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nuhafariha's review
3.0
Thank you to The New Press and NetGalley for the Reader's Copy!
Now available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Indie Bookstore.
A mix of political science, history, editorial and creative nonfiction, "Let's Talk About Your Wall" is an interesting collection that focuses on the Mexican-American border wall from the Mexican and Mexican American perspective. The essays are thought provoking, emotive and scathing in their collective disapproval of the wall as well as eye-opening on the impact of the wall in ways big and small. For example, one essay might focus on the Honduran ghettos in Mexico created by the caravan while others talk more broadly about the concept of rape in the history between the United States and Mexico. While I greatly appreciated reading this collection, one of the things that makes discussing migration so difficult is that the situation is constantly evolving. No longer has the author's pen dried on the page and a new policy has popped up. It would be interesting to see a follow up to this piece now after COVID19 pandemic as well as the news report on forced sterilizations in the Georgia ICE Detention facility.
Now available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Indie Bookstore.
A mix of political science, history, editorial and creative nonfiction, "Let's Talk About Your Wall" is an interesting collection that focuses on the Mexican-American border wall from the Mexican and Mexican American perspective. The essays are thought provoking, emotive and scathing in their collective disapproval of the wall as well as eye-opening on the impact of the wall in ways big and small. For example, one essay might focus on the Honduran ghettos in Mexico created by the caravan while others talk more broadly about the concept of rape in the history between the United States and Mexico. While I greatly appreciated reading this collection, one of the things that makes discussing migration so difficult is that the situation is constantly evolving. No longer has the author's pen dried on the page and a new policy has popped up. It would be interesting to see a follow up to this piece now after COVID19 pandemic as well as the news report on forced sterilizations in the Georgia ICE Detention facility.
george_tte's review
informative
slow-paced
2.75
As with any collection of stories or essays, it’s always hard to judge the whole book. Some were very insightful, but others dragged on or didn’t have an impact for me. Either way, it’s definitely a book worth reading, and I might revisit some of the essays I enjoyed the most.
shanviolinlove's review
5.0
This should be required reading. The series of essays sheds light on the reality behind the myths of the wall, what it means, and what it promises. A denial of human rights from refugees fleeing deadly situations back home (we Americans flinch from the reminders that we once turned away Jews from Nazi-driven Europe, and yet...); blaming Mexicans for the lack of work, even though they contribute vastly to the workforce; the rife, hostile presence of xenophobia and racism towards brown skin and Spanish language; the politics of division and halting migration (on BOTH sides of the Mexican border)--the narrative of human history, as each person on the planet can trace their position to a migration, theirs or an ancestor's. Eloquent, intelligent, sometimes heartrending, each essay offers a different angle of the dire situation that this wall presents, and though the President championing the wall is no longer in office, the ideologies he embedded in the discourse of the past four years are still taking roots. It's time for everyone to reassess and look at this from an accurate and, most important, human angle.
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Let’s Talk About Your Wall is an essay collection by Mexican writers who use Trump’s wall rhetoric as a starting point. It includes a real range of topics and styles, some abstract and academic; others intensely personal. Overall I found it informative and thought-provoking. “(T)his is the only border that makes any sense to me: the one that separates those who do everything in their power to help others from the rest of the species.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
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