Review: In the Country by Mia Alvar

I read this book with high expectations, and though some stories fulfill those expectations to me, I was gravely disappointed with a couple of them. Though Ms. Alvar's prose is great, sometimes she resorts to cliche and predictable outcomes for her plots. I enjoy "The Old Girl", a story examining the life of a thinly veiled Corazon Aquino in Boston, and immensely like the thriller-like "The Kontrabida" and "The Miracle Worker." Others, like "Legends of the Old White Lady" and "The Shadow Families" offer stark, realistic characterizations. As a whole, I really liked the stories in the book; they are certainly above-average. Masterfully crafted, if not lacking in inventiveness.

However, I was so disappointed with "Esmeralda", written in second person POV. This one story alone drops my grade from four stars to three. It throws me off and sours me to the whole collection. Maybe because it's so different from other stories in the collection. Like I said, it's written in second person, which I find one of the most grating POVs ever. But I can forgive a poor narrative choice if the story is interesting enough; it's not. Unlike others in this collection, I find the plot very unrealistic. I feel like I'm thrown in a telenovela with all the overwrought words and metaphors, and contrived melodrama. The story tries so hard to be meaningful and dramatic that it feel fake. The characters are superficial cardboard cut-outs without any depth. I hate this story, which is disappointing, since I love the rest of the book.

I still recommend this book to anyone interested in short fiction, especially short fiction by women of color. It's a shame that one story ruins the whole experience for me.