Cristina HenríquezReseñas

Got this one from Audiobooksync. Maybe it's that I'm not a big fan of multiple stories or perspectives within one; Maybe it's that one of the readers distractingly emphasized a lot of insignificant words; maybe it's that I like resoundingly happy endings; or maybe there isn't a good reason and I just wasn't in the mood, but this audio book took me along time to get through, and I wasn't thrilled with the conclusion.

Wonderful story filled with many interesting and believable characters with the backdrop of the digging of the Panama Canal.

The novel is told by many characters who intersect often in rather minor ways. Ada is a young woman who hides in a ship from Barbados who is looking for work to help her sister at home get an operation. Omar, is the son of a fisherman who is very opposed to the Canal. Omar, not wanting to be a fisherman, goes off to join the digging drew much to the displeasure of his father and don't speak to each other for months. Their is an American man working on the canal whose wife is dying; Ada becomes a maid in the house. There are other characters who fill out the scene: the doctor caring for the ill wife, the other diggers who form a sort of friendship with Omar, the cruel overseer of the diggers, the jealous cook in the American's home.

The book is not so much plot driven but driven by the experiences of these individuals all caused and connected somehow by the digging of the canal. Very good read.

Meh. Samantha Irby said it was good. It was not.

*well-written book with a captivating storyline
*easy to read and kept my interest from cover to cover
*great character development
*highly recommend

Super quick to read! I settled on 3 stars but it's probably more of a 3.5

This was a really nice story about the Latino immigrant community in Delaware with special focus one one family who has a child with traumatic brain injury.

This is the second book I've read recently about the immigrant experience and it is truly eye opening to see the struggles the face and the back stories that go with these people who so often are just nameless background pieces in our everyday lives.

This was so good! I love the writing style; there are so many amazing sentences I had to enjoy it. And it felt very real. I was very invested in it.

In The Great Divide, author Cristina Henriquez tries to capture all of the political and human drama surrounding the construction of the Panama Canal by exploring the lives of a variety of characters in and around the event. From local Panamanian Omar who participates in the actual drudgery of digging to an American doctor brought to battle malaria, Henriquez attempts to explore such a large number of people that at times their stories muddle. Solid writing and engaging narratives keep the book moving, and as the stories clarify, Henriquez manages to bring them all to a satisfying conclusion. Readers who enjoy historical fiction with a revolving cast of voices will not want to miss The Great Divide.½

Right in the feels.

Beautifully written.

A bit too sentimental for me, but it looks like it's been good for other people and resonated with them. If this helps people to humanize each other, I'm all for it, I just don't love the narrative style. I wish the part-3 narrations were a little more fleshed out and integrated into the story, and I think by trying to be a lot of things at once it failed to really stand out in any of them. I hate to give a bad rating to something earnest and well-meant, it's just not quite for me.

3.5*

I would have probably given this 4* except for the fact that I disliked the final section. It wasn't the death of Arturo so much as the way Mayor and Alma responded to it that I didn't care for.

I did like the use of different narrators for the various points of view.

Wie op zoek gaat naar boeken van schrijvers uit Panama stuit op een probleem: voor zover er Panamese literatuur bestaat is deze niet of nauwelijks vertaald in het Engels of Nederlands. Ik ging daarom uiteindelijk voor The world in half van de Amerikaanse schrijfster Cristina Henriquez (1977). Haar vader komt oorspronkelijk uit Panama, waardoor zij meer over Panama weet dan de gemiddelde Amerikaan, ook al blijft zij in Panama toch ook een (Amerikaanse) buitenstaander, zo vertelt ze in een interview.

Hoofdpersoon van het boek is de geologie-studente Miraflores. Zij is opgegroeid in Chicago, bij haar Amerikaanse moeder. Haar Panamese vader heeft zij nooit gekend. Over haar vader, en de relatie die ooit bestond tussen haar ouders, weet ze weinig; haar moeder heeft daarover nooit veel meer losgelaten dan dat de man uit hun leven is verdwenen nog voordat Miraflores geboren werd. Nu haar moeder Alzheimer heeft, en zich binnenkort ook niks meer zal kunnen herinneren, gaat Miraflores op zoek naar de waarheid achter het verhaal van haar moeder. En naar haar vader, waarvoor ze afreist naar Panama, een land waar ze nooit eerder geweest is.

Dat is het uitgangspunt van dit boek. Wie wil weten hoe dit afloopt zal het boek zelf moeten lezen. Ik kan wel verklappen dat de uitwerking een stuk minder clichés bevat dan je op basis van het uitgangspunt zou kunnen denken. Het boek is makkelijk te lezen, zelfs in het Engels. Het is geschreven in tegenwoordige tijd, in het ik-perspectief, waardoor je de hoofdpersoon echt op de huid zit, en bevat veel conversatie. Haar personage is mooi en levensecht uitgewerkt, en ontwikkelt zich in die beperkte periode ook nog van timide en op safe spelend naar een stuk avontuurlijker. Wat leuk is is dat je door de ogen van Miraflores Panama binnenstapt, meegenomen wordt door de verschillende wijken van Panama Stad en -met haar - diverse lokale personages ontmoet en leert over de geschiedenis van Panama en de aanleg van het kanaal.

Verwacht geen literair meesterwerk, maar vooral een toegankelijk en interessant verhaal over een jonge vrouw op zoek naar haar vader, haar identiteit, en uiteindelijk vooral ook naar haar moeder, die door haar ziekte langzaamaan uitgegumd wordt. Het boek raakte me uiteindelijk meer dan ik had verwacht, juist omdat het verhaal zo klein wordt gehouden, en wegblijft van de clichés over culturele identiteit die ik de laatste tijd vaak in boeken tegenkom. Ik zou het zeker aanraden aan iedereen die op zoek is naar boeken over Panama maar ook naar boeken over familierelaties of over slopende ziektes als Alzheimer.½

I liked it but had a lot of trouble with Maribel’s character. Mayor was framed as someone who humanize her, but she never had any actual depth herself outside of his perception of her. It got to the point that the relationship felt predatory— he was the only one who “got” her, even though he only really liked that she was pretty and easy to talk to because she didn’t speak that much. I wouldn’t say it wasn’t consensual but it definitely felt iffy.

