Book Review: Girl in Translation

Girl in Translation is a great, eye opening book. It is the story of a Mother & Daughter who move from Hong Kong, China to NYC. They viewed NYC and the US as the place where they could have a good life but it wasn't easy for them at first.

The Mother's Aunt had been living in the US and brought them over to NYC. She arranged for an apartment and also work for them....in a factory. They barely spoke English and had to suddenly survive in NYC in a crappy apartment and very hard work at the factory.

This story was eye opening because it talked about sweatshops right in Manhattan. I know there are 'factories' particularly that put together handbags right above Canal St. However, I didn't ever think that people would be paid soooooo little and that small kids would actually work there. I think a lot of us definitely take our freedom for granted and are reminded of this when we hear how others struggle to live here.

The characters in this story definitely go through a lot of growth and development. The book was a pretty quick & interesting read. I'd recommend it!

I did a quick search for sweatshops in the US and found these two articles about one in SF and one in NYC. I think this is a complicated issue...In these articles, it argues that it could or could not be a sweatshop. If you are not paying your staff minimum wage and adhering to labor laws, that could sum up a sweatshop. However, I have read a few articles on sweatshops in other countries and it basically says that the workers are just happy to have a job and make some money, no matter how little it is! For example, GAP and Nike get a lot of shit because their clothes are made in Malaysia or something (where EVERYTHING is made) but if you were to talk to a worker over there, they might tell you they are grateful for the work. So, I dont know - are sweatshops that bad?