Name: elizabeth's review of Infinite Country by Patricia Engel
Item: Infinite Country
Rating: 4
Author: elizabeth

Patricia Engel

"A knockout of a novel...we predict [Infinite Country] will be viewed as one of 2021's best." --O, The Oprah Magazine "An exquisitely told story of family, war, and migration, this is a novel our increasingly divided country wants and needs to read." --R.O. Kwon, Electric Literature Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2021 from The Millions, O, The Oprah Magazine, Elle, Electric Literature, Lit Hub, AARP, Refinery29, BuzzFeed, Autostraddle, SheReads, Alma, and more. I often wonder if we are living the wrong life in the wrong country. Talia is being held at a correctional facility for adolescent girls in the forested mountains of Colombia after committing an impulsive act of violence that may or may not have been warranted. 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. How this family came to occupy two different countries, two different worlds, comes into focus like twists of a kaleidoscope. We see Talia's parents, Mauro and Elena, fall in love in a market stall as teenagers against a backdrop of civil war and social unrest. We see them leave Bogotá with their firstborn, Karina, in pursuit of safety and opportunity in the United States on a temporary visa, and we see the births of two more children, Nando and Talia, on American soil. We witness the decisions and indecisions that lead to Mauro's deportation and the family's splintering--the costs they've all been living with ever since. Award-winning, internationally acclaimed author Patricia Engel, herself a dual citizen and the daughter of Colombian immigrants, gives voice to all five family members as they navigate the particulars of their respective circumstances. And all the while, the metronome ticks: Will Talia make it to Bogotá in time? And if she does, can she bring herself to trade the solid facts of her father and life in Colombia for the distant vision of her mother and siblings in America? Rich with Bogotá urban life, steeped in Andean myth, and tense with the daily reality of 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.

Infinite Country

A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK and INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A profound, beautiful novel.” — People * “Poignant.” —BuzzFeed * “A breathtaking story of the unimaginable prices paid for a better life.” —Esquire This “heartbreaking portrait of a family dealing with the realities of migration and separation” (Time) is “a sweeping love story and tragic drama [and] an authentic vision of what the American Dream looks like in a nationalistic country” (Elle). I often wonder if we are living the wrong life in the wrong country. Talia is being held at a correctional facility for adolescent girls in the forested mountains of Colombia after committing an impulsive act of violence that may or may not have been warranted. 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. How this family came to occupy two different countries, two different worlds, comes into focus like twists of a kaleidoscope. We see Talia’s parents, Mauro and Elena, fall in love in a market stall as teenagers against a backdrop of civil war and social unrest. We see them leave Bogotá with their firstborn, Karina, in pursuit of safety and opportunity in the United States on a temporary visa, and we see the births of two more children, Nando and Talia, on American soil. We witness the decisions and indecisions that lead to Mauro’s deportation and the family’s splintering—the costs they’ve all been living with ever since. Award-winning, internationally acclaimed author Patricia Engel, herself a dual citizen and the daughter of Colombian immigrants, gives voice to all five family members as they navigate the particulars of their respective circumstances. Rich with Bogotá urban life, steeped in Andean myth, and tense with the daily reality of the undocumented in America, Infinite Country “is as much an all-American story as it is a global one” (Booklist, starred review).

A Novel

Michele

love comes paired with failures, apologies for deficiencies. The only remedy is compassion.

"A knockout of a novel...we predict [Infinite Country] will be viewed as one of 2021's best." --O, The Oprah Magazine

"An exquisitely told story of family, war, and migration, this is a novel our increasingly divided country wants and needs to read." --R.O. Kwon, Electric Literature

I often wonder if we are living the wrong life in the wrong country.

Talia is being held at a correctional facility for adolescent girls in the forested mountains of Colombia after committing an impulsive act of violence that may or may not have been warranted. She urgently needs to get out and get back home to Bogota, 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.

How this family came to occupy two different countries, two different worlds, comes into focus like twists of a kaleidoscope. We see Talia's parents, Mauro and Elena, fall in love in a market stall as teenagers against a backdrop of civil war and social unrest. We see them leave Bogota with their firstborn, Karina, in pursuit of safety and opportunity in the United States on a temporary visa, and we see the births of two more children, Nando and Talia, on American soil. We witness the decisions and indecisions that lead to Mauro's deportation and the family's splintering--the costs they've all been living with ever since.

