📖 Overview
The Faraway World is a collection of ten short stories that follow characters across Colombia, Cuba, and the United States. Each narrative stands alone but shares connections through themes of migration, displacement, and complex relationships.
The stories center on individuals navigating cultural identity and personal crossroads - from a woman searching for her kidnapped sister to a couple whose marriage is tested during their move between countries. Characters face choices about loyalty, belonging, and survival in environments that challenge their understanding of home.
These tales examine how distance - both physical and emotional - shapes human connection and memory. Through multiple perspectives and timeframes, the collection probes the lasting impact of departure and return, the weight of family obligations, and the prices paid for both staying and leaving.
The collection speaks to larger questions about identity formation in a transnational world, exploring how people reconstruct themselves and their relationships across borders and generations. Engel's stories reveal the invisible threads that bind families and communities despite separation.
👀 Reviews
Readers appreciate Engel's portrayal of immigrant experiences and cultural identity across these interconnected stories. Many note the raw emotional depth and authenticity in how characters navigate relationships, loss, and displacement.
Positive reviews highlight:
- Sharp, precise prose with memorable descriptions
- Complex characters facing moral dilemmas
- Balance between hope and darkness in storylines
- Authentic representation of Colombian-American perspectives
Common criticisms:
- Some stories feel underdeveloped or end abruptly
- Uneven pacing between stories
- Similar themes become repetitive
- Characters' voices can blend together
Ratings:
Goodreads: 3.9/5 (2,800+ ratings)
Amazon: 4.2/5 (280+ ratings)
LibraryThing: 4.1/5 (90+ ratings)
"Each story packs an emotional punch" - Goodreads reviewer
"The writing is beautiful but some endings left me hanging" - Amazon reviewer
"Captures immigrant experiences without sentimentality" - LibraryThing reviewer
📚 Similar books
The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea
A multi-generational Mexican-American family gathers for their patriarch's final birthday party, revealing stories of immigration, love, and family bonds across borders.
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli A family's road trip across America interweaves with the stories of migrant children at the Mexican border, creating a meditation on family, displacement, and documentation.
What We Were Promised by Lucy Tan A wealthy Chinese family who returned to Shanghai after years in America confronts class divisions and cultural identity through their relationships with each other and their housekeeper.
The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez Two immigrant families from Panama and Mexico intersect in a Delaware apartment complex, illuminating the hopes and struggles of Latin American immigrants in the United States.
Infinite Country by Patricia Engel A Colombian family split between two countries navigates separation, deportation, and the pursuit of the American dream through alternating perspectives.
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli A family's road trip across America interweaves with the stories of migrant children at the Mexican border, creating a meditation on family, displacement, and documentation.
What We Were Promised by Lucy Tan A wealthy Chinese family who returned to Shanghai after years in America confronts class divisions and cultural identity through their relationships with each other and their housekeeper.
The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez Two immigrant families from Panama and Mexico intersect in a Delaware apartment complex, illuminating the hopes and struggles of Latin American immigrants in the United States.
Infinite Country by Patricia Engel A Colombian family split between two countries navigates separation, deportation, and the pursuit of the American dream through alternating perspectives.
🤔 Interesting facts
🌎 Patricia Engel wrote all the stories in "The Faraway World" during the COVID-19 lockdown, drawing on her experiences of isolation and displacement to craft these tales of connection and separation.
✍️ The collection features characters from Colombia, Cuba, and other Latin American countries, reflecting Engel's own Colombian-American heritage and her deep understanding of immigrant experiences.
🏆 Engel's previous work, "Infinite Country," was selected for Reese Witherspoon's Book Club and named one of the best books of 2021 by various publications, including The New York Times.
💫 Several stories in the collection were previously published in prestigious literary magazines, including "Vida" in The Paris Review and "Aida" in The Yale Review.
🌟 The book explores themes of class divisions, migration, and cultural identity through ten interconnected stories that span from New York City to the Caribbean, examining how geography shapes human relationships.