A review by cathyatratedreads
In the Country by Mia Alvar

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/