Award-winning, internationally acclaimed author Patricia Engel, herself a dual citizen and the daughter of Colombian immigrants, gives voice to all five family members as they navigate the particulars of their respective circumstances. And all the while, the metronome ticks. Will Talia make it to Bogota in time? And if she does, can she bring herself to trade the solid facts of her father and life in Colombia for the distant vision of her mother and siblings in America?

Rich with Bogota urban life, steeped in Andean myth, and tense with the daily reality of 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.

A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

Victoria Justice

And maybe there is no nation or citizenry; they're just territories mapped in place of family, in place of love, the infinite country.

Paige Radice

A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK AND INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A knockout of a novel…we predict [Infinite Country] will be viewed as one of 2021’s best.” —O, The Oprah Magazine Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2021 from Esquire, O, The Oprah Magazine, Elle, GMA, New York Post, Ms. Magazine, The Millions, Electric Literature, LitHub, AARP, Refinery29, BuzzFeed, Autostraddle, She Reads, Alma, and more. I often wonder if we are living the wrong life in the wrong country. Talia is being held at a correctional facility for adolescent girls in the forested mountains of Colombia after committing an impulsive act of violence that may or may not have been warranted. 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. How this family came to occupy two different countries, two different worlds, comes into focus like twists of a kaleidoscope. We see Talia’s parents, Mauro and Elena, fall in love in a market stall as teenagers against a backdrop of civil war and social unrest. We see them leave Bogotá with their firstborn, Karina, in pursuit of safety and opportunity in the United States on a temporary visa, and we see the births of two more children, Nando and Talia, on American soil. We witness the decisions and indecisions that lead to Mauro’s deportation and the family’s splintering—the costs they’ve all been living with ever since. Award-winning, internationally acclaimed author Patricia Engel, herself a dual citizen and the daughter of Colombian immigrants, gives voice to all five family members as they navigate the particulars of their respective circumstances. And all the while, the metronome ticks: Will Talia make it to Bogotá in time? And if she does, can she bring herself to trade the solid facts of her father and life in Colombia for the distant vision of her mother and siblings in America? Rich with Bogotá urban life, steeped in Andean myth, and tense with the daily reality of 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.

elizabeth

Some comparisons that come to mind here:

1. Infinite Country integrates myth to illuminate character development and themes, like You Don't Have to Say You Love Me, providing lots of depth in a skinny little novel. 

2. Infinite Country tracks multiple generations and timelines with a varied sense of closeness, like The Seed Keeper. I felt most connected to Talia's current storyline, and I don't think that's an accident on Engels's part, as she holds past timelines almost at arms' length. Those timelines aren't cold and sterile so much as they're cast in a distant, sometimes nostalgic, haze (the chapters following Talia's parents' early years were especially charming to me). 

3. Infinite Country captures a very human story of the inhumane experience of family migration, like American Dirt. But, by unfolding the story over generations, Engels packs more of a punch than Cummins and more fully explores "the matrix of separation and dislocation, our years bound to the phantom pain of a lost homeland."

Jesse Morley

Only women knew the strength it took to love men through their evolution to who they thought they were supposed to be.

Both bloated (in its prose) and devoid of the fabric that, for me, gives a multi-generational tale its weight. The subject matter is highly-charged, but the characters that move throughout feel more puppet than person.

I can accept character-as-stand-in for the purpose of making broader comments on the nature of home, security and violence, but so much of the book's impact hinges on a lack-lustre emotional payload that these positions would be better expressed in a work on non-fiction. As if to reinforce this, the strongest image from the book, and the one that will undoubtedly stick with me the longest, comes from reality—the haunting and devastating story of Omayra Sánchez.

The ending adds to the sense that these characters have not been real with a saccharine against-all-odds, redemptive resolution that reinforces that love and family are the Infinite Country, but at the cost of undermining the themes of generational trauma, and the impact of the book as a whole.

Sarai Johnson

The writing is beautiful. The story itself is quite familiar, however. It’s a heavy story that doesn’t leave a lot of room for “hope” or whatever. The characters do seem to suffer for the sake of suffering which… is an accurate portrayal of the human condition. I loved this book for its honesty/reality and beauty. There’s nothing *wrong* with this book. But it’s not satisfying.

This is the best book I've read in a long time. Beautiful turn of phrases that I had to highlight. Emotion without self indulgence. Love that she gave attention to every character's emotional life.

