Parcels

“Parcels is relevant to the interdisciplinary fields of Central American studies and Latina/o/x studies to a general readership attentive to the context around contemporary battles over Central American immigrants.”— Aztlan
"In this remarkable study Mike Anastario reveals a world that is hidden from most US citizens—a world that challenges the very notion of borders. As Anastario traces the movement of humans and goods across borders from tiny towns in rural El Salvador to migrant enclaves in the urban United States, he also presents an authoritative example of how the past influences the present. With unprecedented access to Salvadoran couriers and their networks, Anastario unpacks the tremendous power of memory—and the hazards of forgetting. Parcels is not only a positive model of engaged research; it is a heartening call to accountability for the US Fugue State."— Molly Todd, author of Beyond Displacement
"Parcels is a powerful book. Sociologist Mike Anastario has crafted a timely, deeply researched, and beautifully rendered account that captures the critical role of transnational couriers in diasporic life and in the making of diasporic memories. Anastario’s sharp focus on the ubiquitous and intimate movement of objects, from money, to food, to photographs, brilliantly opens up new and exciting areas of inquiry around memory studies, postwar, state violence, and the queering of the rural diaspora. It is a compelling and engrossing read that invites an ample audience across borders."— Irina Carlota Silber, author of Everyday Revolutionaries: Gender, Violence, and Disillusionment in Postwar El Salvador
"This book is sociologically important and politically urgent. It reveals, through powerful and convincing prose, the ways in which imperialist interventions of the past are shaping the immigration crises of the present. With a compelling analysis of migrants’ memories, Anastario re-centers humanity in the brutal history of US-Salvadoran relations."— Leah Schmalzbauer, co-author of Immigrant Families