La distancia entre nosotros (Atria Espanol) (Spanish Edition)
“Una historia desgarradora sobre el otro lado de la experiencia del inmigrante a EEUU– la penuria y la desolación de los niños dejados atrás por sus padres.” —Sonia Nazario, ganadora del premio Pulitzer y autora de La travesía de Enrique
Cuando el padre de Reyna Grande deja a su esposa y sus tres hijos atrás en un pueblo de México para hacer el peligroso viaje a través de la frontera a los Estados Unidos, promete que pronto regresará con el dinero suficiente para construir la casa de sus sueños. Sus promesas se vuelven más difíciles de creer cuando los meses de espera se convierten en años. Cuando se lleva a su esposa para reunirse con él, Reyna y sus hermanos son depositados en el hogar ya sobrecargado de su abuela paterna, Evila, una mujer endurecida por la vida.
Los tres hermanos se ven obligados a cuidar de sí mismos. En los juegos infantiles encuentran una manera de olvidar el dolor del abandono y a resolver problemas de adultos. Cuando su madre regresa, la reunión sienta las bases para un capítulo nuevo y dramático en la vida de Reyna: su propio viaje a El otro lado para vivir con el hombre que ha poseído su imaginación durante años— su padre ausente.
En esta memoria extraordinaria, la galardonada escritora Reyna Grande le da vida a sus años tumultuosos, capturando la confusión y las contradicciones de una infancia divida entre dos padres y dos países. Sólo en los libros, en la música y en su rica imaginación ella encontrará consuelo, un refugio momentáneo de un mundo en el que cada lugar se siente como El otro lado. La distancia entre nosotros capta el paso de una niña de la infancia a la adolescencia y más allá. Una divertida, lírica, pero desgarradora historia, nos recuerda que las alegrías y las tristezas de la infancia están siempre con nosotros, impresas en el corazón, recordándonos de ese lugar que fue nuestro primer hogar.
También disponible en inglés como The Distance Between Us.
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Community Reviews
This book was selected as a One Book/One Read for the Contra Costa Library system fall 2017. I wanted to read it in Spanish--to read it in the author's heart language. It took me longer to read because I have not learned to speed read in Spanish... I really enjoyed this book. It gave me another look at the illegal immigration problem we are facing in the U.S. Reading it from a child's point of view is very enlightening. I highly recommend this book
This is a very sad book. When the author was 2 years old, her father left "for the other side", U.S.A., as an illegal immigrant to give his family a better life. Then a year later her mother decides to join her father. Reyna, her sister, Mago, and brother, Carlos, are left in the care of their paternal grandmother.
Their paternal grandmother does not treat them well. She is also caring for another grandchild who's mother also left for the other side. The grandmother clearly treats this granddaughter better. When their aunt returns for visits, she never brings Reyna, Mago or Carlos any gifts.
They are very poor and feel abandoned by their parents. The townspeople do not help as they call the children "little orphans". Their parents do not communicate frequently with them. Reyna adores her father. She has a photograph of him and refers to him as "the man behind the glass".
When Reyna starts, school she is punished because she is left handed. She wants to quit after lunch but returns to the classroom and defiantly continues to write with her left hand.
One day, a package arrives for the children. Their cousin thinks its for her and is furious to find out it is for Reyna's family. The children eagerly open the box to a great disappointment. Their parents had forgotten that the children have grown since they left. Nothing fits. However, Mago tells Reyna, if you curl your toes, your feet will fit into the shoes. They put on the too small clothes and run around town showing off. They want the town to know they are not orphans and that their parents care for them. They arrive home to blistered feet.
A few years later, her mother returns with Igala with her baby sister. Her father had committed adultery and chose the other woman. Since her mom did not know English or anyone there, she decides to return home. She moves the family to her mom's house. She gets a job, falls for a boxer, and runs away with the boxer. Again, the children feel abandoned.
After a year, their mother returns after a car accident. She finds a job in town but abandons the children again because it is not safe for her to walk home late at night. She goes to live with a sister and visits the children on Sundays. Mago starts writing her father letters every week telling how much he is missed and if he would come visit.
8 years after their father left, a cousin comes running to tell them to come to their paternal grandmother's house because their dad will be calling in one hour! They are ecstatic. When they get there, the joke is on them because their dad is already there! If they knew, they would have washed. He is ashamed at how poorly they are dressed.
They convince him to take them to the other side. It takes 3 tries before they make it across the border. When they get to Los Angeles, they discover that their father is an abusive alcoholic.
The rest of the story is how they lived in the U.S., school, and how their father encouraged them to get a good education. They get their green cards during the amnesty program. Reyna eventually becomes a citizen.
This is a very sad book. When the author was 2 years old, her father left "for the other side", U.S.A., as an illegal immigrant to give his family a better life. Then a year later her mother decides to join her father. Reyna, her sister, Mago, and brother, Carlos, are left in the care of their paternal grandmother.
Their paternal grandmother does not treat them well. She is also caring for another grandchild who's mother also left for the other side. The grandmother clearly treats this granddaughter better. When their aunt returns for visits, she never brings Reyna, Mago or Carlos any gifts.
They are very poor and feel abandoned by their parents. The townspeople do not help as they call the children "little orphans". Their parents do not communicate frequently with them. Reyna adores her father. She has a photograph of him and refers to him as "the man behind the glass".
When Reyna starts, school she is punished because she is left handed. She wants to quit after lunch but returns to the classroom and defiantly continues to write with her left hand.
One day, a package arrives for the children. Their cousin thinks its for her and is furious to find out it is for Reyna's family. The children eagerly open the box to a great disappointment. Their parents had forgotten that the children have grown since they left. Nothing fits. However, Mago tells Reyna, if you curl your toes, your feet will fit into the shoes. They put on the too small clothes and run around town showing off. They want the town to know they are not orphans and that their parents care for them. They arrive home to blistered feet.
A few years later, her mother returns with Igala with her baby sister. Her father had committed adultery and chose the other woman. Since her mom did not know English or anyone there, she decides to return home. She moves the family to her mom's house. She gets a job, falls for a boxer, and runs away with the boxer. Again, the children feel abandoned.
After a year, their mother returns after a car accident. She finds a job in town but abandons the children again because it is not safe for her to walk home late at night. She goes to live with a sister and visits the children on Sundays. Mago starts writing her father letters every week telling how much he is missed and if he would come visit.
8 years after their father left, a cousin comes running to tell them to come to their paternal grandmother's house because their dad will be calling in one hour! They are ecstatic. When they get there, the joke is on them because their dad is already there! If they knew, they would have washed. He is ashamed at how poorly they are dressed.
They convince him to take them to the other side. It takes 3 tries before they make it across the border. When they get to Los Angeles, they discover that their father is an abusive alcoholic.
The rest of the story is how they lived in the U.S., school, and how their father encouraged them to get a good education. They get their green cards during the amnesty program. Reyna eventually becomes a citizen.
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