Christina Henriquez, Come Together, Fall Apart

Come Together, Fall Apart

Christina Henriquez

Riverhead, Apr 2006, $23.95, 340 pp.

ISBN: 1594489157

This terrific anthology consisting of eight short stories and a novella that provides the book's title. It is a superb deep look at life in Panama from the perspective of people wanting to be fulfilled and happy in spite of the adverse environment they live in during the reign of, or since the fall of Noriega.

Short stories. Throughout the shorts, families are disrupted and devastated by personality flaws of the adults (usually the patriarch) or from outside intervention; in some cases with good intentions. Yet somehow the young still hope for a better future for them and their offspring, whether it is in Panama City, Gamboa in the rain forest or New Jersey.

The novella: "Come Together, Fall Apart". In October 1989, Panamanians anticipate the American invasion and chaos has set in everywhere, especially in the capital. Small bombs explode everywhere, including one that harmed fifteen year old Ramon's Tia Reina. Ramon and his mother believe it is not safe anywhere, as Noriega's reign is near collapse and their family edges closer to crumbling.