The Circuit

Well... if you know what is in your librito, then all is not lost.” (112)

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The aptly title booked, The Circuit, was a wonderfully crafted episodic memoir that allowed me access into the world of a child who's family of migrant workers are constantly in the flux of the migrant circuit. Each story drew me in closer to Panchito, with each flash of fortune and happiness, I smiled. But then, like the life of a migrant work where things start falling into place and one becomes comfortable, it is time to leave it all behind. That is the way each episode occurred for me as I read. My hopes went up, just to be shattered time and time again. Personally, the most drastic occurrence of this phenomenon in the book was on page 83, when he has found the teacher who plans on teaching him music, Panchito is all excited to tell his family the news. Within the same paragraph as this excitement, Panchito arrives home to see everything packed up in cardboard boxes and he knows he has to leave it all again.

​This book for me, reminded me of the immense power the little things have to instill happiness and gratitude. For the family any shelter is a gift, any job is a blessing; it is a lesson that I wish to remember and harness more. To go with the cliché, the family is searching for the American Dream. They came to find a better life, to work hard for it too. But I feel the book does a good job of portraying the American Dream as somewhat a fallacy, that even with hard work there are barriers that many cannot overcome because of the systems at work.

​As I mentioned earlier, the book is in an episodic format with each story able to stand on its on. Each one starts with a sort of introduction into the characters and their circumstances, and just when the reader is beginning to understand, it is quickly ended and the next episode begins. It is an interesting technique that Jimenez works wonderfully.

​Seeing as the book was originally written in Spanish, I always enjoy when not all the words are translated. This variety and colorful use of language makes the stories seem more true to life. However, there are some instances when the Spanish is slang, which do not get me wrong works, it could be difficult for those who do not speak Spanish. Regardless, it is a great use of language and gives Spanish a sort of validity as an acceptable language, especially when Jimenez describes Ito speaking in “broken Spanish” (73). All too often, it is broken English, but rightfully so, here it is broken Spanish, putting Spanish fittingly on equal ground with the elitist language of English.

​Readers are able to see what life is like for a migrant family. The hardships and trials are not sugarcoated, and the ending reiterates the lack of any fairy tale ideals. It serves as a great window into this life that is often not talked about or discussed, but is a very real issue in many schools. While immigration is discussed in the nation, the real lives of the migrant workers are not. This book gives them their voice.

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