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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

The Sunday Salon: Back from New Orleans

The Sunday 
Salon.com

Another MIA week around here but hopefully the last one for a while, since I have a couple of posts written and scheduled to go. For whatever reason, I have been in a writing mood yesterday, not that I am complaining. So I got a couple of reviews done and ready to go.

Last week, I was in New Orleans up until hump day for a trade show as an exhibitor. Being on your feet for three days in a row can be killing. I wore nice comfortable running shoes all three days, but there were women who wore heels throughout - the pointy variety. Now, I like how heels look on a woman's feet - so graceful and elegant. But you won't find me in a pointy pair, even if my life is on the line. So it baffles me completely when I see someone wearing a pair of heels when they have to be either standing or walking for a good portion of a day, never mind three days.

When I wasn't at the event, I was at a couple of customer events. It wasn't until the evening before I was returning that some of us got to go and walk through Bourbon Street. Yep, this place was as crazy as they say it is. A few times I had to pretend to not have seen err, certain things. The food in New Orleans was amazing. The seafood options were incredible. Every restaurant there considers itself either Cajun or Creole.

But what I was most impressed by was their signature cemeteries. The Originals TV show set portions of many of its episodes in the New Orleans cemeteries, and even then, I thought that was a fictional or historical detail. Seeing all those above-ground vaults and tombs was just spooky and goose-bumpy. I didn't visit any of the cemeteries but just saw a few on the way to my hotel from the airport.

The Mississippi River was another beauty. I was lucky to have my hotel room face the river so every morning, before the mad rush of the day was to begin, I spent a good few minutes gazing out into the river and watching a few cruise ships make its way to dock.

On the reading front, I finished Jojo Moyes's One Plus One while at New Orleans and possibly loved it even more than I did Me Before You. Or maybe as much. I can't decide. I am still reading through Stephen King's On Writing. The guy certainly has a lot of good ideas regarding writing a novel. I have about 50 more pages to go so I may finish it today. I've also started reading Hwee Hwee Tan's Foreign Bodies, which is set in Singapore and so far riveting. What are you reading?

Comments

Glad you got to experience Bourbon Street and I forgot about all the cemeteries, but now that you mention it, I remember seeing a lot of them on the show Treme, which is based there. I only saw a few episodes, maybe a season, but really liked it, especially for the local feel of New Orleans...or what I imagined, and according to critics actually, was.


As for high heels, yeah, I can't imagine wearing them either. :) My wife has a friend who loves high heels (mainly because she's short, I think ;) ) but I can't believe they're very comfortable.
JoAnn @ Lakeside Musing said…
Ugh, those pointy high heels would kill me even sitting down all day! Can't fathom wearing them for three days of standing...


I've read three of Jojo Moyes novels (not One Plus One yet) and would be hard pressed to pick a favorite. They are all so different. Think I'd go with The Girl You Left Behind.
Glad to hear New Orleans treated you well! I only walk down Bourbon Street if it's before, say, ten AM. Any time after that and it's too much for me to handle. There are plenty of other usable streets in the Quarter; I just stick to those. :p
Sam_TinyLibrary said…
Glad you had a great time! I'd love to go back to New Orleans one day...
And the only time I've worn heels in the past 5 years was on my wedding day, and even then I swapped them during the reception!
bermudaonion(Kathy) said…
I'm with you on the shoes. I gave up on heels years ago.
Athira / Aths said…
Heels are so uncomfortable for the newbie, but after a few days you get used to them, because your feet have begun twisting into the shape of the shoe! Scary! I had that happen to me once when I bought a pair of purely flat shoes (another evil), and after a few days, even the inner arch of my feet were touching the floor.
Athira / Aths said…
I tried listening to The Girl You Left Behind, but the narrator was shrieking too much in my ears that I had to give up. I need to pick the book. I love how I can relate to her books so well even though they are about characters I don't know IRL.
Athira / Aths said…
Yep, I learned that early morning is the best time to walk through the street if you want to see without feeling embarrassed or having to look away too often. I walked through some of the other nearby streets too and I love the very European and 19th century feel to some of the streets.
Athira / Aths said…
I actually bought a pair of heels for my wedding too but they were too high for me. So I had them cut to the height I wanted them. Bad decision, because while they held up beautifully during the wedding, one of the shoes has since lost a cap so now I feel like my feet are at different heights.
Athira / Aths said…
Best decision ever, I say. They are just a lot of unnecessary pain.
Diane D said…
Sounds like you had a real busy week. Have never been to New Orleans even though a previous job allowed me to visit over 20 different sates:) Looking forward to One Plus One - Moyes
Mystica said…
Foreign Bodies sounds intriguing

literaryfeline said…
Welcome home! I love it when the writing bug hits and I can knock out reviews I need to write. It makes up for those days when I either don't have time to write or do not feel like writing at all.


It sounds like you had a nice time in New Orleans, albeit a busy time. I would love to visit there someday. Especially the cemeteries. Waking up to a view of the Mississippi River sounds wonderful too!


Foreign Bodies sounds interesting. I'm still hoping to give JoJo Moyes a try before the end of the year, but we'll see.


Have a great week!
Ti Reed said…
I think some women are only comfortable in heels. I remember when I worked in banking, some of the women claimed that their calf muscles shortened from wearing heels so they had to always wear them. SAD. I think some of the nicer flats can be pretty dressy but you had the right idea with the running shoes. When I work backstage for days on end I have some version of a tennis shoe on but even then, my feet are killing me after serveral days of it.
Athira / Aths said…
Wow, I would have loved to be able to visit so many states, officially! Glad that you got that opportunity.
Athira / Aths said…
Yeah, it's really sad how dependent you become on heels because your feet changed their shape. Whatever happened to wearing shoes that fit your feet? Now feet are made to fit shoes. Part of it is also societal expectations that if you work in an office or do any socialite activities, you better dress the part too, which means nice pointy heels. Gah.
Athira / Aths said…
I hope you get to try Jojo Moyes. My first brush with her was a failure. I could not get past the first chapter of Me Before You. But I picked up the audio later and that worked much better! Once I got past the first chapter, the book got so much more engrossing.
Helen Murdoch said…
I've never been to New Orleans, but a view of the Mississippi upon wakening sounds like a wonderful way to start the day. And I am with you on the high heels thing. Why? Just why?!
Athira / Aths said…
I would love to go back there - there is just so much culture and history there.