“American Dirt” Was Written for White People and it Shows
American / Book Reviews / The Latest

“American Dirt” Was Written for White People and it Shows

I didn’t intend on reading or reviewing this book until it was picked for a book club I attend. I felt very apprehensive about reading it because I had read so many articles from Latinx and Chicanx authors, reviews, and journalists who had already detailed all the issues with the book. When I have spoken … Continue reading

“Sanctuary Somewhere”: a review of Brenna Dimmig’s poetry cycle on immigration
American / Book Reviews / poetry / The Latest / YA

“Sanctuary Somewhere”: a review of Brenna Dimmig’s poetry cycle on immigration

Brenna Dimmig’s poetry collection Sanctuary Somewhere is centred on undocumented immigration experiences in the U.S. Her two main characters, Osmel and Leslie experience the U.S. differently based on their immigration statuses. Despite being siblings, Leslie is legal because she is born in the U.S. but her brother, Osmel, and her mother are undocumented. The fear … Continue reading

“Twelve Unending Summers”: the importance of immigrant stories
Book Reviews / Haitian / nonfiction / The Latest

“Twelve Unending Summers”: the importance of immigrant stories

When I first got this book, the controversy that surrounds the novel American Dirt and immigrant stories had not yet come to the surface. Yet, the conflict surrounding Jeanine Cummins’ novel is not really anything new. Since before post-colonialist studies became stronger in academia, and since immigrant and marginalised voices started talking about their experiences … Continue reading

John Lanchester’s “The Wall”: climate change, building walls, and the world’s future
Book Reviews / British / The Latest

John Lanchester’s “The Wall”: climate change, building walls, and the world’s future

“It’s guilt: mass guilt, generational guilt. The olds feel they irretrievably fucked up the world, then allowed us to be born in it. You know what? It’s true. That’s exactly what they did. They know it, we know it. Everybody knows it” (55). Continue reading

Making Sense of Loneliness: a review of Olivia Laing’s “The Lonely City”
Book Reviews / British / nonfiction / The Latest

Making Sense of Loneliness: a review of Olivia Laing’s “The Lonely City”

After living in Switzerland for six years, I have been thinking a lot about loneliness and what it means for us humans. I have been thinking about whether loneliness is ever good for us? Are their ways that we could harness our lonely moments to learn more about ourselves? I have wondered about the difference … Continue reading

Roxane Gay Live at the Open Air Literatur Festival in Zurich 2019
African / American / Book Reviews / feminism / Haitian / Opinion Pieces / reading / The Latest

Roxane Gay Live at the Open Air Literatur Festival in Zurich 2019

Roxane Gay’s work has been seminal for feminist and fat liberation movements around the world. She draws on her own experiences about trauma, body image, feminist ideals, and Haitian and Black identity. Seeing her talk about her two most popular books Bad Feminist and Hunger: A memoir of (My) Body. I used Gay’s feminist text … Continue reading

“Pride & Prejudice & Passports”: a review of Corrie Garrett’s immigrant retelling of Jane Austen’s classic
American / The Latest / YA

“Pride & Prejudice & Passports”: a review of Corrie Garrett’s immigrant retelling of Jane Austen’s classic

I’ve read some modern re-tellings of classics that have just fallen flat. Sometimes classics are named classics because they are indeed just that: stories that transcend time. They shape our culture and understanding of the past. They also help us shape our future and in particular the way authors and readers write and engage with … Continue reading

The Best and Worst of Celebrity Memoirs
African / American / Book Reviews / chicano / comedy / nonfiction / South African / The Latest

The Best and Worst of Celebrity Memoirs

Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. Clicking through for additional information or to make a purchase may result in a small commission. In the last decade, there has been an explosion of celebrities writing memoirs and autobiographies. Within this celebrity genre, comedians and comedic actors and actresses are some of the most published. This … Continue reading

Being Muslim in America: a review of Ayser Salman’s memoir “The Wrong End of the Table”
American / Book Reviews / comedy / nonfiction / The Latest

Being Muslim in America: a review of Ayser Salman’s memoir “The Wrong End of the Table”

Ayser Salman’s memoir The Wrong End of the Table is a story of awkward childhood-teen antics and trying to figure out who you are when you have so many different cultures pulling you in different directions. Salman arrives in the U.S. with her family after they leave fascist Iraq in the 1980s. Figuring out who … Continue reading