As an immigrant myself, albeit one who has lived here for almost the entirety of my 26 years, the premise of Teresa Toten‘s anthology on Canadian immigration appealed to me on a personal level.
That inevitable innocent question, “Where are you from?” is both unintentionally divisive and a reminder that you’re not quite good enough at passing as a native. As a visible minority, it’s especially confrontational and sure to put you on edge.
The book lends itself well to a casual read-though, as the anecdotes are short enough that you can easily read through one or two on you commute, or while waiting at the airport, without feeling disjointed if you forget to pick it up again for the rest of the week — something that’s bound to happen with all this lovely spring weather we’ve been having. Sunshine, unfortunately, is a major distraction — not that I’m complaining.
The key word is relatable, I suspect most, immigrant or not, will be able to empathise with the feeling of intentional/unintentional exclusion related by the authors.
I encourage you to check it out for yourself at you local library, or purchase it on Amazon or through your favourite local bookseller.
[Related] Torontoist Book Review
For disclosure purposes, it should be noted that this book was graciously provided to me for review by the Penguin Group. I encourage you to check out their selection of new releases and give them a follow on twitter if you want to keep up on Canadian literary releases of note.
Discussion
No comments yet.