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Like Happiness
A searing debut about the complexities of gender, power, and fame, told through the story of a young woman’s destructive relationship with a legendary writer.
It’s 2015, and Tatum Vega feels that her life is finally falling into place. Living in sunny Chile with her partner, Vera, she spends her days surrounded by art at the museum where she works. More than anything else, she loves this new life for helping her forget the decade she spent in New York City orbiting the brilliant and famous author M. Domínguez.
When a reporter calls from the US asking for an interview, the careful separation Tatum has constructed between her past and present begins to crumble. Domínguez has been accused of assault, and the reporter is looking for corroboration.
As Tatum is forced to reexamine the all-consuming but undefinable relationship that dominated so much of her early adulthood, long-buried questions surface. What did happen between them? And why is she still struggling with the mark the relationship left on her life?
Told in a dual narrative alternating between her present day and a letter from Tatum to Domínguez, recounting and reclaiming the totality of their relationship, Like Happiness explores the nuances of a complicated and imbalanced relationship, catalyzing a reckoning with gender, celebrity, memory, Latinx identity, and power dynamics.
It’s 2015, and Tatum Vega feels that her life is finally falling into place. Living in sunny Chile with her partner, Vera, she spends her days surrounded by art at the museum where she works. More than anything else, she loves this new life for helping her forget the decade she spent in New York City orbiting the brilliant and famous author M. Domínguez.
When a reporter calls from the US asking for an interview, the careful separation Tatum has constructed between her past and present begins to crumble. Domínguez has been accused of assault, and the reporter is looking for corroboration.
As Tatum is forced to reexamine the all-consuming but undefinable relationship that dominated so much of her early adulthood, long-buried questions surface. What did happen between them? And why is she still struggling with the mark the relationship left on her life?
Told in a dual narrative alternating between her present day and a letter from Tatum to Domínguez, recounting and reclaiming the totality of their relationship, Like Happiness explores the nuances of a complicated and imbalanced relationship, catalyzing a reckoning with gender, celebrity, memory, Latinx identity, and power dynamics.
297 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 26, 2024
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May 23, 2024
**Many thanks to NetGalley, @CeladonBooks, and Ursula Villarreal-Moura for an ARC of this book! Now available as of 3.26!!**
Can you imagine how it would feel to get close to your favorite author...to consider them a friend, a mentor...or even something more?
It's been many years, but Tatum is still reconciling her feelings about JUST such a situation. Years back, in New York City, she had the fortune/misfortune of building a relationship of sorts with the enigmatic, 'brilliant', Mateo (also known as M) Dominguez...and the two had a bond she still can't fully explain. Although life has taken her to Chile, and she is happily dating a woman named Vera, there's just something about the unfinished business of her past that pulls her back into her memories...and to leads her to reflect the messy, complicated nature of the relationship that helped to shape the woman she is today.
But when a reporter comes a-calling, asking for Tatum's corroboration on #MeToo related charges being filed against Dominguez, her reminiscing takes a different turn...and she's forced to revisit the complex, beautiful, and sometimes dark nature of the relationship between 'teacher' and student...and just HOW MUCH of what went on between them had an air of impropriety about it. How much was manipulation...and how much was pure affection? How could what started as a simple fan letter from adoring reader to adored writer turn into something impossible to deny? Was Tatum blind to her OWN manipulation then...AND will she still allow herself to gloss over the true nature of Mateo...even now?
Grooming, #MeToo, and stories of inappropriate relationships between teacher/student, fan/idol, and mentor/mentee are nothing new, but have certainly seen a resurgence in the literary landscape as of late. The exploration of power dynamics, and perhaps the even more sinister power of gaslighting and manipulation is not only a hot button issue in society, but is ripe for exploration on the page, as authors look to peel back the curtain on the dynamics between the manipulator and their prey, and of course to illuminate how EACH of these situations is far from black and white...at least, in the eyes of the characters. Books like the absolutely stunning My Dark Vanessa and others I've read in the past year or two, including My Last Innocent Year, have done this beautifully.
But when it came to this novel, it felt more like reading an essay that COULD have been really interesting...but was unfortunately missing a thesis sentence; I just couldn't fully grasp the point.
