Patricia Engel (1)Critiques

“And maybe there is no nation or citizenry; they’re just territories mapped in place of family, in place of love, the infinite country.” (191)
...

This is a story of myth, of legend. It’s actually several stories that move between borders and across countries through oral tradition and documenting experiences. It’s a collection of stories about love and the sacrifices we make for those we love; it’s about atonement and what we’re willing to do to feel worthy; it’s about belonging and the journey we take to find home. I love the journey of this family—a beautiful mosaic of snapshots pieced together from their individual experiences. In an ebb and flow between two countries and between different time periods, the full picture of this family emerges. And it’s a beautiful picture.

I loved getting to know each member of this family, and while I really love how each member of the family offers a slightly different perspective of the immigrant experience, Mauro and Talia, the two who stay in Columbia for fifteen years, are my favorites. From the beginning, my heart ached for Mauro, abandoned and neglected from an early age. His struggle for something better than what he’d been given but doesn’t feel he deserves had me rooting for him and his American dream early on. I love his love for Elena and his family and the work he goes through battling his demons of alcoholism and abandonment in order to be the man his family deserves. I love Talia and her strength and compassion. She is fierce and loyal, which is apparent in her caring for her dying grandmother and her trek across Columbia after her escape from a girl’s prison. I also really love the relationship she has with her father and how she rescues her father even while she’s just a baby.

Mostly, what I love about this book is that it is a story of a family, a family who endures and sacrifices in order to be together—no matter the cost.

Reina Castillo, born in Columbia, living in Miami. Her brother, Carlito ends up on death row and Reina feels responsible. So much so that she visits him every weekend, not that she had anything else to do.

Personally I couldn't get on with the book, I didn't understand Reina's dedication to her brother, even given the guilt. Her character is numb, she connects with no-one and is really hard to relate to or like. I felt the story wandered too much and seemed rather aimlessly, so I struggled to engage with it in any way.

( Avg. Rating: 4.25; Audio Narration: 4.5)

“Survival requires different things of different people.”
The Faraway World: Stories by Patricia Engel is a compilation of ten previously published short stories that are set across Cuba, Colombia, and the United States. The stories touch upon themes of love, friendship, family, loss, regret, and class distinction among others. A running theme in these stories is the emotional connection or lack thereof to one’s homeland and/or one’s adopted country focusing on scenarios on both sides of the immigrant experience - those who stay and those who leave – motivated by fear, hopes, dreams, ambition, love, and/or security. We meet characters who remain tied to their roots for the sake of family, sentimental reasons or a dearth of opportunity. We also meet characters who are motivated to emigrate in search of a more rewarding life, in search of wealth, love and/or security.

What are the emotional /psychological costs of choosing to stay or to leave? Are all such dreams realized? Is it even possible to distance oneself from one’s roots? Whether seeking to preserve one’s connection to the world one leaves behind or trying to find a sense of belongingness in a new world, the characters in these stories grapple with love, loss, loneliness, isolation, and regret as they navigate their way through family, friendship, and life in general.

In “Aida” (5/5), the teenage daughter of an immigrant family settled in the United States struggles in the aftermath of the disappearance of her twin sister – a tragedy that tears her family apart. “Fausto” (3.5/5) revolves around a young girl who has to choose between staying with her father and moving to Columbia with the young man she is romantically involved with when he has to flee The United States to avoid being arrested for illegal activities. In “The Book of Saints” (5/5) explores an arranged marriage between a Columbian woman who misses her home and a controlling and oppressive American man. In “Campoamor,”(3/5) an aspiring writer in Columbia spends most of his time juggling two girlfriends while contemplating a move to the United States with one of them, aware that his lies and deception would eventually be exposed. In “Guapa” (4/5) a tragic accident shatters the hopes and dreams of a young woman, who had been living life on her own terms. “La Ruta” (5/5) revolves around the tender friendship between a taxi driver and a young woman who visits a Church every day to pray for an opportunity to emigrate to the United States. “Ramiro” (3/5), revolves around Chana and Ramiro, both of whom are in the employ of the Church in an attempt to reform them – Ramiro from being arrested for his gang affiliation and Chana for her delinquent behavior, skipping school and her promiscuity. “The Bones of Cristóbal Colón” (4/5), revolves around a sister searching for a safe place to bury the remains of her deceased brother, a priest whose grave was desecrated and some of his remains stolen. She also reconnects with her former lover, who has since emigrated but is currently visiting Cuba. The dynamics between a Columbian woman employed as domestic help in the home of another Columbian woman form the basis for “Libélula” (5/5). In “Aguacero” (5/5) a chance meeting between two fellow Columbians (one a young woman who is an immigrant based in New Jersey and the other a middle-aged man from Madrid) in New York leads to a brief but impactful friendship.

