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
This year, I decided to read more international. I don't like it that I have to be so mindful of my reading to make sure I read more diversely - I wish books set in far remote corners of the world were more accessible and also hyped a lot. Hype helps, sometimes. But if I were to blindfold myself and choose a book that came my way, an overwhelming percentage of them would be set in the US or written by US authors. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just that I wish to read more from international authors and if mindfully picking a book is what I should do to make that happen, that's probably what I would do.
This is the way I pictured my goal. I am allowed to read only one book from any country this year. Excluding ARCs (because it's not fair to add them to the equation), audiobooks (because I would prefer "listenability" when it comes to them than any other attribute), and nonfiction titles (because I only read nonfiction if I like the subject). So far during this slow January, I read 2 non-ARCs (technically 3) - Night of Many Dreams set in Hong Kong, and Boxers & Saints set in China.Knowing that I can read only one book from a country is actually making my book-picking ritual quite fun. And encouraging me to read more from my shelves than the shining newer releases at the library. I don't quite know what I would do when I do come across a book that I desperately want to read now. But I was thinking of having a month in between when I could read anything I wanted to, setting notwithstanding. I'm all about flexibility and making sure I do meet my goals, not get frustrated at the effort.
Unfortunately, I'm beginning to realize that my home library is woefully lacking in diversity - something I am hoping to change over time. Still, my collection should be enough to keep me occupied for a few months, if not longer. I do have a few titles from the Middle East, Africa and Asia.Right now, I am in between books. I may not pick a new one until this evening or sometime this week, but I narrowed down to three books to pick from. One of them is Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance. Mistry is Canadian but Indian-born. That pretty much qualifies as Indian in my book. I've heard a lot of good things about this book, so I am looking forward to reading it.
The other option I have is The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, set in Afghanistan - another remarkable book that's in everyone's favorite lists. And finally, The Legend of Pradeep Mathew by Shehan Karunatilaka, set in Sri Lanka. I got this as an ARC a long time back, long enough for it to lose its ARC badge. I have a feeling I will be reading The Kite Runner though I may follow it up with the other books as well.
Comments
I just finished The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh, which is set in Burma, and it was very good, if you're after more ideas....
I have The Legend of Pradeep Matthew -- I'm excited to read that one.
That is a truly impressive goal you have set for yourself - even if you don't meet it but you are able to get halfway there, that is still a wonderfully diverse year of reading!