Reviewer’s note: The two books by Reyna Grande were read in anticipation of attending her panel discussion with American Dirt author Jeanine Cummins at the #GaithersburgREADS event on March 31, which is cancelled for now with the intention of rescheduling. The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande memoir Washington Square Press, 2012 A Dream Called Home by Reyna Grande memoir Atria Books, 2018 The Distance Between Us begins with a map showing the border of the lower forty-eight United States and the northern Mexican states. It appears deceptively benign. For this author the more than two thousand miles separating Iguala, Guerrero from Los Angeles, California represent generational divides overflowing with dreams deferred and associated through spiraling cycles of economic oppression, despair, and cruelty. Alienation of affection from self and others builds momentum in the family’s psyche and manifests in their daily lives in ways that are subtle and explosive. Unpredictable
A blerdy binge reader comes clean, and riffs about books and life.