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A review by essayem
In the Country: Stories by Mia Alvar
4.0
Mia Alvar’s In The Country is the kind of short story collection you wish would never end.
Usually with collections like these, you can pick it up, read a story, put it back down and go on with your day. Not so with this one. Alvar’s character-driven stories of life in the Philippines are lush, layered and so compelling I couldn’t put it down.
The nine stories tell of the lives of Filipinos based mostly in Manila but also of their lives abroad in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Alvar writes from several different perspectives - the rich, the poor, the expatriated; of lost sons and ambitious daughters - each with voices so distinct and details so intimate you might swear you were the son adjusting to the summer heat or the young girl trudging home through the mud.
I kept this one on my to-read list for too long, it’s definitely worth the time.
Usually with collections like these, you can pick it up, read a story, put it back down and go on with your day. Not so with this one. Alvar’s character-driven stories of life in the Philippines are lush, layered and so compelling I couldn’t put it down.
The nine stories tell of the lives of Filipinos based mostly in Manila but also of their lives abroad in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Alvar writes from several different perspectives - the rich, the poor, the expatriated; of lost sons and ambitious daughters - each with voices so distinct and details so intimate you might swear you were the son adjusting to the summer heat or the young girl trudging home through the mud.
I kept this one on my to-read list for too long, it’s definitely worth the time.