In Fuentes’s hands, the "about" of Countries of Origin — the cruelty of borders — is woven in seamlessly with the "not about" details that deepen and broaden Fuentes’s story ... Countries of Origin does what all memorable novels do: It leaves the reader’s world a little larger, airier and more forgiving than before.
Fuentes’ first novel is a marvel of verisimilitude with a superbly realized setting and a perfectly apposite tone. His treatment of his complex, empathetic characters is psychologically acute, and their evolving relationship is believable and always engrossing.
Lush but meandering ... The plot drifts by, with conflicts emerging and then swiftly disappearing... on the way to an implausible conclusion. It’s got style, but it’s light on substance.
Fuentes has an unfortunate tendency to stretch credulity on multiple fronts. The glimpses into Demetrio’s artistry as a chef are surprisingly few and often underrealized ... Demetrio’s narration occasionally sparkles, but the dialogue is stilted and sometimes dated beyond the novel’s 2007 setting ... What should be a thoughtfully constructed, sensuous confection falls flat.
