Book club questions for Infinite Country by Patricia Engel explore the themes of identity, family, and the pursuit of dreams against the backdrop of immigration and the complexities of dual citizenship.
“I’ve had borders drawn around me all my life, but I refuse to live as a bordered person.”
This is a beautifully written novel, with incredible story and insight.
Infinite Country by Patricia Engel
The themes of this novel universal: how do we define home? Are we choosing to traffic ourselves when we choose to emigrate? Is leaving home a kind of death or a renewal or can it be both? What are the costs of living in a land where you don’t truly belong and never really know its folklore, customs or extended family?
About the Author | Book Club Questions | Additional Recommendations | Book Club Kit
About the Story
Infinite Country follows the story of Talia, a young girl held in a correctional facility in Colombia. Talia, who urgently needs to return home to Bogotá, reflects on her family’s complex journey. The narrative weaves through the lives of Talia’s parents, Mauro and Elena, who fell in love during a time of civil war and social unrest.
The family’s pursuit of safety and opportunity leads them to the United States, where their children are born. However, their lives take a turn when Mauro is deported, causing the family to splinter. The novel explores the challenges faced by this mixed-status family, living with the consequences of decisions and indecisions.
Written by Patricia Engel, a daughter of Colombian immigrants, the story is rich with Bogotá urban life, Andean myth, and the tense reality of being undocumented in America.
About the Author
Patricia Engel is a highly acclaimed author, with her most recent work, The Faraway World, recognized as a New York Times Editors’ Choice. Renowned for her New York Times Bestseller, Infinite Country, Patricia has garnered widespread acclaim and numerous awards across various genres.
Patricia’s books have been translated into many languages. Her notable works, including The Veins of the Ocean, It’s Not Love, It’s Just Paris, and Vida, have earned prestigious honors such as the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the International Latino Book Award, and the PEN/Hemingway Fiction Award.
Born to Colombian parents, Patricia holds an MFA from Florida International University and currently serves as an Associate Professor in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Miami.
Book Club Questions for Infinite Country
- How does the title “Infinite Country” resonate with the themes and experiences depicted in the novel? What symbolic significance can be attributed to the idea of an “infinite country”?
- The story unfolds through multiple perspectives and timelines, with a focus on characters like Talia, Mauro, and Elena. Why do you think the author chose to present the narrative in both the present and the past? Additionally, what do you think about the delayed introduction of Karina and Nando’s viewpoints?
- Think for a moment about Talia’s decision to throw hot oil on the man who killed the cat and its recurring impact on the narrative. What role does moral ambivalence play, especially in light of Talia’s reflection on people who do horrible things as both victims and victimizers (page 8)?
- Consider the evolving notion of “home” for Mauro and Elena’s family. Choose a character and trace their shifting relationship with Colombia and the United States. How does each character’s connection to “home” change over time and with different experiences?
- Why did Mauro and Elena decide to move to the U.S.? How does their decision reflect broader themes of seeking safety and opportunity?
- Throughout the novel, characters grapple with the question of whether life in the U.S. is better than staying in Colombia. How does the narrative explore the failures and challenges of the American Dream for this particular family?
- Talia’s actions leading to her placement in a correctional facility are tied to her defense of a cat. What do you think about this narrative choice, and how does it contribute to the overall themes of the story?
- Reflect on the heightened feelings of uncanniness and displacement experienced by Elena, Mauro, and others in the diaspora. How might events like the 9/11 attacks contribute to these emotions, especially considering Elena’s momentary disbelief while watching the planes (page 37)?
- Explore the dynamics of Mauro and Elena’s relationship, particularly in relation to the strength depicted by Adrian Pennino-Balboa. How does their relationship demonstrate the strength required to navigate personal evolution? At the start of the novel, who does Mauro think he’s supposed to be, and who does he become?
- Dive into Talia’s encounters with the three men who assist her on her journey back to Bogotá. What insights do these characters share about her upcoming journey north? How do these encounters shape Talia’s character and her perspective on the world?
- The novel includes memorable quotes, such as “I often wonder if we are living the wrong life in the wrong country.” How does this sentence encapsulate the family’s experience in the U.S.? Share other quotes that resonated with you.
- Karina questions whether she can truly feel connected to a country without familial history. What, in your opinion, defines a place as a true home? How is one’s identity linked to their place of birth?
- The novel delves into the undocumented experience in the U.S. How does this perspective contribute to a nuanced understanding of the immigrant experience?
- Think about the contrasting imagery of lush Colombian landscapes and urban North American settings. How do these descriptions evoke emotions, and what do they reveal about the characters’ experiences in each environment?
