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Praise & Reviews
for
Beautiful Country
Named one of the best books of 2021 by The New York Times, NPR, Publishers Weekly, Newsweek, The Guardian, Good Housekeeping, She Reads, and more
An Instant New York Times Bestseller
Read with Jenna Pick for September 2021
An Instant National Indie Bestseller
A New York Times Editors’ Choice
New York Times Group Text Pick for Book Clubs for September 2021
New York Times Seven New Memoirs to Read in Fall 2021
New York Times Feature for New Books Coming September 2021
A Book of the Month Selection for September 2021
An IndieNext Pick for September 2021
An Instant Amazon Bestseller and Editor’s Pick
An Instant Barnes & Noble Bestseller
The Strand’s Book HookUp Selection for September 2021
A Barnes & Noble Most Anticipated New Book Release of September 2021
A “Best Reads” Pick on Entertainment Weekly’s Hit List of Memoirs
A Books Are Magic Monthly Magic Book Subscription Nonfiction Pick for September 2021
Alma’s Favorite Books for Fall 2021
A “Memoir to Remember” Pick by Refinery29 UK
A BookPage Most Anticipated Fall Title
A Library Journal Title to Watch
The Bookseller’s Editor’s Choice
An “Unmissable Memoir” Choice by Stylist UK
Featured on “Most Anticipated” lists from The New York Times, Shondaland, Nylon, The New York Post, Yahoo! News, B&N Reads, PopSugar, Kirkus Reviews, Book Page, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, LitHub, Daily Kos, Alma, SheReads, BookRiot, Bustle and more
“Beautiful Country is not only a window into a family’s experience of beginning again with limited resources, it’s also the story of a reader using books to find her way. . . . Chances are, you’ve read an immigration story or two. . . . What sets Wang’s memoir apart is the narrowness of its scope . . . you feel as if you’re traveling with her on foot instead of observing by drone. . . . Wang’s powerful story reminds us how lucky we are to have the privileges unlocked by [a U.S. passport]—and what others risk and endure every day in hopes of getting one too.”
–The New York Times Book Review
“Elegantly affecting. . . . [Qian Julie Wang] tell[s] [a] remarkable stor[y] of displacement, heartache and resilience.”
—The Guardian
“This lyrical book is full of small moments of joy, heartbreaking pain and the struggles of a family trying to survive. . . . It’s a uniquely American story, and an essential one.”
—Good Housekeeping
“Extraordinary… Consider this remarkable memoir a new classic.”
–Publishers Weekly, Starred Review of the Day
“Engaging readers through all five senses and the heart, Wang's debut memoir is a critical addition to the literature on immigration as well as the timeless category of childhood memoir.”
–Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
“One of those books that stays with you long after reading it.”
–Jenna Bush Hager
“Wang’s voice is powerful and the writing is absolutely gorgeous.”
–Emma Straub
“Incredibly important, exquisitely written, harrowing. . . Beautiful Country tells [Wang’s] story, well, quite beautifully. It is not only Wang’s mastery of the language that makes the story so compelling, but also the passionate yearning for empathy and understanding. Beautiful Country is timely, yes, but more importantly it is a near-masterpiece that will make Qian Julie Wang a literary star.”
–Shondaland, Fall 2021 Reading List
“Wang has written a memoir precise enough to chill her readers. The narrative is full of sharply rendered scenes....She is vulnerable in revealing her uniquely American trauma: a bruised wrist that never quite healed; a hunger that was never quite sated; a feeling that everything, at any moment, could suddenly be taken away. Wang, who is now a civil rights lawyer, is a voice we need.”
–Bookpage, Starred Review
“Evocative, ironic, aspirational and crushing, Qian Julie Wang has written an unforgettable memoir of the soul shaking experience of being undocumented. Not theory, not analysis, but life as lived in a maelstrom of conflicting opposites, balancing memory against present, known and unknown, despair and perseverance, love and hunger, always hunger. Fervent and cinematic, Beautiful Country is an extraordinary debut.”
