The weight of shadows cover

The weight of shadows

by Jose Orduna

Jose Orduna chronicles the process of becoming a North American citizen in a post-9/11 United States. Intractable realities - rooted in the continuity of US imperialism to globalism - form the landscape of Orduna's daily experience, where the geopolitical meets the quotidian. Orduna describes the absurd feeling of being handed a piece of paper, his naturalization certificate, that guarantees something he has always known: he has every right to be here. A trenchant exploration of race, class, and identity, The Weight of Shadows is a searing meditation on the nature of political, linguistic, and cultural borders, and the meaning of "America."

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?