Infinite Country: A Novel
Written by Patricia Engel
Narrated by Inés del Castillo
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
WINNER OF THE 2021 NEW AMERICAN VOICES AWARD, LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL, A 2022 DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE FINALIST, AND A NATIONAL ENDOWMENT OF THE ARTS “BIG READS” SELECTION
“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).
Editor's Note
Powerful story…
One of the most anticipated novels of 2021, “Infinite Country” reflects our current global moment: tense, cut off from each other, but with a glimmer of hope. This powerful story moves readers back and forth in time, across borders, and among anguished family members separated by the sacrifices they’ve made at the altar of the American Dream. The propulsive plot hooks you right from the first chapter when teenage daughter Talia escapes from a juvenile detention center in the mountains of Colombia, racing to try to make a flight to the US before she loses her chance to reunite with her family.
Patricia Engel
PATRICIA ENGEL’s debut, Vida, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Fiction Award and Young Lions Fiction Award; a winner of a Florida Book Award and an Independent Publisher Book Award; and a Best Book of the Year by NPR, Barnes & Noble, and L.A. Weekly. Her award-winning fiction has appeared in A Public Space, The Atlantic, Boston Review, Guernica, Harvard Review and elsewhere. She lives in Miami. WEB: WWW.PATRICIAENGEL.COM
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Reviews for Infinite Country
788 ratings22 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Very well written. realistic, very timely. It presents all of the dilemmas we have, no hint at solutions.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is my first review. I felt I needed to express how beautiful a story this is. The writing is gorgeous. The pace is fast. The story is important. The narration is perfect.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A fantastic book that is beautifully written! Loved it very much!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beautiful. Listened on a single afternoon and loved every word.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Interesting true story about the hardships of life as Colombian immigrants to the US - and the effects of family separation following the father’s deportation.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lovely Portrayal of a family in America And those who are trying to get there
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beautifully written prose, and an important story of immigration. Wonderful narration.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Compelling family story of leaving Columbia for a “ better” life in the USA. Not so easy. Leaves the reader with a good idea of what life is like for many people outside our borders.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beautifully written, intriguing, covering a very common yet underrepresented topic and asking the important questions along the way. Was all the suffering and trauma worth it? What if they had chosen a different, childless life?
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wonderful story. As a first generation American with immigrant parents, this book spoke to me on many levels. Had me entertained 100% of the time.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A vision into a life suffered by many but with accompanying occasional joy. What damage our politics has done!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was a perfect audiobook for my 5 hour trip today. It ended as we pulled on to our road at home. It’s been on my TBR list a while and I really expected an epic tale. It wasn’t. But it was a beautiful story. This family’s sometimes dangerous, often sad and consistently challenging journey ended so sweetly I cried and cheered in the same breath. I found it at times difficult to follow, not sure who was speaking but was able to get oriented quickly as I listened. The descriptions of Columbia were so vivid I could almost see it. I am glad I did audio because I’m not sure I could have pronounced some of the names and places. Overall I did enjoy it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the most beautiful stories about immigration you’ll ever encounter.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Emmigration is not usually a topic that interests me, not for the subject itself, but mainly because of the clichés used to portrait it in art form, wether in books, movies or series.
In this case what really caught my attention was the different approach to the theme. I felt it a lot more realistic and broader than the usual. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book was well written and amazing. I love the voice of the narrator.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beautiful and heartbreaking. Makes me happy to have my family all together in this country. Proud of my background. And happy to hear some of Colombia's Folklore. Thank you for writing this.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really liked it but it felt rushed at the end
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Until now, one of the novels I thought should be required reading was Beloved. I add this one to the list with Morrison’s. This novel is remarkable and moving, alive and profound. Beautifully crafted writing! A story all should understand.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book shares the ups and down of a Columbian family trying to immigrate to the US. Written through the eyes of the eldest daughter it is poignant and full of love.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Makes the “undocumented” experience much more terrifying, by showing the powerlessness of those people who are at the mercy of people who could help them, but who could also destroy them. The story of people with two countries, who are never at home. They are always in fear of discovery.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Listened to audio and it was a bit hard to follow at first. The story became richer with every chapter and I appreciated hearing the lived experiences of so many characters.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent book, about a family split by circumstance and holding hands across vast miles. Loved it!