Having previously read and enjoyed Patricia Engel's Infinite Country, I was eager to read more of her work and this collection of short stories does not disappoint. The author writes beautifully. Engel excels in her sensitive portrayal of human relationships. Her characters are real in that they are flawed. Despite the common themes explored throughout the book, each of these ten stories stands as unique. As in most collections, I enjoyed some stories more than the others but overall this is an impressive compilation of stories each of which is well-written and emotionally impactful. I look forward to reading more from this talented author.

I paired my reading with the exceptional full-cast narration featuring Patricia Engel, Gisela Chipé, Frankie Corzo, Inés del Castillo, Cynthia Farrell, Dominique Franceschi, George Newbern, Anthony Rey Perez, Aida Reluzco, Alejandra Reynoso and Gary Tiedemann.

A young couple wishing to escape their own country travel to the US on tourist visas. But when the visas expire, they don’t leave. Flash forward to when their children are nearly grown. The family has become separated when one gets into trouble with the law and is deported, taking a child along. The book is written in a disjointed manner, jumping from one narrator to another and one time frame to another without a smooth transition. While feeling empathy for a family torn in two, it is hard to condone illegal behavior, ignoring immigration laws, and sneaking back into the US when legal methods don’t work. How sad for those who obey the rules and the laws! Warning: there is a scene in the very beginning of the story when a cat is tortured and murdered. As my review indicates, I did not care for the writing or the subject matter. Not recommended.

Very much about traumas of separation and identity, and some other traumas as well, but not so overdone or preachy or any of the other 'best-seller' traps authors fall into. There were some constructions I didn't love, but I'm glad I read it and will be loaning it to people who have struggles finding their empathy bridge.

Book on CD performed by Inés del Castillo

From the book jacket: Talia is being held at a correctional facility for adolescent girls in the forested mountains of Columbia. She urgently needs to get out and get back home to Bogotá, where her father and a plane ticket to the United States are waiting for her. If she misses her flight, she might also miss her chance to finally be reunited with her family in the north.

My reactions:
Engle has crafted a story of immigration and emigration, of oppression and prejudice, of hopes and dreams, and of the bonds of family.

The storyline moves back and forth in time from current-day adolescent Talia, to her young parents’ first meeting and falling in love, the their struggles in the USA, how they came to be separated, and how Talia, a US born citizen, wound up in Columbia with her father rather than in New Jersey with her mother and two siblings. Engel also switches narrators, so we get snippets of the story from Talia, her mother Elena, her father Mauro, her sister Karina, and her brother Nando. We see the sacrifices made by parents for the sake of their children, but also the hurt and feelings of abandonment suffered by the children separated from a parent.

Inés del Castillo does a very fine job of narrating the audiobook. She really brought these characters to life.

Beautiful and painful and thoughtful. A sister's life during and after her brother lives and dies on death row in Florida. The hardships, generation trauma, broken relationships, and forgiveness that are found in dark and beautiful places. A bit meandering, but still hooks you in until the end.

At the dawn of the new millennium, Colombia is a country devastated by half a century of violence. Elena and Mauro are teenagers when they meet, their blooming love an antidote to the mounting brutality of life in Bogotá. Once their first daughter is born, and facing grim economic prospects, they set their sights on the United States.

They travel to Houston and send wages back to Elena’s mother, all the while weighing whether to risk overstaying their tourist visas or to return to Bogotá. As their family expands, and they move again and again, their decision to ignore their exit dates plunges the young family into the precariousness of undocumented status, the threat of discovery menacing a life already strained. When Mauro is deported, Elena, now tasked with caring for their three small children, makes a difficult choice that will ease her burdens but splinter the family even further.

