Qian Julie Wang’s memoir, Beautiful Country released on September 7, recounts her family’s coming to what she calls Mei Guo, beautiful country, when she is seven years old in 1994. The writing is spare and lyrical, in a voice that channels the girl who tries to manage coming of age in a place where she is often reminded that she does not belong.
Her parents leave China as professors and arrive in America as “illegals.” Steady warnings to Qian emphasize keeping a low profile and always saying that she was born in America. Every encounter with any official brings fear that she some word of her family’s status will be revealed. In addition to this lingering cloud, instead of life as professionals, her parents must work low-wage jobs in sweatshops. Life at home changes as well with Qian remembering a laughter filled home in China, now replaced with tension and arguments as her parents bring their tension home.
The resourceful Qian takes matters into her own hands when she is relegated to a class in school for children with “special needs” and left to herself. She teaches herself English beginning with Clifford, the giant red dog, and moving on to the Cat in the Hat, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Shel Silverstein. Then she talks her father into intervening and getting her back into regular classes. This first effort foreshadows her independence and coping mechanisms she will use for herself and sometimes for her parents. She will continue using books to educate herself as she finds the library. As part of her fitting in, she chooses to call herself “Julie” from Julie of the Wolves since her name emphasizes another way she is different.
Life takes an even worse turn when her mother hides an illness until it worsens to the point that she spends a length of time in the hospital without a full recovery, amassing debts they cannot afford to pay. Ambivalent feelings about both her parents and her new “beautiful” country pervade this memoir and point up her own resilience as she copes with her challenges.
The book forms a window into the immigrant experience and is well worth the read.