|
A story collection that will break your heart
A few pages into Come Together, Fall Apart and you know Cristina Henríquez is going to break your heart. But keep reading. In this incredible collection of eight short stories and a novella the author studies a certain kind of love: one that is desperately wished for and just as desperately feared. Henríquez fills her pages with emotions so strong, so tangible, that her characters become people you wish you knew.
Set in the very recent past of Panama, Henríquez portrays a nation that is slowly changing, slowing becoming a stranger to its citizens. Her stories take place throughout the nation -- in the capitol, on little islands off the coast, in the valley -- yet the violence, terror, and melancholy of the times permeates each locale. While the short stories integrate one another's central characters in poignant yet complementary ways, each story stands solidly independent and strong enough to bring this reader to tears.
Henríquez equally tackles the inner turmoil of men and women, young and old, creating dizzyingly complex characters. The opening story about a young couple explores the intimate understanding of a relationship on the verge of either collapse or marriage. The closing story is also about being on the verge of something; it could be all falling apart or it could be a new beginning or both. In between the covers, however, you'll find stunning sentences:
"…she finally understood something about Harvey -- what it meant to him to chase something like a bird, something graspable but beyond your grasp, something fluttering in the distance, something surprising and new."
"I saved it for the next time: that feeling, just for a moment, like I needed nothing and no one needed me, like I had lost myself, like I was lost to the world."
Indeed, Henríquez creates a world where it is absolutely possible to get lost in the beauty of the pedestrian occurrences of life: love, death, hope, heartbreak. By the last page, Christina Henríquez will brake your heart -- and like any worthwhile love, you'll gladly let her do it again. 
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