- Elena’s nightmares were full of symbolism, especially the dream involving the Nevado del Ruiz eruption. How does the dream, particularly Elena’s perspective as “a bird or a cloud watching from above” after Mauro’s deportation, reveal aspects of her psyche during this challenging period (page 85)?
- Explore the theme of maternal energies through characters like Elena, Perla, Tracy, and the community of women in New Jersey. How do these maternal figures influence the novel’s network of characters?
- Karina revealed herself as “the author of these pages” in chapter 19. How does this revelation affect your reading of the novel, and what emotions arise from Karina and Nando’s palpable anger?
- Discuss the impact of Mauro’s deportation on the family dynamics. How does it shape their individual journeys and collective experiences?
- What emotions do you think a young Mauro might have experienced looking out at the “veined mountain lights” while smoking a cigarette. Why is his connection to his homeland so emotionally charged, especially given the indecipherable expression he meets Elena with when she says his name (page 166)?
- Consider Talia’s plotline in the context of the novel’s varied experiences. Discuss the significance of her feelings of waiting for something and the uncertainty about the origin and endpoint of her journey (page 179).
- What do you think everyday struggles and triumphs Karina might portray if she continued writing the “book of our lives” beyond the novel’s conclusion (page 190). What challenges and victories could the reunited family face in an uncertain future?
- What are your thoughts on the family’s reunion at the end of the story? What do you envision happening next for the family?
Other Books by Patricia Engel
The Faraway World by Patricia Engel
From the author of Infinite Country—a New York Times bestseller and a Reese’s Book Club pick—comes a “rich and compelling” (The Washington Post) collection of ten exquisite, award-winning short stories set across the Americas and linked by themes of migration, sacrifice, and moral compromise.
Two Colombian expats meet as strangers on the rainy streets of New York City, both burdened with traumatic pasts. In Cuba, a woman discovers her deceased brother’s bones have been stolen, and the love of her life returns from Ecuador for a one-night visit. A cash-strapped couple hustles in Miami, to life-altering ends.
“If you’re looking for a collection that will touch your heart and make you look at your fellow humans more generously, this one’s a can’t-miss” (Good Housekeeping). Author Patricia Engel is “a wonder” (Lauren Groff) and these intimate and panoramic stories bring to life the liminality of regret, the vibrancy of community, and the epic deeds and quiet moments of love.
The Veins of the Ocean by Patricia Engel
In this “profound, daring” tale of loss and faith, a woman haunted by tragedy begins to find healing in the waters—and love—that surround her (San Francisco Chronicle).
Reina Castillo’s beloved brother has been sentenced to death for an unthinkable crime that shocked the community—and Reina secretly blames herself. Devastated and grieving, Reina moves to a quiet enclave in the Florida Keys seeking anonymity and a new start, and meets Nesto Cadena, a recently exiled Cuban awaiting the arrival of the children he left behind in Havana.
Inspired by Nesto’s love of the sea and capacity for faith, Reina comes to understand her own connections to the life-giving and destructive forces of the ocean that surrounds her, as well as its role in her family’s troubled history. Against a vibrant coastal backdrop that ranges from Miami to Cartagena, Colombia, author Patricia Engel delivers a profound and riveting Pan-American story of fractured souls finding solace and redemption in the beauty and power of the natural world—and in one another.
“This is a writer who understands that exile can be as much an emotional state as a geographical one, that the agony of leaving tugs against the agony of being left behind. . . . To immerse oneself in Engel’s prose is to surrender to a seductive embrace, a hypnotic beauty that mingles submersion with submission.” —The New York Times Book Review
Vida by Patricia Engel
A New York Times Notable Book, an NPR Best Debut of the Year, and a PEN/Hemingway finalist.
These linked stories follow Sabina as she navigates her shifting identity as a daughter of the Colombian diaspora, and struggles to find her place within and beyond the net of her strong, protective, but embattled family.
In “Lucho,” Sabina’s family—already “foreigners in a town of blancos”—is shunned by the community when a relative commits an unspeakable act of violence, but she is in turn befriended by the town bad boy, who has a secret of his own. In “Desaliento,” Sabina surrounds herself with other young drifters who spend their time looking for love and then fleeing from it—until reality catches up with one of them. And in “Vida,” the urgency of Sabina’s self-imposed exile in Miami fades when she meets an enigmatic Colombian woman with a tragic past.
“Vida calls to mind some of the best fiction from recent years. Like Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge, Engel uses stories about connected characters to illuminate her main subject, in this case Sabina, who moves with her family from Bogotá, Colombia, to New Jersey. Engel brings Sabina’s family and culture to life with a narrative style reminiscent of Junot Díaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao . . . Vivid, memorable . . . An exceptionally promising debut.” —The Plain Dealer
Discussion Guide for Infinite Country
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