Award-winning, internationally acclaimed author Patricia Engel, herself the daughter of Colombian immigrants and a dual citizen, gives voice to Mauro and Elena, as well as their children, Karina, Nando, and Talia—each one navigating a divided existence, weighing their allegiance to the past, the future, to one another, and to themselves. Rich with Bogotá urban life, steeped in Andean myth, and tense with the daily reality for the undocumented in America, Infinite Country is the story of two countries and one mixed-status family—for whom every triumph is stitched with regret and every dream pursued bears the weight of a dream deferred.

I'll open with an honest disclosure—I almost never enjoy short story collections the way I enjoy novels. The limited (simply in terms of page length) relationship between characters and reader leaves me feeling that I'm experiencing something at a distance. Given the content of the stories in The Faraway World, that distance isn't as big a problem as it might be, though it's still a problem.

The characters in The Faraway World are all liminal. Patricia Engel sets her stories in Colombia, Cuba, and the U.S., and in every instance the characters hover between locations in one way or another. Sometimes this is a result of immigration, sometimes a result of deportation, sometimes a result of the changes in a nation losing population to emigration. When characters relocate, their world becomes unfamiliar. When characters don't relocate, their world nonetheless becomes unfamiliar.

Engel does have a gift for making settings concrete—even with limited information, the reader can imagine where the events of these stories are taking place. This is a particularly noteworthy ability given the broad range of settings among the stories in The Faraway World.

If you enjoy contemporary short stories with a global sensibility, I can assure you that you'll find The Faraway World satisfying reading. If, like me, you prefer novel-length fiction you may feel a bit disengaged while reading these stories, but certainly won't view that reading time as time wasted.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss+; the opinions are my own.

The writing was beautiful, thoughtful & moving. I appreciated every word. However, this specific nonlinear timeline had me speed reading because I had to know what happened next. Great but frustrating½

Patricia Engel’s short story collection The Faraway World contains stories that take place throughout Latin America communities and follow common themes of family, poverty, love, and the struggle to break out of societal boundaries. This is a good collection of stories but nothing really stands out among them as great.

The first years in New York he thought, just like we all do when we arrive, that he would eventually go back once he had something saved, but now he’s been here long enough to know there is no returning–when you cross over that ocean and those borders, they cross over you.
from The Faraway World by Patricia Engel

I was blown away by Infinite Country by Patricia Engels and eager to read her again. The stories in The Faraway World offer insight into the lives of those who have left their home country and their families, believing in the myth of a better life elsewhere.

These characters exemplify that one’s losses are not always offset by the gains, that coming to America doesn’t guarantee safety. Even the woman whose husband gives her a life of luxury in America is more unhappy than the maid she hires for physical and psychological comfort.

In the opening story, a twin girl disappears and the American police comments, “This isn’t some third world country…The likelihood that your daughter was kidnapped is extremely remote,” but the reassurance proves to be false. In another story, a Miami teenager in love is unwittingly drawn into drug running.

A once chubby woman with a factory job in America undergoes a series of operations in her homeland to perfect her beauty. She is in love with a younger man; aa horrific accident, in an ironic twist, may send her back to Columbia to live with her mother.

There are also stories are set in Columbia, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.

A Havana taxi driver’s passenger is on a pilgrimage to visit hundreds of churches, praying that an aunt in America will bring her over. She tells him, ‘I don’t want to love anything on this island. It will make it harder to leave.”

A hardened street kid’s life is changed when required to work at a church with a merciful priest whose impact changes his life and inspires a troubled girl who doesn’t understand why her mother in America hasn’t sent for her.

“No one is safe from this world’s horrors,” a Cuban woman is told. Her priest brother’s bones have been stolen from the cemetery. Like the bones of Cristobal Colon, whose bones were without a country, the dead have no home. The man she loved and who loved her chose to go with another woman to America.

