A creek with a “fish-bone smell” flows down the middle of the development.

These nine globe-trotting, unforgettable stories from Mia Alvar, a remarkable new literary talent, vividly give voice to the women and men of the Filipino diaspora. Yet after reading In the Country, her evocative debut story collection, one could argue she has never actually left the Philippines or, put another way, that the country has never left her. What might a Biden presidency look like? “In the Country” focuses on a journalist who secretly works for the political opposition and is imprisoned.

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As it is, the story lacks self-empowerment. On May 15th, at our 6th annual Literary Debutante Ball, One Story will be celebrating 10 of our authors who have published their debut books over the past year.In the weeks leading up to the Ball, we’ll be introducing our Debs through a series of interviews.

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Some pieces felt less accessible to me, poetry being a perpetual obstacle (although Mohja Kahf and Jason Koo managed to write poems that spoke to me a little bit more).

But when the First Lady (Isabella Marcos or a variation) initiated beautification efforts, the houses were rebuilt from cinder blocks with one room on top of another. Mia Alvar Oggi vi parlo della raccolta di racconti più bella che mi sia mai capitata tra le mani - e dall'elenco di premi collezionati non sono l'unica a pensarlo -.… As he waits out the eight or so years of martial law, he develops a code that he shares with his wife, who types her husband’s stories and sends them out to various overseas newspapers. This article also appeared in print, under the headline “Manila to New York,” in the September 14, 2015, issue. Create a login & Join us! Who'll hold the water or the smelling salts, wiping the sweat and the vomit, tending to him like a nurse except a nurse gets paid, picking up all the pieces, in a word, when his grandstanding comes back to bite him?
"Esmeralda" is a heartbreaking and ingenious narrative of 9/11 in New York (the setting more implied than stated) through the eyes of a low-rung immigrant cleaning woman in a city office building. But the title story, "In the Country," and the longish "Old Girl" stand out as evidence of Alvar's sensitive gaze, literary talent and polycultural dexterity. Mia Alvar was born in the Philippines, spent her early childhood in Bahrain and grew up in New York where she lives now. The sight and stench seem to stay with Alvar and her characters no matter whether they’re at home in Manila or in New York, Boston or Bahrain—places where these stories are set and from which the best ones resonate. Mia Alvar’s writing is attentive, compassionate and filled with powerful sense of belonging – a splendid debut. They view their beliefs through a kind of superstitious irony. We ask readers to log in so that we can recognize you as a registered user and give you unrestricted access to our website.

She doesn't always succeed - when she stumbles, it is because she too fervently labors to lead the reader to conclusions, as in several stories here. In the Country speaks to the heart of everyone who has ever searched for a place to call home.

Some of these pieces I LOVED: Alexander Chee's Release, Alice Sola Kim's Mothers Lock Up Your Daughters, and Mia Alvar's Esmeralda. In the Country is a joy to read.

He sends his sister to college where she takes up writing and creates stories about her brother’s life abroad. A cleaning lady from the Philippines lives in New York City during the time of the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001 (“Esmeralda”).