Villareal-Moura structures most of the novel as a letter from Tatum to Mateo, revisiting the events of their past in great detail, while cutting back to the present day in Chile intermittently. To be honest, I'm not really sure why much of the present day narrative was needed at all: we don't learn enough about Tatum's current partner, Vera, to be too invested in her, and the general #MeToo conversation and allegations with the other victim sort of play out in the background as well. Although it seemed clear from early on (at least, to me) that Mateo is Not the Greatest Guy, Tatum is just SO obsessed with his writing that she basically ignores all of his character flaws and leans into the hero worship.
At first, I assumed this was going down the (somewhat obvious) path toward romantic entanglement, and it did...but only to an extent. This sort of incongruity made it very confusing as a reader to understand the conflict: it almost just seemed like Mateo was a friend that Tatum had an unhealthy amount of admiration for, rather than a participant in a 'leading' relationship that wasn't going to go anywhere...so it made it hard for ME to grasp why she couldn't just let it go.
This book is also on the slower side, which is always tough for me anyway...but throw in a plot with an ending that didn't seem to 'fit' the whole tone of the story, and it just felt like I'd spent a lot of time waiting to exhale rather than to breathe a sigh of satisfaction. I kept hoping that along the way something was going to happen to make me feel more connected to Tatum, but aside from her love of The Bell Jar, I didn't feel like we had too much in common...and frankly, the years didn't seem to have made her much wiser either. By the end of the book, I honestly didn't care if Mateo faced the consequences of his actions when it came to her or not. Outside of his literary prowess and blatant manipulation, there wasn't much there to like, and he didn't quite have the balance of likable-yet-detestable that is necessary for a character like this to be BELIEVABLE...and this left the third act conflict (and predictable behavior) unsatisfying.
And though I'd hoped to come out of this read feeling something 'like happiness'...I think what I felt was a lot more 'like' disappointment.
3.5 stars
#LikeHappiness #CeladonReads #partner
Can you imagine how it would feel to get close to your favorite author...to consider them a friend, a mentor...or even something more?
It's been many years, but Tatum is still reconciling her feelings about JUST such a situation. Years back, in New York City, she had the fortune/misfortune of building a relationship of sorts with the enigmatic, 'brilliant', Mateo (also known as M) Dominguez...and the two had a bond she still can't fully explain. Although life has taken her to Chile, and she is happily dating a woman named Vera, there's just something about the unfinished business of her past that pulls her back into her memories...and to leads her to reflect the messy, complicated nature of the relationship that helped to shape the woman she is today.
But when a reporter comes a-calling, asking for Tatum's corroboration on #MeToo related charges being filed against Dominguez, her reminiscing takes a different turn...and she's forced to revisit the complex, beautiful, and sometimes dark nature of the relationship between 'teacher' and student...and just HOW MUCH of what went on between them had an air of impropriety about it. How much was manipulation...and how much was pure affection? How could what started as a simple fan letter from adoring reader to adored writer turn into something impossible to deny? Was Tatum blind to her OWN manipulation then...AND will she still allow herself to gloss over the true nature of Mateo...even now?
Grooming, #MeToo, and stories of inappropriate relationships between teacher/student, fan/idol, and mentor/mentee are nothing new, but have certainly seen a resurgence in the literary landscape as of late. The exploration of power dynamics, and perhaps the even more sinister power of gaslighting and manipulation is not only a hot button issue in society, but is ripe for exploration on the page, as authors look to peel back the curtain on the dynamics between the manipulator and their prey, and of course to illuminate how EACH of these situations is far from black and white...at least, in the eyes of the characters. Books like the absolutely stunning My Dark Vanessa and others I've read in the past year or two, including My Last Innocent Year, have done this beautifully.
But when it came to this novel, it felt more like reading an essay that COULD have been really interesting...but was unfortunately missing a thesis sentence; I just couldn't fully grasp the point.
