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Infinite Country by Patricia Engel | Thoughts

   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

A few Literary Fiction titles to pine for


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?

Comments

Misha said…
I've been pining for The London Train, ever since the Orange Prize longlist was declared. In fact, I have the entire longlist on my wishlist. I was not interested in The Uncoupling before, but there have been so many amazing reviews for the book. I am pretty sure that once the nominations for the Indie Lit Awards are announced, there were will be more books to pine for.
I haven't read any of those, but I do have a few of them. I have to admit that I'm attracted to The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady by its title alone.
Marce said…
All the titles on the right I have never heard of, wow.
Athira / Aths said…
They sound exciting though, don't they?
Athira / Aths said…
I'm so curious about The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady simply because of that title. So intriguing!
Athira / Aths said…
I'm waiting for my copy of The London Train. It just sounds awesome! I have The Uncoupling borrowed from the library. I should get to it soon!
hcmurdoch said…
It's funny, I never really pay attention to the publication dates of the books I read so I am never aware if they will qualify for various awards or not. Duh to me.
Lisa said…
I've got The Uncoupling coming up next. Probably will read it this weekend if I find that I can work in enough reading time for the readathon.
Athira / Aths said…
I never used to bother with it either. But at some point, I started getting into dialogues about books released in a particular year, so I guess slowly I started looking at it.
Athira / Aths said…
Woot! I have it borrowed from the library too and I can't wait to pick it up!
ashbrux said…
I had the opposite reaction to Moondogs: the cover looked great but the story doesn't interest me that much. I really want to read The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady!
Athira / Aths said…
I think half my fascination with Moondogs has to do with that flashy cover and surprising find that the story didn't seem to match the cover. I doubt though that I would have noticed the book otherwise. I'm becoming a biased reader, shucks!
Marie said…
The London Train looks like it might be right up my alley. Great post!
Athira / Aths said…
Thanks! I look forward to reading it!
linpark ;) said…
ablen espaƱol alguna ves ¬¬
linpark ;) said…
Spanish Ablene some see ¬ ¬ but good works