The Wind Knows My Name

 

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende  260 pp.

In 1938 Vienna, Austria young Samuel Adler has his life torn apart on Kristallnacht. His father is injured and disappears after the Nazi's destroy his medical office and their home. With the help of a neighbor and the pharmacist Dr. Adler did business with five year old Samuel is sent alone on a Kindertransport train alone with only a change of clothes and his precious violin. He never sees his parents again. Evenutally he makes his way to the U.S. finally making his home in California. In 2019, seven year old Anita Diaz and her mother escape from violence in El Salvador and make their way on the roof of a train to the U.S. Border. They arrive to become victims of the separation policy where refugee children were removed from their parents. Anita's mother disappears and Anita, who is blind is stuck in a system that shuffles her from one bad situation to another. Her best coping skill is her imagination. A young social worker and an up and coming lawyer are trying to find Anita's mother and make sure Anita can stay in the U.S. Although the ending isn't completely happy, there is a satisfactory resolution to all that happens. Isabel Allende is one of my favorite authors and although this book is not my favorite of hers, it is well worth reading. I listened to the audiobook edition.

One Year of Ugly

 One Year of Ugly by Caroline Mackenzie (2020) 325 pages

Yola Palacios is 24, living in Trinidad with her parents, brother, and sister. Her family, and that of an uncle and two aunts, fled Venezuela for Trinidad and lack documentation. It's tough enough for them to make a living under the radar, but it gets even more challenging when Aunt Celia dies and a mobster called Ugly shows up at a family gathering to announce that Celia owed him a large debt. He demands that the four households of family members all work off Celia's debt by taking in other undocumented citizens from Venezuela that he's moving to Trinidad. They don't really have a choice because of their undocumented status, plus Ugly's ruthlessness. When Ugly's strongman Román shows up, Yola finds her instant attraction to him reciprocated, but she tries to fight it for a time. Once started, their relationship must be kept secret for her family's safety and for Román's safety, as well. The stakes get even higher for the whole family when Aunt Milagros's mental health suffers from the stress and she starts acting bizarrely.

This debut novel is based on stories of real refugees that the author got to know when she worked as a legal translator in Trinidad. Splashes of humor and humanity made me unable to put down the book.