Cheri McElroy

⭐️⭐️💫 

This is a story of a Columbian family torn apart by war, immigration, and personal choices. The writing was beautiful, and I loved the Andean stories woven throughout.

I had two issues with this novel. First, there were a few stereotypical characters. Second, I found the first-person narratives of two of the children that popped up halfway through to disrupt the story's flow.

"And maybe there is no nation or citizenry; they're just territories mapped in place of family, in place of love, the infinite country."

Such a powerful but short book detailing the effects of a family living undocumented in America.

So cleverly written as an account told by the oldest daughter which wasn't apparent until I had finished reading and wondered why soke chapters were in 1st person narrative when the majority of the book is written in 3rd person. Now I realise the chapters written in 3rd person are told from a Spanish speaking characters POv, and the ones in 1st person are told from an English speaking characters POV. I'm sorry, but to me, that's genius and reinforces the different circumstances each member of the family faces in their own words.

A quick but fulfilling read, but anyone going in should be mindful of the sexual assault detailed within certain chapters.

"And maybe there is no nation or citizenry; they're just territories mapped in place of family, in place of love, the infinite country."

Such a powerful but short book detailing the effects of a family living undocumented in America.

So cleverly written as an account told by the oldest daughter which wasn't apparent until I had finished reading and wondered why soke chapters were in 1st person narrative when the majority of the book is written in 3rd person. Now I realise the chapters written in 3rd person are told from a Spanish speaking characters POv, and the ones in 1st person are told from an English speaking characters POV. I'm sorry, but to me, that's genius and reinforces the different circumstances each member of the family faces in their own words.

A quick but fulfilling read, but anyone going in should be mindful of the sexual assault detailed within certain chapters.

Julie Weber

Sadly, this didn’t work for me. It had a strong start but the pacing was all over the place in the second half. The author was ambitious in her use of multiple perspectives but I feel like we just skimmed the surface with all the characters.

Caridee Huang

Fraser Simons

This book took me a bit to get into because the voice felt like it wasn’t making much sense compared to what was being described. Eventually, that makes total sense, as you come to know all the characters and the narrator, so if you’re having trouble at the start, know that.

As you might expect from the subject matter, it’s also quite heavy sometimes. Particularly with sexual assault. It’s not described too in detail but it’s not off-screen and the violation of it is thematically present throughout and described as it occurs, though fairly short. 

From what I know of the American Dirt fiasco, this feels like a book that will be in a dialogue with it; and I think it can easily handle its own if it is put in that box. 

It made me think of my own relationship to travel and family. The narrator was particular clever for choosing how to convey the story; though it is at the expense of a more personal story. But I feel like those stories are becoming something of a standard. Marginalized people having to splay themselves open in graphic detail in order to make the mainstream give a damn about them, or any stories they might have, and almost policing the acceptability of the story, too.

There is some narrative distance from everyone, but it’s still personal because it’s basically an oral history. The emotion of the storyteller is contextualized by family members and becomes a generational intellect. It’s heartbreaking without making the characters gut themselves for the audience. I think it’s very smart. 

Prose wise it is fairly straight forward and the narrator handles it well. It is not a descriptive writing piece and it feels accessible without being too much like commercial fiction. It’s short and punchy, and the ending is well suited to the story. Worth a read!

Jenna

Thank you to @avidreaderpress for sending me Infinite Country by Patricia Engel! I loved it SO MUCH 😭❤️ This book follows a family from Colombia who leave their country to try and make a better life in the US. It opens with the youngest daughter, Talia, planning an escape from a youth correctional center for girls to try and make her flight to the US, where she is a citizen. I love a novel with perspectives from different characters, and we get that here, as we learn about the decisions and circumstances that left the family separated.

The writing in this book is beautiful - impactful and tender at once. The story is steeped in Andean myths and Colombian history. The story was gripping - I was invested in the plot, and I liked how the story jumped back and forth to show the history of the characters.

This book will be out in February 23. You don’t want to miss it!

Lauren Attaway

Good writing can create the opportunity for better understanding, and Infinite County is a chance to better understand other American perspectives. This book should be on school reading lists.

Chris Poore

A gripping and beautiful book about the terror, heartbreak and endless traps of migration, and the senselessness of country boundaries. The family’s love reminds us we are all the same.