–Barnes & Noble Booksellers
“An exquisitely crafted memoir.”
–Oprah Daily, 30 of the Best Fall 2021 Books to Cuddle Up With
“There are many things to admire about Qian Julie Wang’s memoir … from the writing to the powerful story of her history as an undocumented citizen. But what has stayed with me most is Wang’s refusal to flatten her narrative to one of suffering. While Wang writes with clarity on the injustices of this country’s immigration system, she also holds space for hope and joy here. I savored every page.”
–Parnassus Books, 30 Great Reads for September
“Full of keen emotional insight, gorgeous, heartrendingly lyrical prose, and the humbling story of a girl coming of age in an impossible situation, Beautiful Country is an astonishingly poignant and unforgettable book.”
“[A] powerful debut. . . [Wang] movingly tells how undocumented families like hers are often overlooked and their experiences ignored. A haunting memoir of people and places that will stay with readers long after the last page.”
–Library Journal
“A lyrical memoir of a family’s life as undocumented migrants in America. Written from the author’s childhood perspective, it is a powerful read but one that is full of love and hope.”
–Huffington Post UK, quoting Katie McHale, Waterstones buyer, 21 Fascinating Non-Fiction Books That Should Be On Your Radar This Autumn
“Beautiful Country rings with power and authenticity. Wang’s searing exploration reveals how she and her family were forced to navigate the yawning cracks in the American Dream. An eloquent, thought-provoking and touching memoir.”
–Jean Kwok, author of Girl in Translation and Searching for Sylvie Lee
“Heartrending, unvarnished, and powerfully courageous, this account of growing up undocumented in America will never leave you.”
–Gish Jen, author of The Resisters
“Deeply compelling . . . I was moved by the love and resilience of this family thrust into darkness. It is an important and pertinent book and although it focuses on the particularly savage and daily discrepancy that exist between the so-called ‘American dream’ and the lives of the poor and undocumented in the US, the book casts an urgent light on a reality that extends way beyond America’s borders.”
–Hisham Matar, author of The Return
“A story that needs to be heard. Moving, beautiful, heartbreaking and even funny . . . I never wanted it to end.”
–Philippa Perry, author of The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read
“A gorgeous and heartfelt tale of Wang's childhood as an undocumented New Yorker. . . Incredible.”
“A powerful, gripping insight into the world of an undocumented migrant in New York. Wang's memoir is beautifully written, with vivid scenes that linger in the mind long after finishing it.”
–Helena Merriman, author of Tunnel 29
“Qian Julie Wang is not only an astonishing talent, but a witness to the inhumanity of the experience many suffer upon moving to the West. In restrained but beautiful prose, Wang honors her family's sacrifices, but alerts us to the urgent realization that they should not be necessary.”
–Nesrine Malik, author of We Need New Stories
“The writing is sparse, stylish, sometimes harrowing and sometimes humorous as she narrates experiences that are incredibly common but rarely captured with this level of artful control. It’s shaping up to be one of the best memoirs of the year.”
–Bookpage, Most Anticipated Fall Titles
“Powerfully reconstructing, without embellishment, her memories of [a] shadow existence, Wang reveals truths about living in constant fear and trauma that will undoubtedly move readers.”
–Booklist
“[A]n amazing story of the emotional and physical toll of lives lived in the enforced shadows of anti-immigrant America.”
–Daily Kos, Hot Nonfiction Books Coming Out in September
“This beautifully expressed memoir of the immigrant experience charts her parents' struggles to survive as ‘illegals’ in New York while their daughter battles hunger and loneliness at school, and is all the more moving for being related from a child's point of view.”
–The Bookseller, Editor’s Choice
“A vital and unforgettable read.”
–Refinery29, Memoirs to Remember
“Intricate and penetrating . . . a beautiful and hopeful read that also underlines what can truly happen to people who are simply seeking refuge.”
–Stylist, Unmissable Memoirs for Summer 2021
“For fans of Angela's Ashes and The Glass Castle.”
—Newsday