Tonight at Third Place Books Seward Park, we'll be joining the Seattle Weekly in a discussion of Francisco Cantú's excellent book about his experiences as a border guard, The Line Becomes a River. I've been waiting for over a year for our book club to talk about immigration, and Line brings some fascinating questions to the fore about the way we treat immigrants, about the way we train the Border Patrol, about what the American Dream really means.

It's a bonus, too, that Line is beautifully written. Cantú is a naturally gifted writer who capably illustrates the moral ambiguities of the situation. As Donna Miscolta writes in her fantastic review of the book on this very website:

The migrant who is deported. The snake that is gently nudged through a physical barrier that divides its natural territory. The juxtaposition is a theme that runs through the book: the harsh borderland desert that is habitat to animals and gauntlet to humans.

The book club is meeting tonight at 7 pm. No purchase is necessary; just bring an open mind.