Villareal-Moura structures most of the novel as a letter from Tatum to Mateo, revisiting the events of their past in great detail, while cutting back to the present day in Chile intermittently. To be honest, I'm not really sure why much of the present day narrative was needed at all: we don't learn enough about Tatum's current partner, Vera, to be too invested in her, and the general #MeToo conversation and allegations with the other victim sort of play out in the background as well. Although it seemed clear from early on (at least, to me) that Mateo is Not the Greatest Guy, Tatum is just SO obsessed with his writing that she basically ignores all of his character flaws and leans into the hero worship.
At first, I assumed this was going down the (somewhat obvious) path toward romantic entanglement, and it did...but only to an extent. This sort of incongruity made it very confusing as a reader to understand the conflict: it almost just seemed like Mateo was a friend that Tatum had an unhealthy amount of admiration for, rather than a participant in a 'leading' relationship that wasn't going to go anywhere...so it made it hard for ME to grasp why she couldn't just let it go.
This book is also on the slower side, which is always tough for me anyway...but throw in a plot with an ending that didn't seem to 'fit' the whole tone of the story, and it just felt like I'd spent a lot of time waiting to exhale rather than to breathe a sigh of satisfaction. I kept hoping that along the way something was going to happen to make me feel more connected to Tatum, but aside from her love of The Bell Jar, I didn't feel like we had too much in common...and frankly, the years didn't seem to have made her much wiser either. By the end of the book, I honestly didn't care if Mateo faced the consequences of his actions when it came to her or not. Outside of his literary prowess and blatant manipulation, there wasn't much there to like, and he didn't quite have the balance of likable-yet-detestable that is necessary for a character like this to be BELIEVABLE...and this left the third act conflict (and predictable behavior) unsatisfying.
And though I'd hoped to come out of this read feeling something 'like happiness'...I think what I felt was a lot more 'like' disappointment.
3.5 stars
#LikeHappiness #CeladonReads #partner
June 17, 2024
I really liked this debut novel about a young Latina woman coming of age while navigating a complex relationship with a famous male author. On the sentence level, Ursula Villarreal-Moura’s writing engaged me and kept me invested in the story. Villarreal-Moura tackles nuanced issues in this book, such as finding yourself represented in stories, harm and abuse that can occur within communities of color/marginalized communities, and creating oneself instead of letting your relationships with others define you. I appreciated how Villarreal-Moura incorporated subtle yet important commentary about the paucity of Latinx writers, too. I think this book will resonate with readers who are interested in examining relationships across power dynamics and differentials.
My only constructive critique is that I wish we had gotten even more about our protagonist, Tatum. I felt like the book focused a bit too much on her relationship with M. Domínguez, even though I know their relationship was central to the story. Still, I’m looking forward to reading more of Villarreal-Moura’s work.
My only constructive critique is that I wish we had gotten even more about our protagonist, Tatum. I felt like the book focused a bit too much on her relationship with M. Domínguez, even though I know their relationship was central to the story. Still, I’m looking forward to reading more of Villarreal-Moura’s work.
February 20, 2024
A beautiful and emotionally wrought novel about a toxic, obsessive relationship between a young woman and an acclaimed author. Part coming of age, part missive on the beauty of stories and seeing yourself within them. The writing was exquisite and poetic.
January 26, 2024
This started so strong but in the end I don't think there was enough. It is a golden age of novels where we reconsider the power dynamics in relationships between men and women, and a book like this can let you dive deeply into an area that is much more grey than black or white. It's important, and yet, ultimately I couldn't tell what Villarreal-Moura is trying to say when, initially, it had seemed like she was taking on something very big and bold.
This is the story of a relationship between a man and a woman, Mateo and Tatum. He is a much-lauded writer, eight or so years older than she is. When they meet, she is a college student who sends him a fan letter. The novel follows them over a decade or so as their relationship plays out, and cuts every so often to a few years later as Tatum looks back and reflects on what happened after a reporter reaches out to her when allegations of sexual misconduct of some kind (there are no details). This is not a story where Tatum is a victim and she knows it. But she also knows that something was always off about things between them and now she finally seems able to fully reckon with it.