Summer Cashmore

I must admit, when Reese’s Book Club announced Infinite Country as the March selection, I was less than thrilled. The description of the book just didn’t appeal to me.

Well, I will freely admit to being completely and totally wrong about this book (seriously, whoever wrote the blurb needs to be fired)! I picked up this book yesterday morning and finished it in one sitting. It definitely is a book that is difficult to put down. 

Infinite Country is a beautiful and utterly gripping story of one family’s quest for the American dream and how that pursuit ultimately shatters the family apart. The book tackles issues of immigration, race and sexual assault as well as the impossible choices parents must make for their children and it does it exceptionally well. Everyone needs to read this book!

“Emigration was a peeling away of the skin. An undoing. You wake each morning and forget where you are, who you are, and when the world outside shows you your reflection, it's ugly and distorted; you've become a scorned, unwanted creature.”

SYNOPSIS
I often wonder if we are living the wrong life in the wrong country.

Talia is being held at a correctional facility for adolescent girls in the forested mountains of Colombia after committing an impulsive act of violence that may or may not have been warranted. 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.

How this family came to occupy two different countries, two different worlds, comes into focus like twists of a kaleidoscope. We see Talia’s parents, Mauro and Elena, fall in love in a market stall as teenagers against a backdrop of civil war and social unrest. We see them leave Bogotá with their firstborn, Karina, in pursuit of safety and opportunity in the United States on a temporary visa, and we see the births of two more children, Nando and Talia, on American soil. We witness the decisions and indecisions that lead to Mauro’s deportation and the family’s splintering—the costs they’ve all been living with ever since.

Sam Pulliam

“She told them her mother was abroad and sent her back to Colombia when she was a baby. But this particular family condition was so common it couldn’t possibly be considered trauma.”
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Infinite Country is a multi-generational story that follows a Colombian family seeking a life away from violence and corruption in the United States.
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While this book is less than 200 pages, it tells a powerful and important story that I found myself wanting to take my time with and that I think will stick with me for a long time. I was most struck by Engel’s writing. She sometimes is very straightforward and sometimes takes a few pages to give readers some folklore or legends that paint a picture of Colombia and its people and that adds greater significance and context to what the characters are experiencing. There are certainly some heartbreaking moments with this family and the fact that Engel is able to show the complicated dynamics of a family separated in so few pages is amazing. Something that my eyes were especially opened to through this story is the ways so many programs and opportunities in the US set up for immigrants can pose such a risk to those same people and their families. By trying to enter that system, they are bringing attention to themselves and those around them and that increases the risk of splitting up their families even more. I can’t say much else since this book is so short but I do want to end this with some recommendations of books I thought of while reading this one: Native Country of the Heart by Cherrie Moraga & Create Dangerously by Edwidge Danticat. These recommendations are partly to do with themes but mostly to do with the writing style.
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Trigger Warnings include:
Animal abuse
Racism
Violence
Mention of forced sterilization
Rape
Loss of a loved one

Moon of Pages

4 ⭐️

What an emotional read, it’s about immigration but most of all, about family. The writing in this was absolutely stunning and the characters felt real and honest.

Kath Lau

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I picked this up but I'm very happy that I did. Talia, Mauro and Elena's youngest daughter, escapes the juvenile facility she's being held at to catch her flight to the U.S. to reunite with her mother and two other siblings. I thought that's just the plot but it's not. It's so much more. The story is told from the family members' perspectives. We get to learn about the family's past and present sacrifices, fears, and struggles living in the U.S. as immigrants. It's a short read but it's very powerful and relevant.

Check out my other reviews here.

Ruby Huber

A beautifully woven, painful tale of family, belonging, and history but also harsh truths about immigration and separation and ~documentation~ ! very very good. At its heart this book was about a family broken apart and trying to fit back together, I personally didn’t cry but I thought about it!

Shawna Gavas

I wasn't sure that I would enjoy this novel, but it turned out to be an interesting and insightful read about modern-day immigration. It gave me a different perspective and reasons for why some immigrants are willing to risk living undocumented with the threat of deportation always looming. The reality of family separation is heartbreaking and the author did a fantastic job of projecting the effects on each character.

