Wow! Patricia Engel has packed much to think about into a succinct novel. The book begins as Talia, a 15-year-old, locks up a nun, escapes from a reform school in the Andes, and travels across Colombia, where her father lives. Her ultimate goal is to rejoin her mother in the USA.
According to Lily Meyer’s review for NPR, “ Infinite Country is not meant to center on character. Its fragmented, summary-focused form clearly prioritizes ideas — how do we define home? Family? Safety? — above all else. But these ideas aren’t abstractions, and Engel’s characters aren’t flat. Nuanced, dimensional characters exist to provoke emotional responses, not intellectual ones, which tells me Engel is out for both.” I was glad to have read this review before listening to the audiobook narrated by Ines del Castillo. I kept thinking that my mind had wandered, and I missed something. However, I now believe that the author skips around in the timeline so that the reader will get her message, not get attached to characters.
It is clear that Infinite Country focuses on the United States’ immigration policies, past and present, and forces us to consider why our great country is still viewed as paradise by so many people in other countries. Mauro and Elena, Talia’s father and mother, emigrated legally from Colombia to the United States, but Mauro is eventually deported. Talia and one of her three siblings is an American citizen, and through the narrative, we view the inner turmoil of being a child of two worlds. The two worlds, Bogota, Colombia, and so many places in the United States, are rife with violence. Yet, it is unclear whether it is naivete or passion that draws people such as this family to desire a life in the states.
Some of the ideas that I jotted down while reading include:
-The United States is a nation at war with itself.
-Who are the victims and villains in the immigration sagas?
-Are babies burdens? What about middle-class family planning in the US and forced sterilizations in Colombia?
-Why has the United States so often separated immigrant families? This is not a NEW phenomenon, as illustrated in this book. Fathers were often deported, resulting in heartbreaking family dynamics.
-How do we define family? Safety?
-How much are human beings like other migratory beings?
-Do humans have genetic relationships or comfort zones in the lands of their birth? What about animals?
-Why do we use a word like MINORITY to refer to people?
-Do we hear the word undocumented and view it as a disease to be avoided?
-Some folklore and mythology, such as the parrot and condor story told in this book, is well worth studying for age-old wisdom about savagery and domination of one species over another. The condor is Colombia’s national symbol of freedom and sovereignty.
-Are the predator and prey commonly studies in biology similar to the emigration and immigration policies of the United States?
-Are emigrants intentionally trafficking themselves? Must they always live in fear?
-What are the psychological and societal issues related to the attachment, detachment, and reunification of children and parents?
-What about the author’s inclusion of the idea that “displacement of children is like repotted flowers forced to live in the wrong habitat.”