The thing is, it's unclear that there really is much to reckon with. Mateo is unreliable, he runs hot and cold, he cares deeply about Tatum when it's convenient and disappears when it isn't. Tatum is always at least a little in awe of him, her respect for his work and his genius so great that she cannot hold him accountable for bad behavior even when she knows she should. She is also in love with him, and always hoping that if she just waits long enough that he will finally come around and see what they have. I understand this kind of relationship, I've had it, though I didn't spend ten years waiting around. It's hard to understand how Tatum stands it for so long. There is, ultimately, a betrayal. But this is not a surprise to the reader when it comes. Nothing Mateo does is surprising because he is pretty consistently thoughtless and selfish. There are not really any stakes. Especially since Tatum does not really seem all that interested in what Mateo did to this other woman.
At first I saw this novel as a really interesting lens. Because, well, it felt pointed. It felt like it had a specific object in mind. A latino writer who was much lauded for a story collection from the 90's with amazing prose but grounded in a place and in characters who rarely appeared in literature, one who was able to ride on his reputation and his token minority status to be declared one of the most important writers in the country when he had actually written very little, and who was eventually accused of sexual misconduct. The odds are very good you know exactly who I'm talking about. The real man I kept thinking of has just enough details that are different to feel like these were all specifically changed to make sure it definitely not be this man but also close enough to make sure you couldn't shake the resemblance. Given that this man has faced basically no consequences, is clearly very well connected, and that despite having basically no new writing in many years he is still treated as a literary great, it was a gutsy thing for a much less well known writer to do. I was, honestly, thrilled to see someone finally call him out as not the man that the literary establishment says he is. Which is why the novel eventually petering out into not all that much was so disappointing. She takes aim but she does not take us anywhere. We are left with plenty of digs at him, we do not think he is a good person or an interesting person, but that feels like not so much at the end of it all.
The thing is, that this kind of relationship, it is not all that interesting really. And Tatum is willing to finally acknowledge that he treated her badly but we do not get to see her grow, we do not get to see her respond, once things start getting interesting the story stops. We cut to the future where Tatum is somehow all set and happy and just doing great. We missed all the good stuff. Tatum does not have any grand revenge, the extent of it is an interview and apparently writing this all down to tell Mateo how badly he has treated her. It feels like more attention than he deserves! This man does not deserve a thorough accounting of how he has been a selfish jerk, and it feels like a small thing when the real stakes somewhere else in the world is sexual assault.
I know that part of the problem here is me, thinking I knew what Villarreal-Moura was doing when it was not what she was doing. But I think the novel encourages you to see it that way. I still read this entire novel, and read it quickly, which is a sign that she is a gifted writer, one who is able to keep you turning pages. I hope in the future she really follows through with a big swing.
This is the story of a relationship between a man and a woman, Mateo and Tatum. He is a much-lauded writer, eight or so years older than she is. When they meet, she is a college student who sends him a fan letter. The novel follows them over a decade or so as their relationship plays out, and cuts every so often to a few years later as Tatum looks back and reflects on what happened after a reporter reaches out to her when allegations of sexual misconduct of some kind (there are no details). This is not a story where Tatum is a victim and she knows it. But she also knows that something was always off about things between them and now she finally seems able to fully reckon with it.
The thing is, it's unclear that there really is much to reckon with. Mateo is unreliable, he runs hot and cold, he cares deeply about Tatum when it's convenient and disappears when it isn't. Tatum is always at least a little in awe of him, her respect for his work and his genius so great that she cannot hold him accountable for bad behavior even when she knows she should. She is also in love with him, and always hoping that if she just waits long enough that he will finally come around and see what they have. I understand this kind of relationship, I've had it, though I didn't spend ten years waiting around. It's hard to understand how Tatum stands it for so long. There is, ultimately, a betrayal. But this is not a surprise to the reader when it comes. Nothing Mateo does is surprising because he is pretty consistently thoughtless and selfish. There are not really any stakes. Especially since Tatum does not really seem all that interested in what Mateo did to this other woman.
