A review by arisbookcorner
Come Together, Fall Apart, by Cristina Henriquez

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

“And I would discover how much of life is defined by what you want to keep and what you are forced to lose.”

I was surprised to see that I never reviewed this short story collection (plus a novella) on Goodreads. I read it many years ago but couldn't remember the stories so I decided to re-read it and actually write a review. I'm always somewhat biased when it comes to Henriquez's work because I'm Panamanian American and she's one of the few Panamanian American authors being published. Her stories and novels always automatically connect with me on a deeper level because I understand or ache to understand so many of the references she makes about Panama and our culture. That being said I can recognize that this isn't a stellar short story collection, some of the stories are weaker than others. Interestingly enough I didn't like "The Box House and the Snow" which a lot of people are raving about, it might help if I could dissect that story in a classroom or discussion based setting. It's unique, extremely creative and to me reflected how our culture treats women and daughters in particular but it's also very out of place in the collection. All of the stories are set in 1980s Panama except this one, the actual setting is never identified (although maybe it's based on Panama). It has a magical realism bent to it that just felt underdeveloped. I wish I could better explain why I didn't like it but perhaps it was just too literary for me. I also didn't care for "Chasing Birds" but that was because the story read (surprisingly) as very bland, it didn't add any extra depth to the unhappily married narrative.

Aside from the setting most of the stories also have share a theme of absentee fathers. It could have gotten old but each story handled the topic differently and honestly based on the stories my father, his brother and his mother share it seems very accurate. They often say it's well known that Panamanian men aren't known for being present or particularly caring husbands/partners. This is obviously a generalization but it didn't bother me that that generalization was present here because it felt laughably realistic. Especially because the women aren't all bogged down in despair about it, many of them shrug it off and keep life moving. The standout though was the titular novella where the father is very present and loving, he's openly affectionate towards his son even when feeling low, "but I knew he was feeling emotional about the move. I think he felt like he let go of his family by leaving that house. And if he wanted to hold on to me because I was still here and because he could then I would let him" (259). But the father's toxic masculinity resurfaces in a very different way and although it feels somewhat dramatic it also feels absolutely true and Panamanian. I've never lived in Panama but it seemed like Henriquez infused her story with so many essential aspects of Panamanian culture, such as this thought from one of her characters about the creation of a highway just for tourists, "But I guess real life is often unsightly, so they built a highway straight into the heart of the city to keep tourists away from what's real, away from the heart of us" (64, 'Drive'). Given the time period I would love to see Henriquez to do another collection set in Panama because the tourism boom has gotten even bigger and I think her sharp eye and pen would notice even more about the changing capital. I also liked that the stories didn't all take place in Panama City, readers start to gain an understanding of Panama's geography as the stories zip around the country.

COME TOGETHER, FALL APART is a striking set of short stories primarily about young working class Panamanian women dealing with displacement, dysfunctional families and disappointing relationships. Their humanity is vividly rendered, the writing simple, empathetic and precise. The endings of each story are also stunning, each concluding with clear and vivid final scenes that rely on mental imagery. I can't seem to break myself of the habit of picking a favorite short story, aside from the novella I loved "Mercury" but other than the aforementioned short stories I didn't like, I thoroughly enjoyed the rest. "Beautiful" absolutely wrecked me, it's quietly devastating and broke my heart. The political and personal realities revolve around economic instability under Noriega and the terror of the U.S. invasion along with more universal themes of complicated romantic and familial relationships. It's a beautiful collection of short stories about a country best known for its canal and yet blessedly never focuses on the canal.

OTHER FAVORITE LINES:
“Most memories might be like water, but some are like wood—solidly there that you can feel them and smell them and wrap your hands around them, and for a hundred years they will never go away.” (p. 65)