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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

So Not The End Of Year Favorites Fiction List


Now that BBAW is over and things have hopefully settled down in blogland, there's another big event that's just around the corner - The Indie Lit Awards. You must have seen posts about this event sprouting up all over in your reader, but in case you missed it, here's the gist. Indie Lit Awards are annual awards given by book bloggers in various categories, such as Biography/Memoir, GLBTQ, Fiction, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Poetry, and Speculative Fiction. This award is now in its second year, and if you wish to see the winners of last year, go here. The nominations for this year are already open and will continue to be so all the way through December. The winners are announced next year. So if you have a book you would love to see win in any of those categories, go here, select the genre of the book and place your nomination.

I am a voting member of the Fiction panel, and hence I cannot nominate. But I would love to share some of my favorite books I read this year so that if you also loved any of them, you can nominate. I looked at my read shelf this year for 2011 releases, and this is the one time I'm glad I don't read too many books in a year, so it wasn't too hard to draw up my favorites. Today, I'm focusing on a few Fiction titles that I loved. Tomorrow, I'll post about some books in the other categories.

Some of my top favorite books so far in Fiction among this year's releases have been Irma Voth, State of Wonder, Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb, The Four Ms. Bradwells, In Zanesville and The London Train. It's pretty hard to choose a single favorite among these books, since each of them brought something different to the reading experience but if I had to, it would be Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb.


Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb was about a young boy with a mental illness. He becomes friends with and later obsessed with Pia, who likes to be called Miss Entropia, because of her obsession with fire. Since the two first meet, their lives are heavily tangled, until the end, while all the time their minds are slowly unraveling. The interesting thing is that despite the very eerie sensation of watching a person crumble slowly, the book was hilarious! I would never have put humor and mental illness on the same shelf even, but the author makes it work wonderfully!


The Four Ms. Bradwells left me breathless once I finished it. It was truly in all ways a woman's novel, especially a career woman's. I loved how this book tackled some of the issues women in law or politics face and how being in a high-visibility career position, they are sometimes forced by others or circumstances to not talk about the tragic events in their lives. I also loved how when I took some things for granted, Meg Clayton questioned that. If you especially loved this author's The Wednesday Sisters, this is a book you may not want to miss!

Ann Patchett is probably the only author I have read twice this year. Her State of Wonder is as magical as Bel Canto, even though I did have some issue with the ending. Still, it is pretty hard to forget how she could hold me captivated over 300-400 pages, especially during the lulls in the story. There are many things that happen in this book - an unmarried woman's private love life, a former professor's obsession with research, a tribe whose women can get pregnant even in their seventies, and research on humans with all the ethical issues around it.

The London Train was also a slow book in terms of what happens through the pages, but I still loved how the book evoked feelings of loneliness, love, anxiety, and desperation. The two protagonists in this book are running away from their own lives and at some point, they cross paths. That meeting has huge consequences on their own lives and their relationships with others. Although this book is actually told as two independent stories, it doesn't really read as a book of short stories.


Irma Voth was my most recent read. I had loved one other book that I had read by this author, so her writing style was not new to me. What most appeals to me about her books is how she can personalize a feeling without ever mentioning it. The characters' actions, drives, words and thoughts paint a portrait of emotions much better than one could write about it. In Zanesville was another favorite of mine with a nameless teen protagonist who has a wacky sense of humor. This isn't a YA book, even though the characters fall in that age-group. It's a coming-of-age story but there's so much more - in a strange way, it reminded me of my own junior and high-school years, in a way very few other books managed to.

So these are some of my favorite reads so far this year. I hope I did convince you to check out one or some of them. If you did read and love any of these books, then I hope you will vote for them in the Indie Lit Awards! What 2011 releases made your favorites list?

Comments

Stephanie said…
How sad that I have read none of those books! I do really want to read InZanesville and The London Train. The Four Mrs Bradwells is new to me but I will definitely check it out!
Marce said…
You do so good at bringing our attention to Fiction. I'm still considering The LondonTrain.

I have voted for 1 Mysteey so far.
ChewDigest said…
I saw another book by Miriam Toews that I already put on my mental wish list, now I will add Irma Voth.
Helen Murdoch said…
I need to get over there and nominate. But first I need to figure out which books that I've loved were  published in 2011! I am so bad at paying attention to the publication date.
Athira / Aths said…
I hope you get to check out those books! They made such a good impression on me and I would love to see more people read them!
Athira / Aths said…
If the other book was not The Flying Troutmans, then you should add that as well to the list! She writes some fabulous books!
Athira / Aths said…
Thanks, Marce! I'm glad you already nominated a title! Yay!
ChewDigest said…
crude, it was Swing Low, now you are making me put two on my wish list!
Athira / Aths said…
Mostly, I don't pay much attention to the publication date. Sometimes, I'm aware, but I don't really keep track of it. Since I have my books listed in my goodreads shelves, I just sort the shelves by date published and that makes it easy to find the books published this year.
Athira / Aths said…
I thought it might be that one. It's getting a lot of buzz too! I'm waiting for my copy of that book!
Ti said…
I read Four Ms. Bradwells and London Train, but the rest I haven't gotten to you. Miss Entropia looks really good.
Athira / Aths said…
I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the book! It really got me thinking about human nature and the mistakes people make!
Athira / Aths said…
Miss Entropia was wonderful! I hope you should check it out. Even months after reading it, I'm impressed by the writing. 
I don't own any of the books on your list. I do want to read State of Wonder. Hope to get it to before the end of the year. If it held you captivated for 300-400 pages, I think I can do okay without falling asleep, cause I've been super duper tired lately. 
Athira / Aths said…
I'm sure you will enjoy it! It is slow and sometimes requires patience, but in the end, I always felt rewarded.