Several stories probe relationships and marriage. An agency arranges a marriage between a Colombian woman and an American man; it isn’t a love match, not a perfect marriage. The wife is still an outsider, each is filled with doubts. And yet, in the end, they stay a family and the man realizes he is happy. A wannabe writer is in a relationship with two woman. When the unmarried woman has an opportunity to go to America, and take him with her, he has to chose. “You can live on your invisible words here…Not over there,” the married girlfriend warns him. A Colombian woman in America meets a troubled man with PTSD after being kidnapped back home. She takes him in and cares for him, uncertain about believing his story of being from a prominent family. Years later, she learns the truth.

These haunting stories reveal truths about what people give up for the hope of a better life and the too often disturbing reality of the cost of staying or leaving.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

I got really emotional reading this. I thought a lot about my own family and what home means to me. It was a really beautiful story and although some of the pacing felt off, it didn’t matter. Easy five stars.

Een Colombiaans echtpaar dat illegaal in de VS wil blijven, moet moeilijke keuzes maken die van invloed zijn op hun relatie en kinderen

Immigration narrative about a divided family. The mother and two children have migrated to the United States. The father and one daughter (protagonist Talia, who was born in the US) have returned to Colombia. The family intends to reunite, but time passes until it has been many years of separation. As the story opens, Talia is attempting to break out of a juvenile corrections facility. She is headed to Bogotá for a flight to the US to reunite with her mother and siblings.

This is a creative immigration narrative that incorporates Colombian myths and legends. It highlights the ways a family tries to maintain their connections over a long distance, and the misgivings they experience in wondering if they have made the right decisions. It examines identity, home, family, and the struggles of an “undocumented” life. A few parts near the end do not flow particularly well, but overall, this is a beautifully written novel that adds to the canon of migration stories.

maybe maybe

fiction - Colombian immigrant family is divided by ICE and necessity but hopes to reunite, as told from various viewpoints over decades of difficult experiences, with a backdrop of Colombian folklore.

a quick read full of thought-provoking book club fodder; author's parents are from Colombia.

Read for the BookTube Prize; rating & review to follow...

I really want to give this short novel a 4-star rating but, in the end, cannot. Okay a 3-1/2 rating to be fair. The characters are sympathetic to a point but lack a fullness their stories deserve. I would have liked a longer story line arch so that the ending doesn't have to seem rushed or predictable. Recommended with reservations.

Super timely topic and a quick read. The critique of US immigration policy, told from the perspective of a family broken apart by it, is compelling. For me though, the plot didn't quite pay off the importance of the subject matter. And the narrative structure seemed unnecessarily complicated at times.

Kudos to Engel for telling a compelling story in such a short narrative that makes virtually every word count. Her insights into U.S. immigration policy and how it can profoundly impact lives is a timely and important topic. I must be totally honest – at the risk of raising the ire of some vocal critics of the 2020 novel “American Dirt:” I found Cummins’ book more riveting. But I also understand those who suggest that “Infinite Country” is a more realistic and less stereotypical depiction of the struggles that many people face in their efforts to win freedom.

Following two generations of immigrants using a broken timeline and not much dialogue, it would seem I would be completely lost in this novel, but it complete sucked me in. It moves quickly. Some years are covered in a few pages. It's an interesting story that feels true.

A bittersweet story of the complexities of immigration. This is a young woman's perspective of a family divided between USA and Colombia. A short book that is heartfelt and expressive.

"Our family didn't cross any desert of river to get to get here, we came by plane with the right documents, now worthless. My life like my sister's and my brother's is a mishap a side effect of our parent's geographical experiment."

Dnf'd this one. Very strong start but then it went from telling a story to crafting a narrative to make a point. The second option doesn't work for me. Just my reading preference. Engel writes well and softens no edges. She brings home to the reader the stunning human costs of US immigration policy and the painful violent reality of living in countries where the lines between politicians and narcoterrorists is nearly invisible. I stopped being drawn to any character after the very good first chapter. Reading fiction I want a story. I go to nonfiction and honest discussions with people who have lived experience rather than historical fiction for learning.

Infinite Country is less than 200 pages long. But each page is packed with emotion, a sense of place, and intrigue to fill a novel three times in length. This book touched my heart.
Set in Colombia and the northeastern United States during the most recent 20 years it was certainly timely. It is the story of a family of five who are separated because of their place of birth. The lives of those considered undocumented, of those in the minority, of those escaping are beautifully presented.