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3 reviews

Illegal: a true story of love, revolution and crossing borders
by John Dennehy

Published: 2017-07-29
Paperback : 236 pages
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Recommended to book clubs by 1 of 3 members
2018 Da Vinci Eye winner* 2018 Notable Indie by Shelf Unbound*

A raw account of a young American abroad grasping for meaning, this pulsating story of violent protests, illegal border crossings and loss of innocence raises questions about the futility of borders and the irresistible power ...
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Introduction

2018 Da Vinci Eye winner* 2018 Notable Indie by Shelf Unbound*

A raw account of a young American abroad grasping for meaning, t
his pulsating story of violent protests, illegal border crossings and loss of innocence raises questions about the futility of borders and the irresistible power of nationalism.
 
Illegal tells the true story of love and deception, revolutions and deportations as it chronicles the trials of John Dennehy. Naïve New Yorker, Dennehy refuses to be part of the feverish nationalism of post 9/11 America. His search for hope takes him to Ecuador, where he falls in love with firebrand Lucia, who perfects his broken Spanish while they find solidarity in the brewing social upheaval. Amid the unrest, Dennehy is arrested and deported to the United States but he has found something worth fighting for. 

Editorial Review

No editorial review at this time.

Excerpt

In her ear I whisper “Voy a volar a Colombia y cruzar la frontera clandestinamente— I will fly to Colombia and sneak across the border. Nothing else matters. I love you.”
Lucía steps back and pulls a camera from her bag. The movement, the loss of her body against mine, jolts me back into reality. The police are staring at us, peering into what had seemed such a private and intimate place just seconds before. Lucía hands one of our guards the camera and, for some strange reason, has him take a picture of us, freezing that moment in time.... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

Why should goods and products have greater freedom of movement than the humans that make them?

What are some privileges that we have (that others do not) that we don’t often realize?

If you lived your ideals, what would change in your life?

Notes From the Author to the Bookclub

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Book Club Recommendations

deceiving
by LSakay (see profile) 01/27/18
The summary and questions that are for this book seem to make you think there will be big discussions on Politics and border crossings. There is a piece of that but the larger discussion comes from the author's toxic relationship, his idealist views, and seemingly poor choices to place himself in danger's way, again and again.

Member Reviews

Overall rating:
 
 
by Alessandra C. (see profile) 10/29/20

 
  "Pointless"by Julie C. (see profile) 02/26/18

Firstly, I want to thank the author for making his book available as a giveaway for my book club and for my friend Lory for applying for us. I encourage you to read her review as it will be ... (read more)

 
by Susie F. (see profile) 01/30/18

 
  "Easy to read well written "by France D. (see profile) 01/28/18

The book is easy to read . But your start wondering about his lack of judgment and not learning about the world.It seems that he lived a very sheltered life . He was able to get away with a lot of stuff... (read more)

 
  "quick read"by Lory S. (see profile) 01/27/18

This was between a 3 and a 4 star read for me. I found it an easy read for non-fiction and not too complicated to follow along. Dennehy's writing flowed well and I quickly was able to get in... (read more)

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