Published : 2021 || Format : print || Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the story of her family through the other protagonist, El
You all probably know how much I love a good literary fiction. Every lit fiction book that has wowed me in some way does get some form of a gushy post on my blog. And yet there are so many more that I want to read, yet cannot or may not get to, due to lack of time.
Since the nominations period for the Indie Lit Awards begins in September (what? That's just 5 months away?), I wanted to do a post on a couple of fiction titles that I loved and a few that I'm pining for. This is also a heads up for you - if there's any title you really enjoyed, Mark it Down! When the nominations come by, you don't want to forget the titles you read this early in the year. Besides, I can't nominate, so I'm going to be nudging you to do so.
Two titles I really enjoyed
Most of the 2011 titles I read this year have been nonfiction, but there are these two literary fiction titles I read within the last month and enjoyed - The Four Ms. Bradwells by Meg Waite Clayton and Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb by George Rabasa. Both books were highly engaging and well-written, and after turning the last page, left me thinking for a long time. The Four Ms. Bradwells is probably no secret to many of you - it has been quite the rage in the blogosphere over the last month, especially coming as it is after the huge success of Meg Clayton's The Wednesday Sisters (which I haven't read yet). What I loved best about this book is how well the issues faced by women in law and political careers were tackled - not at all in a dry or academic manner, nor did they overwhelm me.
As for Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb, it was an entertaining though sometimes disturbing look into the minds of two misfits with mental issues. I've been intrigued by books that delve into the deep recesses of the human mind, but they've all been very serious lit. Can you imagine laughing when reading such a book? This book does just that.
Two titles you have recommended
The buzz around these books haven't been too exalting, but those who have read either or both of these books have been recommending them strongly. I like the sound of both these titles - there's a feeling of something strange and unusual creeping out of both covers. The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer with its creation of a Lysistrata-like world sounds something very un-earthly, literally. I wasn't too sure about this initially - I didn't care much for an exploration of a concept where sex is the protagonist, but after seeing this over in a few blogs, there seems to be a lot more to this book than the idea of sex.
The first time I saw the cover of Moondogs by Alexander Yates, I almost passed it up thinking it was yet another superhero comic/story/novel. I'm glad I at least considered reading something about it, because I couldn't have been more wrong. That doesn't mean I agree with that fanfarish bright colorful cover, but the synopsis makes up for it - a son who returns to Manila to reconnect with his estranged father, only to find him missing. He believes his father is yet again avoiding him, except his father was actually kidnapped. That sounded a lot like a detective novel to me at first, but something in the reviews of the few people who read this book pointed out the quirkiness in this read.
Two titles that caught my eye
Right now, I'm itching to get my hands on these two titles. They couldn't be more different, but both sound so promising. The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady by Elizabeth Stuckey-French has a title that you will double-back to read again. It also happens to have this most intriguing cover - the kind you see on chicklit books (I've always thought chicklit novels have some of the best covers) and yet, its protagonist, a 77-year old woman can't be a typical chicklit heroine. Besides, she wants to kill a certain Dr. Wilson Spriggs. And what's all this radioactive thingy in the title? Apparently, the doctor gave the protagonist a radioactive cocktail without her permission as part of a secret study, which of course goes very wrong or our heroine won't have such a terrible wish.
The London Train by Tessa Hadley (which by the way, is on the Orange Prize longlist), caught my eye some time back when I saw it on Goodreads. This promises to be a character-oriented novel, with Paul, the protagonist setting out to find his missing daughter and in the process entering a phase of unrest and indecision. When he finally finds his daughter living with her lover in chaos, he wants to protect her first but then begins to see the appeal of a life lived in jeopardy. I am yet to read a review of this one, but with such a promising description, I can't wait to check this out.
What other literary fiction titles are you hoping to read?
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