Name: The Great Divide
ISBN: 9780063291324

Cristina Henriquez

"A novel about the construction of the Panama Canal, following the intersecting lives of the local families fighting to protect their homeland, the West Indian laborers recruited to dig the waterway, and the white Americans who gained profit and glory for themselves"--

A Novel

The Great Divide

Suzie

The man pointed to his chest and said slowly in Spanish overenunciating each word, "I am an American. They are West Indians. You are Panamanian."

Francisco, greatly annoyed, jabbed a finger to his own chest and, just as slowly, said, "I was born here, in the Americas. Therefore, I am an American."

Francisco said, "We were American long before you were."

The book is set in a truly fascinating time and place, building the Panama canal in 1907.

The positives for me were that I hadn’t read a book yet set in that time and place and the historical fiction was fascinating and devastating. A boat route still used today that took so many lives. Some of the narrators were fleshed out well and had very interesting things to share about that time and region living under different forms of imperialism.

The sheer amount of narrators was overwhelming. While they interconnect at some points, in stead of hearing from a sister/daughter, her sister and her mother and her former slave owning white father, we could have just had one of those four.

It was such a confusing read at times that it took a while to remember the names and whose story you were reading.

It’s very hard having that many distinct voices and I felt the author didn’t differentiate enough to give all the storylines a fully formed feeling.

Parts of the story were magical and beautifully written, but most were too similar to really get into the characters.

Suzanne

The book is set in a truly fascinating time and place, building the Panama canal in 1907.

The positives for me were that I hadn’t read a book yet set in that time and place and the historical fiction was fascinating and devastating. A boat route still used today that took so many lives. Some of the narrators were fleshed out well and had very interesting things to share about that time and region living under different forms of imperialism.

The sheer amount of narrators was overwhelming. While they interconnect at some points, in stead of hearing from a sister/daughter, her sister and her mother and her former slave owning white father, we could have just had one of those four.

It was such a confusing read at times that it took a while to remember the names and whose story you were reading.

It’s very hard having that many distinct voices and I felt the author didn’t differentiate enough to give all the storylines a fully formed feeling.

Parts of the story were magical and beautifully written, but most were too similar to really get into the characters.

What a sweeping, detailed, immersive read. Set against the backdrop of 1907 Panama, we meet a diverse group of characters whose stories interconnect in interesting ways. 

The construction of the Panama Canal is underway. Malaria is wreaking havoc on the population. And you feel and see all of it. The division. The class struggles. The racial inequality. You have these characters that are existing in this new environment. 

You have Ada, a teen girl from Barbados, who stowed away on a boat to Panama because her older sister is ill and she wants to earn money to help pay for am operation. There is Dr. Oswald, a US doctor, who is in Panama attempting to eradicate malaria in the region. We have Omar, a teen Panamanian boy, working in the digging of the canal. And there are so many more. 

It's a rich novel. Full of descriptions that place you right in Panama. You can feel the sweltering heat, the cooling rains, smell the smoke. There is a lot happening in the novel, and it all weaves together beautifully. 

What a sweeping, detailed, immersive read. Set against the backdrop of 1907 Panama, we meet a diverse group of characters whose stories interconnect in interesting ways. 

The construction of the Panama Canal is underway. Malaria is wreaking havoc on the population. And you feel and see all of it. The division. The class struggles. The racial inequality. You have these characters that are existing in this new environment. 

You have Ada, a teen girl from Barbados, who stowed away on a boat to Panama because her older sister is ill and she wants to earn money to help pay for am operation. There is Dr. Oswald, a US doctor, who is in Panama attempting to eradicate malaria in the region. We have Omar, a teen Panamanian boy, working in the digging of the canal. And there are so many more. 

It's a rich novel. Full of descriptions that place you right in Panama. You can feel the sweltering heat, the cooling rains, smell the smoke. There is a lot happening in the novel, and it all weaves together beautifully. 

The Great Divide A Novel

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