Patricia Engel’s Infinite Country is an amazing story. It’s packed with so much plotting and detail that it seems like a long book–in a good way! It’s only 191 pages, moves fast, and leaves you feeling like you have been reading about the characters forever.
The story involves parallel journeys taken by one family: parents who migrate from Colombia to the United States. A father and daughter who return from the United States to Colombia. A daughter who runs away from juvenile detention. All of them are looking for connection and a better life no matter what country they end up in. All of them are clever and willing to work very hard to get what they want for themselves and the people around them.
Colombia has 50 million people, a democratic government, and a growing economy. It is also recovering from decades of drug violence and economic upheaval, and the illegal narcotics industry is still a factor.
And the people have stories. This is one of them.
