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A review by bookishandlegal
Infinite Country by Patricia Engel
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I’m really conflicted about this book. On the one hand I’m really glad that it exists and that so many people are reading it. It’s an important story and I’m glad that it was written and that people are being exposed to it. For the most part the book is well written and an interesting story that kept me engaged throughout—sometimes I found that the story dragged and was really slow, even though it’s short (but I could have been in the wrong headspace when reading it).
On the other hand I didn’t love this book. I liked it—but didn’t love it. I didn’t like the way third person was used in this book, it just didn’t work for me. I also found the way the third person jumped between the characters being focused on and the jump between time periods to be confusing and made it hard for me to engage with the story. I never felt super connected to any of the characters and I never felt like I got enough insight or development from any of the characters, which was a bummer. I think the shortness of this book lead to the lack of character development and deep insight into the characters that I wanted—if the book had been longer there would have been more time to delve into the characters lives. There were also several chapters towards the end that abruptly switched to first person and I had no idea who was talking for a bit and I found that jarring and slightly confusing.
Overall, this is a well written fictional story about an immigration experience to the US. This is not my favorite immigration based story but it wasn’t bad and I would definitely recommend it to others to read to get more insight into some immigration experiences.
On the other hand I didn’t love this book. I liked it—but didn’t love it. I didn’t like the way third person was used in this book, it just didn’t work for me. I also found the way the third person jumped between the characters being focused on and the jump between time periods to be confusing and made it hard for me to engage with the story. I never felt super connected to any of the characters and I never felt like I got enough insight or development from any of the characters, which was a bummer. I think the shortness of this book lead to the lack of character development and deep insight into the characters that I wanted—if the book had been longer there would have been more time to delve into the characters lives. There were also several chapters towards the end that abruptly switched to first person and I had no idea who was talking for a bit and I found that jarring and slightly confusing.
Overall, this is a well written fictional story about an immigration experience to the US. This is not my favorite immigration based story but it wasn’t bad and I would definitely recommend it to others to read to get more insight into some immigration experiences.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Racism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts