About Where We Come From (from Penguin web site):
“A stunning and timely novel about a Mexican-American family in Brownsville, Texas, that reluctantly becomes involved in smuggling immigrants into the United States.
Tackling the crisis of U.S. immigration policy from a deeply human angle, Where We Come From explores through an intimate lens the ways that family history shapes us, how secrets can burden us, and how finding compassion and understanding for others can ultimately set us free.”
In this episode, our first with Crystal on remote from DC (we’re still working on the tech-it’ll be better next time), we rail against the arbitrary nature of rules and regulations while thinking about the ways that our stories are all connected. We gotta be honest, we all fell in love with this wonderful book about Orly, his godmother, and the little boy she tries to help. It’s a timely, heartbreaking, honest, and ultimately optimistic novel about childhood, family, love, and loss. You’ll hear our affection for it come through as we dig deep into its complicated layers. We think you’re going to like this one, folks. It’s all about America, home of the free . . .
What the spoilers are reading, watching and listening to:
- Sandra Cisneros, Caramelo
- Olga Herrerra, “Street of Ouzo, Arak, and Tequilla: Recalling the Marvelous Strangeness of Chicago’s Near-West Side With Carlos Cortez, Sandra Cisneros, and Daniel J. Martinez” (Vol 42.1 MELUS)
- Terrance Hayes, American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin
- Ernesto Martinez, La Serenada (film)
- Lizzo NPR Tiny Desk Concert
- Star Trek: The Next Generation in preparation for Star Trek: Picard (CBS 2020)
- Peggy Orenstein, Girls and Sex
- Kao Kalia Yang & Shannon Gibney Eds., What God is Honored Here?: Writings on Miscarriage and Infant Loss for Native Women and Women of Color
Other references in the episode:
- Mae Ngai, Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America
- Pablo Villa, Crossing Borders, Reinforcing Borders
- Louis Alberto Urrea, The Devil’s Highway: A True Story