Apartment building in Delaware near PA border houses many Latin American immigrants. Each family/person has a story of their life prior to or being in America. When something bad happens, many of the characters feel it’s their fault because if I hadn’t this or I hadn’t that…

Interesting book regarding immigrants to America. Their struggles, wins and losses. Too many characters unrelated to main story.

3.5 stars. The book is extremely readable and I really enjoyed the vignettes of the residents. It does a great job of providing compelling glimpses into all the ways and reasons Latinx folks migrate to the US. That said, the core of the story didn’t hold me.

Touching story of several Latinx living in an apartment complex in Delaware, trying to make a life in America. This story is told from the view of several different characters centered around Alma and Arturo Rivera, who came from Mexico seeking rehabilitation for their injured daughter. It is also a love story between their daughter, Maribel, and Mayor from Panama. The ending drags on a bit.

diverse fiction (tragic accidents young love, various immigrant families from various Latinx countries, some documented and some not, dealing with racism and microaggressions)

Should be required reading for all those trying to sort out the immigration issues in this country. While fictional, this book puts a human face and sympathetic spin on those who come to America. This was an excellent audio book because the different characters are represented by different readers and hearing their accents makes for an authentic experience, even at the cost of missing the meaning of the occasional phrase in Spanish. The primary narrator is Alma, who along with husband Arturo have come to the US (Delaware, specifically), legally (he is employed by the mushroom farms initially) for the sake of their 15-year-old daughter, Maribel who suffered a brain-damaging fall in Mexico the year before. They are confident that American schools and doctors can make a difference and help her be herself again. Currently, her language and processing skills are impacted, and she is suffering from horrible headaches. A beautiful girl, she is not "all there." The Riveras settle into a bare-bones apartment complex that houses many other immigrants who look and sound alike (Spanish-speaking) and that is where our prejudices begin to be tested. They each add a small portion to the narrative, recounting their immigration experiences from Paraguy, Panama, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Guatemala and they each have unique reasons for coming and for staying, not to mention a rich heritage they try to honor in absentia. The unfamiliarity with climate, language, food, customs plays a role in all their stories, not to mention the heartbreak of what they have left behind. Very eye-opening. For the Riveras, it is navigating the school system, and trying to keep Maribel safe since she is so fragile. There is a bullying menace, Garrett Miller who taunts and haunts her, but there is also Major, a neighbor boy who loves her and looks out for her. Their tale of first love is touching, but adds to the complications of misunderstanding and culture shock, especially because his whole family has become close with the Riveras. While it plays along like an interesting "light" tale for the first 2/3s, it builds to tragedy (with redemption) by the end. Overall enjoyable and worthwhile

"Back then, all we wanted was the simplest things" This first line grabbed me and took me on an unforgettable journey;one with an amazing, unexpected end.

Love, family, hope & dreams all collide in this powerful novel.

An engaging look into the lives of several Latin American immigrant families. Their stories were compelling and the novel was beautifully written.

This novel is a painfully realized visit with the residents of an apartment complex in Delaware, all of whom are immigrants from Mexico and Central America. Every family's story provides justification for the complete upheaval of leaving home and family, language and culture, out of fear or for economic survival. Arturo and Alma leave Mexico to receive help for daughter Maribel, who has suffered a devastating head injury and cannot be helped by any local medical facilities. Living at the apartment complex is Mayor and his family, from Panama, who develops an intense crush on Maribel, as does a threatening violent white teenager. Anyone who calls other humans "illegals" should be forced to read this book and then to try to justify their racist views.½

I don't believe this book was marketed as a YA novel (and at least some of the blurbs are not from YA authors), but that is very much how it read to me. And my issues with the book are all based on its YA feel.

I expected this to be an immigration story. And it is, but mostly it's a teen romance. And while we learn the immigration stories of the two teens' families, we only get brief glimpses of the other residents' (about 3 pages)--a tidbit to tease us, and to show how these different people all ended up in Delaware. I wanted more. The reading level is also YA, and the story line is very linear, with just the occasional chapter giving the origin story of another resident. The only other teens we meet are William, Mayor's friend he has fought with over Maribel and her disability, and Garrett, the white-trash skater and sexual assaulter.

So, a perfectly fine book but given the low reading level, linear storyline, and teen romance, it was totally not my kind of thing. People looking for YA teen romance and immigration stories might love it.
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Maribel, 15, is recovering from a TBI. Her parents decide they need a better school for her, so spend a year to get a work visa and job near such a school in the US. They move into a small apartment building filled with other Spanish speakers, from a variety of countries and Puerto Rico. And there they meet the Toro family, with their son Mayor. Mayor becomes friends with Maribel, despite her disability, and they are falling in love. Meanwhile, their parents are struggling with jobs (this is post-9/11 as the economy suffered), Mayor is struggling with his father's expectations and his feelings toward Maribel, and Maribel is struggling with her memory, injury, and is often a little confused.

Right in the feels.

Beautifully written.

An interesting "stereotype" buster about a group of Latino immigrants living together in an apartment complex in Delaware. The story is compelling, the characters painfully real, and honest. Henriquez writing was simple yet it worked for the story. Out of all the characters, Mayor ended up being my favorite.

Sad and tough to read in places, but very good.