Article contributed by Laura Glassman
Infinite Country tells the story of Elena and Mauro and their children, who are an immigrant family caught between the worlds of Colombia and the United States. The story opens with a narrative following their eldest daughter, Talia, then a young woman who broke free from a reform school where she was placed as a result of a moment of violence spurred by righteous indignation. Soon, the returns to the story of how Elena and Mauro met in Colombia and travelled to Texas to seek a better life. Patricia Engel conveys the stories of Infinite Country’s central characters, their lives, and their experiences in Colombia and the United States with great nuance and sensitivity.
When Mauro and Elena leave for Texas, they imagine that they will only be there for a matter of months. After all, their visas are both for only six months, expiring at different times. Elena feels lonely with their new baby, while Mauro works hard all day long. They are ready to decide that, as they are seen as foreigners in Texas, they would rather go home, when news of Elena’s second pregnancy changes things for them. We learn of their life moving from one place to another in Texas. One unfortunate evening, however, something happens to Mauro which changes their fate.
Patricia Engel beautifully details the complexities of immigration, particularly when family members do not all have documentation or citizenship. She describes the inner turmoil involved when Mauro and Elena must decide what to do after their visas have expired, fearing that a trip across the ocean might not be good for their new and their soon to be born babies. They must wrestle with questions of whether to try to stay. They must also wrestle with questions of how they can stay and what it would be like to stay, given the hard realities and possibilities for most other undocumented individuals such as themselves. As readers, we feel for their struggle and the difficulty of their decision. Engel also thoughtfully describes the complexities and difficulties connected with trying to stay in the United States when their visas have expired. The story later delves into Talia, Mauro, and Elena’s stories once Mauro returns to Colombia and reconnects with his mother-in-law and daughter Talia. All of them must deal with the confusion and pain of separation. Elena must wrestle with what to do with her children and what to do herself once left behind in the United States. Later, we continue to follow the story of the family once they have been separated and live their lives in different places.
Infinite Country is beautifully written, with tight and richly descriptive prose showcasing each of the characters’ emotions as they go through their journey. Engel describes the characters’ experiences in terms of their homes and countries, their adventures, and their relationships with great sensitivity. The novel is made richer by its many allusions to mystical elements that are a part of Colombian culture. Engel seamlessly weaves almost magical or spiritual sounding beliefs into the characters’ stories and this adds to the beauty of the narrative.
Although Infinite Country is a smart and beautifully written book, there is some sense of distance from the central characters and the action in Engel’s writing. Some readers may appreciate that distance, however, at some may feel it detracts from the level of emotion that could otherwise to be conveyed in such a compelling story.
Infinite Country richly describes the complexities of the experience of undocumented immigrants, and families that become separated as a result of that experience. Patricia Engels beautifully writes of the perspectives of each family member and shows us how they experience life in a family that has become separated, and in the country where they are making their home. This is a nuanced and sensitive portrayal of a family’s experience, and one well worth reading.
Infinite Country is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
For readers of Valeria Luiselli and Edwidge Danticat, an urgent and lyrical novel about a Colombian family fractured by deportation, offering an intimate perspective on an experience that so many have endured—and are enduring right now.
At the dawn of the new millennium, Colombia is a country devastated by half a century of violence. Elena and Mauro are teenagers when they meet, their blooming love an antidote to the mounting brutality of life in Bogotá. Once their first daughter is born, and facing grim economic prospects, they set their sights on the United States.
They travel to Houston and send wages back to Elena’s mother, all the while weighing whether to risk overstaying their tourist visas or to return to Bogotá. As their family expands, and they move again and again, their decision to ignore their exit dates plunges the young family into the precariousness of undocumented status, the threat of discovery menacing a life already strained. When Mauro is deported, Elena, now tasked with caring for their three small children, makes a difficult choice that will ease her burdens but splinter the family even further.
Award-winning, internationally acclaimed author Patricia Engel, herself the daughter of Colombian immigrants and a dual citizen, gives voice to Mauro and Elena, as well as their children, Karina, Nando, and Talia—each one navigating a divided existence, weighing their allegiance to the past, the future, to one another, and to themselves. Rich with Bogotá urban life, steeped in Andean myth, and tense with the daily reality for the undocumented in America, Infinite Country is the story of two countries and one mixed-status family—for whom every triumph is stitched with regret and every dream pursued bears the weight of a dream deferred.
