The acclaimed authors use their personal histories to tackle complex global issues in new novels.
The two authors meet here for the first time, and compare notes on craft and consequence.
As you publish and promote your novels, what do you think you’ll miss about pre-pandemic times?
Credit: Ulf Andersen/Getty Images; Nina Subin
And you’re free to see how your novel reaches different people in different ways.
Other times, people will come to me totally moved by something I didn’t expect.
IMBOLO MBUE: I totally agree with that.
Penguin Random House; Avid Reader Press / Simon + Schuster
It came out in 2016 and I was amazed that it was seen as a book about immigration.
Right away, I learned that people are going to see their own things.
And I was like, wow, I never realized there were so many windows.
Both of your novels are based in real-life and highly complex geopolitical situations.
That’s just because of where I’m from and the people I know and care about.
But I have to go beyond that and confirm what I think I know.
There’s also a lot of [Colombian] mythology and folklore in this book.
I can’t just rely on my firsthand knowledge, I’ve got to go deeper.
What do the prefs of your books mean to you, personally?
ENGEL: Bogota is my mother’s hometown.
My entire childhood, my mother wanted to go back [to Colombia].
MBUE: I think you did a great job.
That’s so common.
People don’t think about that when they think about immigrants: You give up your home.
