Amazon Review for Patti Liszkay’s book "Equal and Opposite Reactions"

I wrote the following review of Patti Liszkay's novel for Amazon.com

An Engaging and Timely Debut Novel

Patti Liszkay’s debut novel, Equal and Opposite Reactions, is full of trouble, and as writing instructors tell their students, “Only trouble is interesting.” The novel is a story of blossoming love, broken love that has turned to hatred, greed, and selflessness. And if that weren’t enough, there is a plot twist involving an issue that has been in the news in the first months of Donald Trump’s administration—the massive roundup and deportation of undocumented immigrants. We see the difficult choices left for these immigrants, their families, and supporters and the wide ripples of damage these policies are causing.

Patti Liszkay tells much of her story via dialogue and action, with a minimum of exposition. In that way her novel is much like a movie or play. The dialogue rings true, even when it is bilingual, in Spanish and English. The characters are vivid, and, frankly, fun.

The novel is set primarily in working class Northeast Philadelphia, and the author has a fine grasp of the geography as well as the ethnic mix and voices of the area. Honestly, I was amazed at how much the author knows—about different kinds of people and professions, about legal issues involving immigration, and the twists and turns of the human heart

There are some minor flaws that will be corrected in future editions—typos, and the use of backwards accent marks in the Spanish sections. Some of the legal issues are out-of-date because of very recent Trump Administration decisions. But overall, this is a very engaging novel, with the sweetest of love stories. It makes you hope that Patti Liszkay continues writing fiction!

If you want to see Patti's book on Amazon.com, click here.

I've written a poem in Spanish about a tragedy at the Mexican-American border.

en la frontera, los inmigrantes desesperados . . .

mujeres y niños llorones,

policía exigiendo documentos, pasaportes--

algunos niños agarran fuertemente los pasaportes americanos--

y las manos de sus madres--

pero las madres no tienen nada,

ningún pasaporte,

ninguna esperanza

para el viaje de vuelta largo a Guatemala,

donde no existe un futuro,

no existe nada.

[on the border, the desperate immigrants / mothers and children weeping / police demanding documents, passports / some children grasp fiercely their American passports and the hands of their mothers / but the mothers have nothing / no passport / no hope / for the long journey back to Guatemala / where there exists no future / where there is nothing]

I wrote this poem in response to a news report I saw two days ago on Univision. Here's a link to the piece:

 http://www.univision.com/shows/noticiero-univision/agentes-fronterizos-interceptan-grupo-de-indocumentados-que-cruzaba-el-rio-bravo-con-un-bebe-recien-nacido-video

If that doesn't work click here.

Just Thoughts: "I was a Stranger in a Strange Land . . . ."

Just Thoughts: "I Was a Stranger in a Strange Land . . ." 

Unless you are of Native American heritage, your family has an immigration story. This puts you in good company, because both the Old and New Testaments are full of immigration and exile stories. We hear of the Hebrews in exile in Egypt or in Babylon, where they are "strangers in a strange land." The hymn sung years ago by Linda Ronstadt captures it: "By the rivers of Babylon, where we sat down, and there he wept, when we remembered Zion . . . Carry us away captivity, require from us a song, but how can we sing . . . in a strange land?" Immigration and exile are full of tears and loneliness. That is why the Bible honors the tradition of hospitality and kindness toward strangers and immigrants.

Jesus, scripture tells us, was in exile in Egypt as a little baby. And growing up in Galilee, he was far away from the centers of power in Jerusalem or Rome. Even when he was acknowledged as a great preacher and prophet in Jerusalem, he was recognized by his accent and ways as an outsider (same was true for his disciples, as we see in the Passion and Death narratives). Many of the stories about Jesus depict him treating outsiders, Samaritans, fallen women, sinners, tax collectors, lepers, with the greatest respect, kindness, and love.

So the kind treatment of immigrants and outsiders and minorities is a central them of Judaeo-Christian scripture and tradition. It is not optional. All our families have immigration stories. That's why the phrase "the stone that the builder rejected has become the cornerstone" is repeated so often in our readings at mass. We were (or maybe are) that rejected stone--and we will be the cornerstone of the New Jerusalem, the Kingdom of God that we are trying to build. 

Be kind to immigrants. Like them, we were once strangers in a strange land.

[This essay was written for St. Mary's Painesville--for the August 30, 2015 bulletin.]

Linda Ronstadt singing "Rivers of Babylon"

Jesuits Challenge House Speaker Boehner on the Immigration Issue/TVPRA Act

Brian Rice sent me this story. The Jesuit priests and brothers in the United States are challenging their high school and college grads--one of whom is John Boehner, who attended Xavier University in Cincinnati. The Jesuits are among the best educators in the world (think Xavier University, Georgetown, John Carroll, Seattle University, Boston College, Fordham, Gonzaga, Loyola, University of Detroit, Marquette; St. Ignatius High School; St. Xavier High School, Rockhurst HS, Walsh Jesuit HS, Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C.--so many more). The Jesuits are also leaders in the fight for social justice.

U.S. Jesuit leader challenges Jesuit alumni Boehner . . .

http://americamagazine.org/issue/protect-people-border

Protect the People at the Border

The Society of Jesus in the United States (the Jesuit order) is making a personal plea to the 43 Congressional representatives who graduated from U.S. Jesuit high schools and colleges to “uphold the dignity of the human person and the sacredness of human life” when considering policy solutions to address the influx of children fleeing violence in Central America.
In a letter to Speaker John Boehner, (Xavier University) copied to Jesuit alumni in Congress, Father Thomas H. Smolich, S.J., president of the Jesuit Conference, called on Congress to uphold the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA).
Currently, most unaccompanied minors detained by Border Patrol agents are handed over to the Department of Health and Human Services, which coordinates their care and provides an opportunity for children to tell their story to an adult they can trust. As part of his response to the increase in the number of children arriving at the border, President Obama asked Congress to consider weakening the TVPRA in order to fast-track deportations of children. Now, House leadership is seeking to change the law, which would allow a single Border Patrol agent to render a deportation decision and quickly deport a child back to his or her home country.
Father Smolich said that a change to the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA), “would result in children having a one-shot chance to disclose their persecution to a Customs and Border Protection agent or officer….”  He called any attempt to dilute TVPRA “inhumane and an insult to American values,” particularly since some children might have been “victimized by armed men in uniform.”
The letter also asked Speaker Boehner and Congressional alumni of Jesuit institutions to protect the due process rights of vulnerable children and examine the root causes leading children to flee in unprecedented numbers.
“This is not a new crisis, nor is it primarily at our border.  Rather it has been escalating over the last decade…90 children are murdered or disappeared in Honduras every month,” said Father Smolich, who also reminds Speaker Boehner that “this is the equivalent of eight children being executed in your Congressional district every thirty days.”
Recalling the assassination of six Jesuits in El Salvador nearly 25 years ago, Father Smolich emphasized the Jesuits’ commitment to working with fellow Jesuits and lay partners in Central America, who live the reality of widespread violence. They see “the elementary school teacher murdered when he tried to prevent gangs from forcibly recruiting his students; the young girl pulled from her home, offered as a birthday present to a gang leader and then raped by 16 men; lay colleagues of Jesuits assassinated and harassed by the police.”
Father Smolich closed his letter by asking the Speaker and his fellow Jesuit alumni in Congress to “uphold an American tradition” of welcoming “the refugee, the victim of trafficking, the child who has been abused or abandoned.”