At first I saw this novel as a really interesting lens. Because, well, it felt pointed. It felt like it had a specific object in mind. A latino writer who was much lauded for a story collection from the 90's with amazing prose but grounded in a place and in characters who rarely appeared in literature, one who was able to ride on his reputation and his token minority status to be declared one of the most important writers in the country when he had actually written very little, and who was eventually accused of sexual misconduct. The odds are very good you know exactly who I'm talking about. The real man I kept thinking of has just enough details that are different to feel like these were all specifically changed to make sure it definitely not be this man but also close enough to make sure you couldn't shake the resemblance. Given that this man has faced basically no consequences, is clearly very well connected, and that despite having basically no new writing in many years he is still treated as a literary great, it was a gutsy thing for a much less well known writer to do. I was, honestly, thrilled to see someone finally call him out as not the man that the literary establishment says he is. Which is why the novel eventually petering out into not all that much was so disappointing. She takes aim but she does not take us anywhere. We are left with plenty of digs at him, we do not think he is a good person or an interesting person, but that feels like not so much at the end of it all.
The thing is, that this kind of relationship, it is not all that interesting really. And Tatum is willing to finally acknowledge that he treated her badly but we do not get to see her grow, we do not get to see her respond, once things start getting interesting the story stops. We cut to the future where Tatum is somehow all set and happy and just doing great. We missed all the good stuff. Tatum does not have any grand revenge, the extent of it is an interview and apparently writing this all down to tell Mateo how badly he has treated her. It feels like more attention than he deserves! This man does not deserve a thorough accounting of how he has been a selfish jerk, and it feels like a small thing when the real stakes somewhere else in the world is sexual assault.
I know that part of the problem here is me, thinking I knew what Villarreal-Moura was doing when it was not what she was doing. But I think the novel encourages you to see it that way. I still read this entire novel, and read it quickly, which is a sign that she is a gifted writer, one who is able to keep you turning pages. I hope in the future she really follows through with a big swing.
March 25, 2024
This book is a really touching and poignant coming of age story. I started the book on audiobook and finished reading it in book form and I liked the book better than the audiobook. I thought the narrator did a good job trying to bring Tatum to life, but she is a complicated character and I liked the voice I gave her better. The book takes place in two parts or timelines the present tense in 2015 and as a letter Tatum writes outlining her relationship with her friend and well known author M. Dominguez. Tatum fell in love with M. Dominguez’s first book, a collection of short stories about Latino people which was the first she saw herself represented in literature. Almost finished with her degree but not enjoying her small school in Massachusetts she writes a fan letter and to her surprise it is answered. What follows was hard to read at times because Tatum put her life on hold in hopes Mateo would see her at some point. In 2015 she is contacted by a reporter after a young woman raises an allegation about Mateo. Tatum is initially resistant to an interview, but she ends up giving one and more so reflecting on her own experiencing and letting herself have closure.
December 9, 2024
This is a powerful debut novel that puts the spotlight on the complexities of what could happen when a fan has an opportunity to interact with a famous author. How does fame distort our view of someone? What power do we unknowingly give an individual when they are “famous?”
This is the story of Tatum, our narrator, in present-day, 2015, deciding whether to talk with a NYT journalist who is investigating Tatum’s friendship with Mateo, a famous author who has been accused of assault. A relationship Tatum will have difficulty coming to terms with, that readers will recognize as they travel through these pages with her.
As readers we will come to recognize how imbalanced, difficult and sometimes harmful Mateo’s friendship was, as well as crucial to Tatum’s growth as a person throughout her life. Even in its unequalness and expectations. We can see how trapped she felt and how much she deserved so much more.
There is so much to appreciate about the victim and victimizer, celebrity and fan position, and the power dynamic between a popular contemporary male writer and how he so easily took advantage of his younger female fan.
So many words come to mind when I think of how best to describe this book…Subtle. Engaging. Well-developed characters. Compelling. Evocative. Heartbreaking. Deft. Touching. Unsettling. Complex. Well-written. Imperfect. Yet, so readable.
This is the story of Tatum, our narrator, in present-day, 2015, deciding whether to talk with a NYT journalist who is investigating Tatum’s friendship with Mateo, a famous author who has been accused of assault. A relationship Tatum will have difficulty coming to terms with, that readers will recognize as they travel through these pages with her.
