Brooke Shaffner

COUNTRY OF UNDER, winner of the 1729 Book Prize, revolves around the transformative friendship of Pilar Salomé Reinfeld, raised by her undocumented father, a descendent of Bolivian Mennonites, in a Mexican-American community; and Carlos/Carla/Río Gomez, a gender-fluid DREAMer raised by their grandmother in the same Texican bordertown. After years away, tragedy calls them back to the Rio Grande Valley--their lives changed but still bound. Still mourning, Pilar returns to New York City with Río. As Río finds love and Pilar struggles to find a way forward, they drift apart. When Pilar's decision to engage in a dangerous artivist act finally threatens to tear them apart, they struggle to do what they have done in their best moments: see the beauty in each other, even when the world does not. "This luminous novel of big heart and span is a wonder. I am changed for having read it. The story has become part of my soul."-- Diane Zinna, author of The All-Night Sun "At its core, COUNTRY OF UNDER is about time: The time it takes to understand oneself, others, the family you have--and the family you make. And, the time it takes to develop the patience to wait, as self-revelation unfolds."--Barbara Fischkin, author of Muddy Cup: A Dominican Family Comes of Age in a New America "Brooke Shaffner's COUNTRY OF UNDER is a novel about the pain and wonder of being between identities. Between male and female. Citizen and immigrant. Fulfilled and empty. Outsider and insider. A novel of our time, told with deep compassion and striking beauty."--Helen Benedict, author of The Good Deed and Wolf Season Fiction. Family & Relationships. Latinx Studies. LGBTQ+ Studies.