The World in Half (edition 2009)

A very complex and layered story about home, our connections to places, family and ultimately hope. ( )

I really liked this book. Something about it spoke to me and I could relate to it because I'm going to a similar situation. There were so many subplots that the book was hard to put down. I only wish Cristina wrote more books! ( )

I was very taken by this book. It was difficult to put it down. But at the end, I was unsatisfied. I wanted there to be a different resolution between Mira and Danilo (but that is just the romantic in me). And, I wanted there to be some resolution between Mira and her mother about what had happened with her father. But still, I give the book a high rating because it was so engaging and enjoyable to read.
Of course, there were some things about the story that were difficult to accept at first. Would Mira have really accepted the invitation to stay with Hernan and Danilo? Would Danilo have held back on making a sexual/romantic advance toward Mira? Would she really have been so inept on her initial investigation efforts to find her father in Panama? But this kind of nit picking can be done with almost all fiction, I believe. You cannot spend too much time wondering about issues like these, unless the situations are so contrived that it is ridiculous, and that was not the situation here. ( )

In The World in Half, Crisitina Henriquez delivers a delight of a debut novel, a lovely story of self-discovery.

Mira straddles two, or more, worlds; that of a typical 20-year-old college student, that of a a responsible adult caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s Disease, and that of a person searching for her “true self” - biologically and emotionally. The contrast offered by the various settings - a university near Chicago, the suburbs in which she was raised, and the country of Panama - neatly support her various personas. Mira may find a way to blend these into her one true self.

When Mira’s mother becomes less and less able to function due to her illness, Mira spends more time at home caring for her. Early in the novel she discovers a stack of emotion-laden letters addressed to her mother from her biological father, whom she thought was only a brief physical affair. These letters are the catalyst that send Mira to Panama, searching for the man who once loved her mother, and who may still care for her.

What results in this trip involves an unlikely but wonderful friendship between Mira and a local who sets out to help her. While some readers might shake their heads and think “this would never happen!”, I was so taken with Henriquez’ prose and the fully-fleshed character development, that I didn’t put the novel to this litmus test. I found The World in Half, like life itself, to leave me content to wonder “what next”; that the novel stayed with me as I pondered the possibilities is a coup for the author.

Mira is a student of geology, and Henriquez uses scientific metaphor to introduce passages, and in Mira’s voice as she eloquently explains her quest. Metaphors involving the Panama Canal, including naming conventions and even the goal of cutting “the world in half” are thoughtfully placed, not overdone. Even the chapter divisions are carefully named, and follow Mira’s path (Origination, Orientation, Absorption, Crystallization, Erosion, Vibration, etc.)

I do recommend The World in Half, and am eager to visit Cristina Henriquez’ previously published short fiction collection, Come Together, Fall Apart, which I understand is also set in Panama.

full review at www.sheIsTooFondOfBooks.com
She is Too Fond of Books ( )

I was originally drawn to The World in Half by its cover. I love the simplicity of it and the vibrant colors. Inside, I found a treasure. When I first started reading, I had planned on just reading a chapter or two and then cleaning house. Before I knew it, I was 60 pages in and couldn't put it down. Instead of cleaning, I spent my entire day off on the couch devouring this book.

On the surface, this is a familiar story of a young woman searching for the father she never knew. This story is so much more, though. Miraflores is not only trying to find a missing part of her life, but of her mother's too. Her search leads her to experience a culture that is foreign to her, but also a part of who she is.

Henriquez's writing is beautiful, lyrical and flows wonderfully. Sometimes a book seems bogged down by flowery writing, and that is never the case in The World in Half. The descriptions are almost poetic and add so much to the story without ever overwhelming it. The characters are all wonderfully developed and feel like friends by the end of the book.

I was completely absorbed in this book right from the start and can't wait to read more from Cristina Henriquez. She has also written a short story collection, Come Together, Fall Apart, and this is now on my must read list. ( )