As readers we will come to recognize how imbalanced, difficult and sometimes harmful Mateo’s friendship was, as well as crucial to Tatum’s growth as a person throughout her life. Even in its unequalness and expectations. We can see how trapped she felt and how much she deserved so much more.
There is so much to appreciate about the victim and victimizer, celebrity and fan position, and the power dynamic between a popular contemporary male writer and how he so easily took advantage of his younger female fan.
So many words come to mind when I think of how best to describe this book…Subtle. Engaging. Well-developed characters. Compelling. Evocative. Heartbreaking. Deft. Touching. Unsettling. Complex. Well-written. Imperfect. Yet, so readable.
January 15, 2024
I thought this was a very intriguing read. The main character seems to touch on many important topics. I was in awe of the way she flowed so easily and made me mesmerized how this story would turn for her. As we've seen on news articles and in our personal lives, men have abused their powers and women stood up against them to take their power back. This novel I felt the entire time the main character was in that same position then the ending finally taking her power back. It was beautiful and eye opening. Such a great read!
I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publishers to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.
I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publishers to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.
January 17, 2024
Thank you to goodreads for the ARC
This might be my favorite read of the year. I know we're only 16 days in but I'm calling it.
Wow. I'm honestly left a little speechless. It was just a good story told in a beautiful way. I love this author's writing style and I will immediately pre-order any new books she writes.
Reminded me a little of Maame and at times gave me "500 Days of Summer" vibes. But not in the way you think. Just read it.
This might be my favorite read of the year. I know we're only 16 days in but I'm calling it.
Wow. I'm honestly left a little speechless. It was just a good story told in a beautiful way. I love this author's writing style and I will immediately pre-order any new books she writes.
Reminded me a little of Maame and at times gave me "500 Days of Summer" vibes. But not in the way you think. Just read it.
March 21, 2024
3.5 ⭐ This was a good debut, although it was on the slower side for me. It's about the main character Tatum, who's living with her partner in Chile. She is contacted by a reporter from the US to tell about a past relationship she had with a famous author, M Dominguez, while living in NYC. He is being accused of sexual assault. While recounting this relationship, she faces the memories of the way he treated her, and how he has impacted her life.
I thought the format was very unique. She is writing a letter to the author from her past, and so you feel a connection to her. It's interesting to read about her past and how their relationship developed as he is older than her. You see the way he groomed her and influenced her choices, while she was naive to it.
I thought the writing was good, and if be curious to see what this author comes up with in the future.
Out March 26.
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
I thought the format was very unique. She is writing a letter to the author from her past, and so you feel a connection to her. It's interesting to read about her past and how their relationship developed as he is older than her. You see the way he groomed her and influenced her choices, while she was naive to it.
I thought the writing was good, and if be curious to see what this author comes up with in the future.
Out March 26.
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
December 11, 2023
I'm always hesitant to pan (can you call a Goodreads review a "pan"?) a debut, or a book that functions as a debut, but since there are already a lot of very positive reviews for this here, I figure I can offer a differing opinion. Needless to say, ymmv. Big thanks to Celadon Books for sending me a copy.
I wanted to write something about this because I found it so frustrating. The premise appealed to me — I'm very interested in MeToo and MeToo-type stories, and was particularly intrigued by the fact that this book explored an older exploitative author (a tale as old as time, one the literary world should reckon with more). The execution of the novel, though, left a lot to be desired.
Many, many details or larger plot elements simply weren't believable, which made it hard for me to get involved in the story. Mateo Dominguez, for instance, publishes one hit short story collection ("Happiness") and becomes famous and wealthy, and travels the country giving readings from this same book for years following its publication. Protagonist Tatum speculates that his success is due to him being The Only Latino Writer, and people identifying with his work. But this just isn't plausible. No matter how successful a short story collection might be, even if it won the Pulitzer, no author would be regularly touring on the same book several years later (and it's unlikely they'd get that rich off of it, either. Novels aren't that profitable, for most people, let alone short story collections). It's also simply not true that there weren't other Latinx writers publishing to success and acclaim in the period of the novel (1990s to mid-2000s) or before. While these authors were underrepresented, some did break through, and would especially have broken through to a Latina reader like Tatum: off the top of my head, Sandra Cisneros (who is mentioned frequently in the book! this makes no sense!), Nicholasa Mohr, Esmeralda Santiago. And I do not know nearly as much as I should about this subject. But casting this fictional slimy man as the hero of Latinx literature really rubbed me the wrong way.
