‘In the Country’: Engaging characters can’t overcome repetition

Author Mia Alvar was born in the Philippians and raised in Bahrain and the United States, a travel path that, according to the characters in her short story collection, 'In the Country,” is common thanks to difficult economic circumstances in the Philippians.

And while working abroad means being able to send money home for a new roof or schooling, it can also mean some unfortunate repercussions:

'Husbands left the provinces for Manila, wives left the Philippines for the Middle East, and all that parting from loved ones to provide for them got lonely ... we hardly knew a family that didn't have its second, secret ‘shadow' family.”

Alvar's nine stories explore the unexpected consequences of leaving home: Filipino families form a community in Bahrain for comfort, only to have their security taken away by one of their own; a successful pharmacist returns home from the United States and hardly recognizes his parents; a young man leaves his mother, sister, and young wife for a job in Saudi Arabia, never imagining the changes that will take place in his absence.

These are powerful, beautifully written stories with a wide aim: rather than focusing on one small moment in the characters' lives, Alvar paints with the broad strokes of a novelist, often taking us through several situations - sometimes several years - with the same characters, resulting in works that are as absorbing as short novels.

A majority of her stories, though, do follow a similar plot line: a member of the subordinate class (a maid, a chauffeur, a teacher) falls in love with a member of the higher class (a boss, a boss's wife, a student) and antics ensue. Even with drastically different geographical locations and switches in point of view, it's not enough to save these beautifully written stories from repetition.

In her next collection, we can hope Alvar will be as sweeping in her plot lines as she is in her character development.