Dear America

This autobiography/memoir from Jose Antonio Vargas was an interesting and informative read. While certain parts were quite enjoyable, others were hard to feel emotionally attached to. Vargas does a great job of sketching out his early childhood and some of his formative experiences, but he does not delve too deeply into the relationships he has with his family and mentors, beyond a surface level. His process of learning that he was undocumented and his subsequent career were interesting, but there were some stylistic and writing errors (several distinct instances of phrases being repeated word-for-word, sometimes in the following sentence). The first part of the book had a lot of potential, with Vargas's examination of events that probably are not too easy to remember, as well as his process of coming to understand the United States. Yet again, I would have liked to see him dive deeper into some of these issues of assimilation and homelessness. Vargas seemed evasive in his own memoir, with the latter going into more statistics and numbers on being undocumented (which was certainly interesting and worth knowing).

The vignettes/episodic style of the book did not help the weak narrative links. Though it was mostly chronological, the beginning felt more focused about Vargas's reflections on his life, and the latter became more a fact-dispensing chronology of his career, along with some facts. I appreciated the facts, but it seemed to be a weird tonal shift. I like that the book is trying to portray his experience as an undocumented immigrant, but he even admits that he is good at reporting, less so at writing. The latter half also delved into some criticisms that have been leveled against Vargas, and it seemed to get a bit defensive on his part... I understand again why he showed the reader these events, but it felt a bit out of place. Overall, it was a decent read, but I felt a bit like he was preaching to the choir; those who are seriously anti-immigration are not likely to pick up this book and read the facts, let alone about his life. So I would have liked to get a greater sense of his emotional turmoil. Vargas hints at his isolation and his inability to open up to others -- but does not take the reader deeper than that, as if afraid to disclose too much vulnerability in the book. I understand feeling that way, but in a memoir type book, it left me wanting to know a bit more about him.

I would recommend reading if you are not an immigrant and have taken your citizenship for granted, particularly in the US; or even if you are a foreigner who has no idea how insane the immigration process in the US is, and why there is such a big issue of it. I was sympathetic to Vargas's early childhood, but the overall book did not provide me as strong a connection. I am curious to see Vargas's documentary, White People, because he hints at some of the tensions in the book and it made me curious. The book certainly highlights the incredulously difficulties of being undocumented in the US, and it is a valuable contribution; but as a memoir, a book about Vargas himself, I am not sure it is as reflective as I was anticipating. Being an immigrant, I was able to sympathize with some of his struggles of belonging (especially with his discussions of binary black/white America), but overall I would have liked to hear more from him.