by El-Sayed ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 6, 2014
An intelligent, honestly written memoir of immigration.
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El-Sayed, in his debut memoir, tells the story of his struggle to find a better life—and of losing what he’d worked so hard to gain.
Born to Egyptian parents in Kuwait, the author became an undocumented immigrant in the United States for a time. However, immigrants are far more than the sum of their paperwork, and El-Sayed provides a balanced portrayal of his own foundation in this engaging book. He was the fiercely smart and driven child of an alcoholic father, and ranked fifth among all students in Egypt when he graduated high school. He traveled to the United States with a tourist visa in 1993 and stayed, then put himself through college with a combination of hard work and student loans. He married an American woman in 1997 and later became a permanent resident. There was just one problem: he claimed to be an American citizen so he could apply for his loans, and although Immigration and Customs Enforcement never caught up to him, the U.S. Department of Education did, in 2000: “I counted ten law enforcement personnel....these guys acted like they hit the jackpot.” The author signed a confession right on the spot, in exchange for the promise of a quick release so he could finish the few weeks remaining before he was due to graduate from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona as valedictorian. But that release never materialized; the judge went back on the plea deal, throwing El-Sayed in jail with drug smugglers, violent bikers, and convicted murderers for more than a year. Once released, the author went straight back to school—but although the academic world may have been forgiving of his status as convicted felon, employers were not. In this memoir, El-Sayed effectively tells of his pitched struggle to provide a good life for his loved ones, including his American daughter, born in 2006. Along the way, he relates so many setbacks that it may leave readers wondering how he found the courage to keep trying. Throughout the book, the author shines equal light on his own struggles to fully realize his dreams as he does on some painful, embarrassing aspects of the United States immigration system.
An intelligent, honestly written memoir of immigration.Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2014
ISBN: 978-0990782834
Page Count: 280
Publisher: Officio
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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