pickI usually don't enjoy books when I don't like the main character, but Andres is the exception. I especially enjoyed the quality of the writing with the extensive vocabulary of the author. At times it seemed as if Verela was trying to address too much - racism, immigration, homophobia, infidelity, mental illness, but in the end it worked for me.
pickVarela paints a portrait of a community, with a Latinx family with immigrant parents at the center. We see how despite the fact that we‘re not so different from one another, opportunities and prejudices have a major impact in what happens for each of us. The main character has a major chip on his shoulder and the story shows us why. I think this is a worthy contender for the National Book Award.
panImagine the most sanctimonious, woke guy comes back to your 20th high school reunion, and you get to be in his head for 11 hours while he wonders what is the most politically correct thing to do while spouting public health facts.
Well, that is this book, and it sucked. 👎🏻🤦🏻♀️
so-soI didn‘t finish this, but I might come back to it at some point.
The first half is slow moving, about Andrès who returns to his parent‘s home in his late 30‘s because his dad‘s health is declining. Andrès‘ marriage seems to be on the rocks, we don‘t know why only that his husband is in Nairobi for business.
At 2/3 there are a couple chapters focused on other families in the community, and at that point I lost interest. Maybe I‘ll finish ?♀️?
My dad takes a small packet of salt from his pocket. “Here,” he says. “In case of an emergency.”
The first time I saw my father after coming out, he gave me a five-pound wholesale bag of restaurant salt packets. “You can throw this in their eyes and run,” he said. “Always run, mi‘jo. Always.”
pickI feel like I got baited by the promise of a gay relationship in this book. To be fair, I got one but it was not the one I was expecting. Andres, a population studies professor, goes back to his suburban hometown to take care of his aging parents while he thinks about his husband‘s infidelities. It so happens to coincide with a 20th year reunion. This book was all over the place in a very good bookclubby way. Andres, while telling you the 👇🏼
The Town of Babylon: A Novel | 
