Books·
A Beginner Guide to America
A heartfelt reminder that seeing a country through an immigrant's eyes reveals both its flaws and its promise.
Metadata
| Author | Roya Hakakian |
| Year | 2021 |
The Book in 3 Sentences
- What I enjoyed most about Beginner's Guide to America is how it made familiar things feel new again. Roya Hakakian writes about arriving in the U.S. as an immigrant, capturing all the confusion, humor, loneliness, and possibility that come with trying to make sense of a completely different country.
- I loved seeing America through an outsider's eyes. The book notices everyday things that many Americans probably take for granted—from airports and paperwork to accents, politeness, and the subtle feeling of slowly becoming "American."
- Hakakian doesn't shy away from the grief, prejudice, and homesickness that immigrants experience, but she also writes with deep appreciation for the kindness, opportunities, and hope that make America worth embracing despite its flaws.
- Being an immigrant myself, this is definitely a niche group that I have shared experience with no matter which country they are from. This is a strange feeling of camaraderie that I haven’t felt before.