WHY ISNโT EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT THIS BOOK?!
Set in an all-too-real dystopian future in an unnamed border state, this absolutely chilling book explores the dark side of America and the horrific effects of racist immigration policies. Chilling because so many of the terrible events in this fictional book are very real.
Our main character Iris is a second-generation Mexican-American who has always prided herself on being a rule-follower. Even though her name is based on a lie, she uses it proudly: โ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐๐ฏ๐ฆฬ๐ด,โ she admits, but it was actually because a teacher couldnโt pronounce her name. โ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ด, ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ข ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ.โ
Iris and her young daughter Melanie move into a new home in a suburb where Iris marvels at the neat and orderly neighborhood. Except that soon a wall begins to rise around Irisโs home, gleaming yet covered in broken glass. And no one else can see it.
Soon, a new identification system provides all โlegitimateโ citizens with a handy wristband. The government touts it as protecting the environment in a propaganda campaign designed to instill fear and suspicion among Americans. This does not seem very far-fetched at all which makes this novel all the more terrifying. All of Irisโs past attempts to conform will not help her now.
This terrifying thriller blends elements of satire and magical realism into a story that is both heartbreaking and inspiring all at once. A must-read!
About the Book:
Brando Skyhorse, the PEN/Hemingway Awardโwinning author of The Madonnas of Echo Park, returns with a riveting literary dystopian novel set in a near-future America where mandatory identification wristbands make second-generation immigrants into second-class citizensโa powerful family saga for readers of Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West and Rumaan Alam’s Leave the World Behind.
Iris Prince is starting over. After years of drifting apart, she and her husband are going through a surprisingly drama-free divorce. She’s moved to a new house in a new neighborhood, and has plans for gardening, coffee clubs, and spending more time with her nine-year-old daughter Melanie. It feels like her life is finally exactly what she wants it to be.
Then, one beautiful morning, she looks outside her kitchen windowโand sees that a wall has appeared in her front yard overnight. Where did it come from? What does it mean? And why does it seem to keep growing?
Meanwhile, a Silicon Valley startup has launched a high-tech wrist wearable called “the Band.” Pitched as a convenient, eco-friendly tool to help track local utilities and replace driver’s licenses and IDs, the Band is available only to those who can prove parental citizenship. Suddenly, Iris, a proud second-generation Mexican-American, is now of “unverifiable origin,” unable to prove who she is, or where she, and her undocumented loved ones, belong. Amid a climate of fear and hate-fueled violence, Iris must confront how far she’ll go to protect what matters to her most.
My Name Is Iris is an all-too-possible story about family, intolerance, and hope, offering a brilliant and timely look at one woman’s journey to discover who she can’tโand canโbe.