"A knockout of a novel...we predict [Infinite Country] will be viewed as one of 2021's best." --O, The Oprah Magazine "An exquisitely told story of family, war, and migration, this is a novel our increasingly divided country wants and needs to read." --R.O. Kwon, Electric Literature I often wonder if we are living the wrong life in the wrong country. Talia is being held at a correctional facility for adolescent girls in the forested mountains of Colombia after committing an impulsive act of violence that may or may not have been warranted. 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. How this family came to occupy two different countries, two different worlds, comes into focus like twists of a kaleidoscope. We see Talia's parents, Mauro and Elena, fall in love in a market stall as teenagers against a backdrop of civil war and social unrest. We see them leave Bogotá with their firstborn, Karina, in pursuit of safety and opportunity in the United States on a temporary visa, and we see the births of two more children, Nando and Talia, on American soil. We witness the decisions and indecisions that lead to Mauro's deportation and the family's splintering--the costs they've all been living with ever since. Award-winning, internationally acclaimed author Patricia Engel, herself a dual citizen and the daughter of Colombian immigrants, gives voice to all five family members as they navigate the particulars of their respective circumstances. And all the while, the metronome ticks. Will Talia make it to Bogotá in time? And if she does, can she bring herself to trade the solid facts of her father and life in Colombia for the distant vision of her mother and siblings in America? Rich with Bogotá urban life, steeped in Andean myth, and tense with the daily reality of 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.

Pam Sartain

Infinite Country by Patricia Engel is the story of a family torn apart. Mauro and Elena, with their first born, Katrina, go to the US from Colombia, on a temporary visa, but they decide to stay.  They go on to have 2 more children.  

We meet Talia, who is held in a correctional facility for adolescent girls, and she has to get home to her father, where her plane ticket to the US is waiting for her.

This is the story of how these events have happened, and the effect on the family that it has, to be separated for years.

It's an evocative and timely story, given the immigration issues in the US, and it shows the sacrifices that are made in order to try to survive in a country when undocumented.

 Infinite Country  was published on 27th May 2021 and is available from  Amazon ,  Waterstones  and  Bookshop.org .

You can follow Patricia Engel on  Twitter ,  Instagram  and her  website .

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to  Simon and Schuster UK .

Salam Kabbani

Infinite country is a novel that stole my heart. It follows the story of young Talia's escape from a correctional facility in Colombia and all the way to be reunited with her mother and siblings in America.

The novel is far more complex than that; however. We learn about her parents and their relationship. How they had both traversed unknown land to have a better future for their family. We learn about the injustices her father faced due to rules that had changed after his arrival in the US, and his deportation to Colombia following an altercation with an American citizen. We learn about the suffering her mother had to go through while she was cleaning houses for a living. We learn about her siblings and their struggles and of course we learn about Talia and her own struggles. 

This novel underscores the search for home and family within all of us. It is an achingly beautiful exposé evaluating the human longing for belonging and the risks we are willing to take to find our settled identity. 

While I cannot reveal more without spoiling the novel, I think that every one should read this novel at least once in their life. 

Patricia Engel did such a phenomenal job capturing multiple POV, going back and forth between the timelines, and somehow keeping it so simple and easy for the reader to follow.

Sharon Steinman

Infinite Country is a story about a family from Columbia that travels to US to start a new life. Maura believe that he and Elena can have a better life in United States than in Columbia and wants to move his family to the United States.

He is certain their lives and opportunities in the United States will be better. Their lives will be safer there as there are less attacks and less crime there.

Maura and Elena come to the US on a travel VISA and stay beyond their 6 month travel visa are now illegally in the US.  After some time Maura is caught and is deported from the US back to Columbia and cannot come back and is separated from his family.

Elena continues to try to survive in the US and makes the painful decision to sent her infant baby back to Columbia to be cared for by her mother Perla.  Elena is unable to support her family if she has an infant home.

It is an emotional read as there are so many difficult incidents that the family experiences. I found this book insightful on what being undocumented entails.  It is so much more challenging than I ever could imagine.  It's a huge sacrifice with unsettling fear that you coexist with each day.   I have a new understanding of how living some where and being undocumented is harder on so many different levels.

Chelsea White

I’m just sitting here crying after finishing this book. Mourning for the lives detailed in these pages, and the real lives that have lived similar experiences. No human deserves the treatment that we in the USA give to immigrants.
I’m not sure if I wanted Talia and Mauro to remain in Colombia and have the rest of the family come back to them, or for them to both be able to make it safely to the rest of their family.
Just a great book

Paige Radice &
Infinite Country by Patricia Engel

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Infinite Country by Patricia Engel