Find Conditional Citizens: On Belonging In America Depicted By Laila Lalami Shown As Textbook

CITIZENS is a collection of essays that explores what it means to belong in America when youve become a naturalized citizen, It unveils the privileges of citizenship while also pointing at all the instabilities of it for someone who doesnt “look” American, Its a call to action for a necessary and radical shift in what society views and deems acceptable for who fits into the definition of American.
Its probably one of the most potent books about citizenship that I have read, Its one of those books I wish could be required reading for every single American, Conditional Citizens is a beautifully written, clear and concise look at what it is to be a naturalised American citizen whose relationship with her adopted country is fraught, interspersed with some truthtelling about the ways in which the racism and gender discrimination embedded in contemporary U.
S. society makes citizenship conditional for so many, I can't help but feel that the kinds of people who most need to read this book are, however, the least likely to do so.
Smart and thoughtful writing. One of the best books Ive read this year, By far the best book I've read about race, gender, privilege, etc, It deals with the multiple factors creating American society, both historically and in the present, I learned so much. Lalami is quickly taking a space in my list of favorite authors,.stars

Usually, when a book compels me to shed tears, I do it for characters unknown, for faraway lands I will never get to see, for invented lives.
When I cried during Laila Lalami's book, I wept for something personal, I shed tears for my parents reaching for an impossible and mythic dream, uncles deported, and I wept for my own story, I saw myself in this book, which rarely happens, I am only one of a sea of immigrants in this country and, yet, we have all somehow experienced this collective grief: a nation and a people that recognize us but prefer to keep us at arm's length.


Conditional Citizens is a poignant look at how white Americans treat nonwhite Americans/immigrants, The author also expertly points out white supremacy's ability to shape our view of citizenship, identity, illegality, and borders, Although I did not learn anything fundamentally new, and I do have a few other criticisms, the author's ability to synthesize and weave her narrative within each chapter is impressive.
I would recommend this short collection of essays if you are looking for a new perspective on what it means to be a foreignborn U.
S. citizen. The cover of this book gives the appearance that perhaps this will be a book strictly about immigration, Or maybe that was my readin, But, in a fascinating thesis, the author covers so much more! The book highlights several ways in which an “American” might not be seen as fully equal under the law.


Through the book, the author provides her own perspective as a naturalized US citizen originally from Morocco and touches subject such as sexual harassment, borders, religion, cast, and wealth.


I especially appreciated the conclusion chapter as a way to summarize what was discussed and also ways to become better, A gripping and accessible look at the way people are treated in America based on their citizenship status, their race, their gender, and more, woven together with personal details of Lalami's own experience.
Despite the nature of the subject matter, I couldn't put this book down, Lalami's writing style swept me through it in two breathtaking sittings.
"Conditional citizens are people whose rights the state finds expendable in the pursuit of white supremacy, "

A short, direct, and searing review of what "equality" actually means in America, This should be required reading for everyone, Lalami touches on subjects ranging from her personal experience as an immigrant, to the border wall, to race, to the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford.


One of the most difficult and memorable books I will ever read,

See more of my reviews: sitelinkInstagram "The acclaimed, awardwinning novelistauthor of The Moor's Account and The Other Americansnow gives us a bracingly personal work of nonfiction that is concerned with the experiences of "conditional citizens.
" What does it mean to be American In this starkly illuminating and impassioned book, Pulitzer Prize Finalist Laila Lalami recounts her unlikely journey from Moroccan immigrant to U.
S. citizen, using it as a starting point for her exploration of the rights, liberties, and protections that are traditionally associated with American citizenship, Tapping into history, politics, and literature, she elucidates how accidents of birthsuch as national origin, race, or genderthat once determined the boundaries of Americanness still cast their shadows today.
Throughout the book, she poignantly illustrates how white supremacy survives through adaptation and legislation, with the result that a caste system is maintained, keeping the modern equivalent of white male landowners at the top of the social hierarchy.
Conditional citizens, she argues, are all the people whom America embraces with one arm, and pushes away with the other, Brilliantly argued and deeply personal, Conditional Citizens weaves together the author's own experiences with explorations of the place of nonwhites in the broader American culture" A brilliantly written, approachable, and even poetic yet still rigorous and wellresearched meditation on migration and belonging.
Lalami contends with a complicated relationship to place, language, and movement, as well as the historical legacies of Arab/Muslim racialization in the u.
s. and beyond. The blend of personal narrative/memory and metanarrative of history worked beautifully because Lalami locates her own personal experience inside this historical metanarrative, not separate form it.


