Reviews

In the Country by Mia Alvar

johns_library's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

In The Country is a collection of short stories, that focuses on the Filipino experience, from those working overseas, struggling through poverty and corruption at home, or the children returning home to see their families once again. This book hit many memories for me, as I’ve experienced the same tension of the immigrant child in a new country, to the returning adult visiting family in the Philippines. In many of the stories, I see my mother in them, the hard-worker. Or perhaps the father, much too proud to ask for help. Alvar hits the perfect mix of prose and drama in each of the story that she tells. Some filled with hope, others with shattering heart-break of reality that many Filipino’s experience on a given day.

Some of my favourite stories include Kontrabida, The Contract Overseas, and the finale of In The Country, The last story, and also the longest, has a beautiful structure jumping between the different decades of a couple. Of which they find themselves in the middle of the EDSA rallies, of which my own parents would have experience and even talked about with my siblings. 

Overall, I loved this collection. In many ways, Mia Alvar writes of home or even something familiar when I go through each of these stories. For those who are looking for anthologies on books from unique voices, I highly recommend this one.

tgmiles's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.25

thukpa's review against another edition

2.0

Generally, I don't like short stories, but I really wanted to like this collection. I didn't like it as much as I wanted to, both because of my usual frustrations with short stories and my inability to really care about any of the stories or characters. I felt it bog down, and then avoided reading it...but, as I often do with short stories, I keep reading because I hope that the next story will hit me in the way that I'm hoping for when I read. That never happened with this collection, unfortunately.

cathyatratedreads's review against another edition

3.0

I was interested in reading these stories because my husband is Filipino and was brought to the U.S. by his parents when he was very young. So I have a little of a window on the Filipino experience, or at least the Filipino-American experience. I also have greatly appreciated books by Amy Tan and Lisa See, covering the Chinese/Chinese-American experience, and other Asian immigrant stories. I appreciated these stories but wasn't as swept into them as I was the aforementioned books. Part of the problem here is that these stories almost require some understanding of Filipino culture and history to understand them, whereas other immigrant books give a window into the life on their own, no prior knowledge needed. I am glad I read this book but probably wouldn't eagerly hand it over to friends unless they had a particular interest already.

Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/in-the-country-stories-fiction-book-review/

annapiranha's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

pato_myers's review against another edition

3.0

Well written, but the characters are rather hopeless.

mchellea's review against another edition

4.0

(~4.5) The first I’ve read by a Pinoy here in the US and I hope there’ll be more by her.

floralfox's review against another edition

5.0

Mia Alvar falls in the ranks of my favorite short story writers along with Atwood and Munro. It's not necessarily driving, fascinating plots that hook you, but the rhythm of her words and the compelling characterization.

samneedham17's review against another edition

4.0

Really powerful series of short stories. I’m glad I read this after living in the Philippines and knowing more about its history.

herbiehickmott's review against another edition

4.0

Beautiful, touching short stories set in Manila, Bahrain and beyond.