishly keeps Betty. The three children move into their father's one bedroom apartment that he shares with Mila. both Mila and Papi work in a nursing home in Los Angelos. Meanwhile Papi has acquired a fourplex building, but because he must repay all his debts to the coyote, he can't afford to move his family into a bigger unit. The three children sleep in the living room. Still it is an improvement over Chinta's house where they all slept in one room. Here they have indoor plumbing, running water, and electricity. They attend school which is an improvement over their school in Mexico. Most of their supplies and all their books are provided for them. Papi dreams that his children will graduate from college. His father made him quit school when he was nine, and he always resented his father for doing that. He impressed upon his children that they must do well in school, and they did. Mago was the first in the family to graduate from high school and go on to college. Carlos followed. Still Papi regularly beat his children with his belt leaving welts and bruises. He later explains by way of seeking some forgiveness that corporal punishment was the only method of discipline his own father ever used. He had by now become an alcoholic. The beatings arose to child abuse and endangerment. He bloodied Reyna's nose on more than one occasion. I do not want to spoil the story so I will limit my facts to this: Reyna does graduate from college in spite of all the obstacles he places before her. He wants her to go to school, but he makes it almost impossible for her to do so. He is a mean spiteful, and angry man. Meanwhile Mami has traveled north with her much younger boyfriend. They live in one tiny room with their two children, and they share the bathroom and kitchen with other tenants. It appears that as much as Mami says she loves her children, she lacks the concern, empathy and compassion she should have for them. This is not a five star book because the language usage doesn't rise to that level. One must recall that English is Reyna's second laanguage.
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I just finished reading The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande. A few friends have actually recommended it more than once. I am not exaggerating when I say this is one of those books that will stay with you and change the way you see things. Reyna really depicts the heartbreak, hope and loss that she went through when her parents left her in Mexico to come to the US to try and build a better life for them. It chronicles the pain of losing your parents to the US and then finally making it here just to lose your identity and the feeling of belonging anywhere but still, against all odds, surviving and making your dreams come true. As a Latina whose parents sought refuge in the US after the war in El Salvador became so dangerous that their very lives were in danger and they sadly lost family and friends, I thought I knew the struggle. Honestly, I had no idea. I feel like my eyes were finally opened. I am thankful that my parents came here and escaped the terrors that were going on in their country because they achieved their American dream with hard work and dedication and thanks to that I have had a wonderful life. Growing up I never had to worry about deportation because as far as I can remember when I was little my parents were residents and there was never any worry of that. They owned their own home and I never had to worry about living situations. I was born here and, while my parents always made sure I knew where our roots are planted, I always felt like I belonged here or there. After reading Reyna’s book I have to count my blessings. Our "poor" does not compare to theirs. Children in other countries are worried about how many years will pass until they see their mom and dad again, whether they will finally eat something after days without food, if their homes made out of cardboard and scraps will survive the rain. You have to read this book to understand why so many decide to come to “el otro lado” and their resilience. I really think this book is a MUST read. I could read it again and again. I loved it so much that I am planning to read the Spanish version next!
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I just finished reading The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande. A few friends have actually recommended it more than once. I am not exaggerating when I say this is one of those books that will stay with you and change the way you see things. Reyna really depicts the heartbreak, hope and loss that she went through when her parents left her in Mexico to come to the US to try and build a better life for them. It chronicles the pain of losing your parents to the US and then finally making it here just to lose your identity and the feeling of belonging anywhere but still, against all odds, surviving and making your dreams come true. As a Latina whose parents sought refuge in the US after the war in El Salvador became so dangerous that their very lives were in danger and they sadly lost family and friends, I thought I knew the struggle. Honestly, I had no idea. I feel like my eyes were finally opened. I am thankful that my parents came here and escaped the terrors that were going on in their country because they achieved their American dream with hard work and dedication and thanks to that I have had a wonderful life. Growing up I never had to worry about deportation because as far as I can remember when I was little my parents were residents and there was never any worry of that. They owned their own home and I never had to worry about living situations. I was born here and, while my parents always made sure I knew where our roots are planted, I always felt like I belonged here or there. After reading Reyna’s book I have to count my blessings. Our "poor" does not compare to theirs. Children in other countries are worried about how many years will pass until they see their mom and dad again, whether they will finally eat something after days without food, if their homes made out of cardboard and scraps will survive the rain. You have to read this book to understand why so many decide to come to “el otro lado” and their resilience. I really think this book is a MUST read. I could read it again and again. I loved it so much that I am planning to read the Spanish version next!
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