This is a unique book in that it can be read as lyrical creative nonfiction and also feasibly cited as a resource in more academic arenas Lalami certainly wasn't trying to produce peerreviewed scholarship here, but her extensive academic training shined through with the seriousness with which she approached analyzing her life.
Admittedly, I wanted to abandon this book after the first chapter, Ms. Lalami and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum regarding religious, political, and social issues, However, I try to read books that stretch and challenge my thinking, Although my religious, political, and social views did not change by the end of the book, I gained a great appreciation for the author's knowledge and insights into her experiences as a nonwhite, American citizen.


My heart hurt for her as she shared some of the awful ways she's been spoken to and treated by fellow Americans, and I cannot argue nor take those experiences away from her.
However, I would not draw the same conclusions or recommend the same solutions to the issues she addressed,

Although this is not an excuse, I would argue most, if not all, other countries have issues relating to assimilation, border control, and poverty.
America is "different", but they are also the same: a nation comprised

of broken people, and therefore broken governments/nations, Rather than expressing discontentment, and perhaps even anger, towards America, I would rather address the problem of the human condition, We all have faults, so I would expect our governments and nations to have faults as well, I do hope we can remedy these things, but my hope is not in a government or movement of people, My faith in Christ leads me to believe that we do have a problem sin, and our solution and hope is Jesus, Thanks to the publisher for this free review copy,

Incredible incredible incredible book, A must read!

“It is because I love America that I cannot be quiet about her faults, The price of my belonging cannot be my silence”

“Sometimes, I wonder what this county might look like if no one had to go bankrupt because of medical costs no one had to be made homeless because of low wages and no one had to go into debt to receive an education.
I dont think thats a particularly radical thing to imagine, ”

Conditional Citizens is one of the best books Ive read in, It blew me away. I listened to the audiobook but went back to the physical copy and highlighted basically every page,

Lalami shares her observations and personal experiences about what it means to belong in America, and she contrasts and compares it with her upbringing in Morocco.
Each essay tied really well to the overall fact that all citizens do not enjoy full freedoms in this country, She expertly balanced her personal experiences with cultural observations and academic references to support her statements,

The topics discussed arent particularly new or revelatory, but the way in which she frames each issue on what freedom should look like really focused on what it means to be treated as a conditional citizen in your own country.
Where the poor are blamed for their circumstances, where nonwhites are policed and punished and disproportionate rates, where voter suppression is prevalent, Muslims are treated with suspicion, systemic racism harms the Black community, where Latinx folks are at a greater risk of being profiled and detained, and on and on.
She writes, “Each year, hundreds of U, S. citizens are wrongly held in immigration jails, where they have to wait for months, and in a few cases years, to go before a federal judge.
”

What I appreciated most was the last chapter where she describes what an equal society would look like, Where women are believed, the right to vote is universal, body autonomy for all, the right to education, healthcare, religion, basic standards of living, and more are enjoyed by everyone.
Its not radical to want these basic things for ALL Americans and we have to stop framing it as such!

If youre a fan of nonfiction that explores the dynamics of race, immigration, gender, and class in America, definitely pick this one up.
Id also recommend this as a complement to The Undocumented Americans, as both have a similar style of slapping you with truth bombs on every page.
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