Illegal

JosÉ Ángel N. is a writer and translator whose essays have appeared in cultural magazines in the United States and Mexico.

"With near-poetic language, this undocumented immigrant from Mexico. . . . describes his years-long journey from harrowing border crossing to proud husband, father and home owner."--Library Journal"Because we speak of them in the collective--as 'illegal immigrants' or 'the undocumented'--it is shocking to be addressed by a singular voice. Nearly twenty years ago JosÉ Ángel N. entered the United States under cover of darkness from his native Mexico. Now he addresses us in elegant American English. He is the cosmopolite in a country where he remains 'the illegal.' He works as a translator; he reads German philosophy; he is married to an American wife; they have a young daughter. The view from the skyscraper window is of Lake Michigan; on his computer screen, the face of his mother appears in her green house in Guadalajara, Mexico. There are ironies aplenty in this book. Perhaps the greatest irony is that he has been studying us and he knows us better than we know him."--Richard Rodriguez, author of Darling: A Spiritual Autobiography "A memoir from a decent man living in the shadows, evading questions and telling lies, presented here anonymously since to reveal his identity would mean to risk arrest and deportation. . . . An utterly believable close-up picture of one illegal immigrant's life in the United States." -- Kirkus Reviews ”JosÉ Ángel is like the Sisyphus of Greek mythological fame, stuck in an endless cycle of striving to push a boulder up a hill, anticipating the boulder will roll down again […] Against the odds, he overcomes major barrier after barrier.” --American Journal of Education "With great eloquence and pathos, N. draws on his daily life and references philosophers from Socrates to Kant to describe the netherworld of the undocumented. He takes solace in his education and his gift for reflection as he watches the slow and frustrating process of immigration reform. N. gives voice to the millions who, of necessity, live in the shadows."--Booklist "N. is able to put a truly human face on the 'shadow' that he is in our society and show us that he, along with the other eleven million undocumented people who live and toil in our nation, deserve to come out into the sun"--el Beisman "We do not have enough courageous writers who take the risk of telling their stories while undocumented. Illegal offers important testimony of the type of life an undocumented immigrant can lead when they have opportunities like N's. From the moment I began to read it I could not put it down."--Rita E. Urquijo-Ruiz, author of Wild Tongues: Transnational Mexican Popular Culture “Illegal is a memoir, certainly, but also a chronicle and an unforgiving history of American politics and culture. It is blunt, trenchant, and hard to read for its determination not to sanitize. It’s writing that is intoxicating, cathartic, and, perhaps, empowering.” --Antoinette Burton, coeditor of World Histories from Below: Dissent and Disruption, 1750-present"N.’s narrative silences the contentious immigration debate that proliferates amid political aspirants, policy pundits, and think-tank wonks in Washington. N.’s sublime and philosophic reflections transcend feckless fights about the contributions of the undocumented. As long as immigration occurs, this book remains required reading." --Paul Guajardo, University of Houston