VivirLatino

A journey through the life of "wanderers"

12:31 H | Topics: Books - Immigration

Translation Nation, a book by Pulitzer prize-winning author Hector Tobar, isn't just another rhetorical analysis of the "immigration situation" in the United States. This book, released by Riverhead Books, goes into the trenches to tell the real-life stories of people of all kinds who have ventured from their homes to make a new life in our country -- those who Tobar calls "the wanderers":

Tobar begins on familiar terrain, in his native Los Angeles, with his family's story, along with that of two brothers of Mexican origin with very different interpretations of Americanismo, or American identity as seen through a Latin American lens-one headed for U.S. citizenship and the other for the wrong side of the law and the south side of the border. But this is just a jumping-off point. Soon we are in Dalton, Georgia, the most Spanish-speaking town in the Deep South, and in Rupert, Idaho, where the most popular radio DJ is known as "El Chupacabras." By the end of the book, we have traveled from the geographical extremes into the heartland, exploring the familiar complexities of Cuban Miami and the brand-new ones of a busy Omaha INS station.

Translation Nation has already received high praise from critics from The New York Times and The Washington Post as a work which explores the complexity of immigration and the link shared by all Spanish-speaking immigrants.

Via / The El Paso Times and Penguin Books

Related

• Mala's Bookshelf : Freestyle by Linda Nieves- Powell (Wednesday, Apr 09 2008)
• Katie Couric Tries to Boost Sagging Ratings on the Backs of Immigrant Women (Tuesday, Apr 08 2008)