In the Country

Locations
Call Number: Fiction / Alvar, Mia
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Alvar, Mia	4-week checkout	On Shelf

The kontrabida -- The miracle worker -- Legends of the white lady -- Shadow families -- The Virgin of Monte Ramon -- Esmeralda -- Old girl -- A contract overseas -- In the country.
"A powerful, globe-trotting debut short-story collection from an exciting new writer--vivid, character-driven stories about Filipinos from every walk of life. Mia Alvar's stunning debut gives us a vivid, insightful picture of the Filipino diaspora: exiles and emigrants and wanderers uprooting their families to begin new lives in the Middle East and America--and, sometimes, turning back. One man smuggles drugs from his pharmacy in New York to Manila for his ailing father, only to discover an alarming truth about his mother. A woman living in Bahrain faces a challenge that compels her to question her marriage. A college student in Manila struggling to write fiction knows that her brother, who has gone abroad to make money, is the one living a life that stories are made of. The novella-length title story follows the unexpected fates of a journalist and a nurse during the 1970s labor strikes in Manila. Exploring the universal experience of loss, displacement, and the longing to connect across borders both real and imagined, In the Country speaks to the heart of everyone who has ever searched for a place to call home"-- Provided by publisher.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Wonderful Collection submitted by eschrine on June 30, 2021, 8:36pm I truly enjoyed this collection of short stories. Some stories were stronger than others, but I was pleasantly surprised by how haunting and evocative they were. There were times I was sad that one of the short stories ended only to be delighted by a new one on the next page.

Bonus points for helping me channel my nostalgia over my Filipino roots and family overseas. It was very interesting to read the perspectives of different characters experiencing different events, areas, and time periods all related to the Philippines.