WORLD LITERARY ATLASBOOKS WITHOUT BORDERS · 2026
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Americas · A READING GUIDE

Panama

Morgan writes about the Panama Railroad’s construction, economic stakes and human costs. The selection also includes Cristina Henríquez, a US-born writer whose father is Panamanian. Her English-language fiction moves from life on the isthmus and canal construction to family memory and diaspora. These five books by two authors form an initial reading path that explicitly includes Panamanian diasporic heritage.

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Books to begin with

An editorial selection · not ranked

Juan David Morgan

The Golden Horse

About the book

A historical saga about construction of the Panama Railroad during the gold rush and the rivalry of entrepreneurs.

Original title: El caballo de oro

EnglishTranslation

The Golden Horse

Salem Author Services

Edition source ↗
Edition cover: The World in Half — Cristina Henríquez
English edition

Cristina Henríquez

The World in Half

About the book

A young American woman travels to Panama to find her father and uncover her family’s unspoken history.

EnglishOriginal

The World in Half

Riverhead Books

Edition source ↗
Edition cover: Come Together, Fall Apart — Cristina Henríquez
English edition

Cristina Henríquez

Come Together, Fall Apart

About the book

A novella and stories portray everyday life, family bonds and changes in contemporary Panama.

EnglishOriginal

Come Together, Fall Apart

Riverhead Books

Edition source ↗
Edition cover: The Book of Unknown Americans — Cristina Henríquez
English edition

Cristina Henríquez

The Book of Unknown Americans

About the book

A Mexican family encounters the Toro family from Panama in a many-voiced story of migration to the United States.

EnglishOriginal

The Book of Unknown Americans

Vintage

Edition source ↗
Edition cover: The Great Divide — Cristina Henríquez
English edition

Cristina Henríquez

The Great Divide

About the book

The construction of the Panama Canal intertwines workers, migrants and people trying to protect their families.

EnglishOriginal

The Great Divide

Ecco

Edition source ↗

Enrique Jaramillo Levi

The Shadow: Thirteen Stories in Opposition

About the book

Thirteen stories by the Panamanian author, translated into English by Samuel A. Zimmerman.

EnglishTranslation

The Shadow: Thirteen Stories in Opposition

Latin American Literary Review Press

Edition source ↗
Context and sources

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