Episode 55 - Patricia Engel
Photo Credit: Erick & Elliot Jimenez
Patricia Engel is always a pleasure to talk to. I caught up with her virtually in June to discuss her latest novel, Infinite Country. This taut, powerful novel explores life in this country for a family with mixed immigration status.
This is Patricia's fourth novel. All of her books explore immigration. She was last on the show in 2016 to discuss her novel, The Veins of the Ocean. (Check out the novel and that episode if you haven't already!)
Infinite Country begins in Colombia as Talia, a teenager being held in a youth correctional facility for committing what she sees as a justified act of violence, escapes in an effort to make it to Bogota where her dad and a ticket to the U.S. is waiting for her. As she makes her way across the country, we learn about her parent's journey to the U.S. and how they ended up in two different countries, her mom in the States with two of the couple's children and Talia in Colombia with her dad.
This novel really lays bare the indignities and dangers immigrants face in this country. Infinite Country combines a very suspenseful, heart-pounding beginning with beautiful prose that will put you firmly in the trenches with this family. You will root for them and question the way society treats families like this.
Interview Highlights:
Patricia reveals...
- why her novel addresses the scourge of gun violence in the U.S.
- how the length of this novel affects the sense of urgency she wanted readers to feel
- why she wanted to focus on immigrants' ambivalence about moving to a new country
Click here to listen to the episode. You can also help Patricia and the show by purchasing the book here.
During the show, Patricia mentioned a writer she admires who she once saw in an airport. The first listener to give us this writer's name on Facebook or Twitter will win a free copy of Infinite Country.
If you have won a ReadMore giveaway in the last 90 days, you're ineligible for this contest. If you and I ever drove through The Bottom together, you're probably ineligible. ReadMore doesn't have a friends and family plan. But we'll always have those C-Town memories.
.