Other small details were also historically inaccurate: Dominguez wins the Booker Prize before Americans were eligible for it, Tatum looks at a subway train timer before such things existed, they use smartphones before they probably would have been using them (though that timeline's a little fuzzier). These may sound like trivialities, but as they compound, they make the book seem poorly researched and unreliable. Perhaps some of these errors will be corrected before the final printing.
Most of all, though, the relationships just don't fully scan. Tatum often finds herself in all or majority-white spaces, but instead of investigating the nuances of these situations, the author repeatedly has Tatum say that no one there understands her before she socially isolates herself. I never want to suggest that a writer of color make white characters less racist, etc, but Tatum's isolation makes it hard to really grasp her character. Why not, for instance, have her feel compelled to code-switch at work, have some connections with colleagues there, but feel that the relationships are superficial? In a similar episode, the (male) journalist investigating sexual assault accusations against Dominguez explicitly insults Tatum's intelligence as compared to Dominguez's while interviewing her. I don't think every sex crimes journalist is a saint, but this is just unfathomable to me. Tatum dismisses the investigation, instead choosing to pursue her own exploration of the past. That exploration is fair enough, but she's not the main subject of the article. It's just all very messy.
The novel might have been saved somewhat if her relationship with M. Dominguez (Matteo) was more compelling. He is definitely a sleaze and creep, but their relationship stays static for so much of the book that the story gets a little tedious. And while it's clear that he didn't treat her well, she's not exactly wrong when she tells the journalist that she does seem to have occupied a special place in his life. The way he behaved to her would also never warrant a public investigation, even if it is sleazy. Plenty of bad behavior doesn't rise to that level, but given that we know a rape accusation lingers in the background, this all feels a little muted. I want to stress that I'm not trying to minimize lesser forms of abuse; the novel just doesn't have the nuance to make these incidents feel as uncomfortable and exploitative as they might be in a similar real-life situation.
Ultimately, this book feels like a draft, not the finished product. I often read books that feel like this, and I never place blame on the authors. Editors and publishers should not let books out into the world until they are as polished as possible; the kind of minor errors I referenced above are pretty unconscionable. Again, some of these small things may be corrected, but it certainly seems to me that the novel as a whole needed more thorough editing, and it's a shame it didn't receive that treatment.
I wanted to write something about this because I found it so frustrating. The premise appealed to me — I'm very interested in MeToo and MeToo-type stories, and was particularly intrigued by the fact that this book explored an older exploitative author (a tale as old as time, one the literary world should reckon with more). The execution of the novel, though, left a lot to be desired.
Many, many details or larger plot elements simply weren't believable, which made it hard for me to get involved in the story. Mateo Dominguez, for instance, publishes one hit short story collection ("Happiness") and becomes famous and wealthy, and travels the country giving readings from this same book for years following its publication. Protagonist Tatum speculates that his success is due to him being The Only Latino Writer, and people identifying with his work. But this just isn't plausible. No matter how successful a short story collection might be, even if it won the Pulitzer, no author would be regularly touring on the same book several years later (and it's unlikely they'd get that rich off of it, either. Novels aren't that profitable, for most people, let alone short story collections). It's also simply not true that there weren't other Latinx writers publishing to success and acclaim in the period of the novel (1990s to mid-2000s) or before. While these authors were underrepresented, some did break through, and would especially have broken through to a Latina reader like Tatum: off the top of my head, Sandra Cisneros (who is mentioned frequently in the book! this makes no sense!), Nicholasa Mohr, Esmeralda Santiago. And I do not know nearly as much as I should about this subject. But casting this fictional slimy man as the hero of Latinx literature really rubbed me the wrong way.
Other small details were also historically inaccurate: Dominguez wins the Booker Prize before Americans were eligible for it, Tatum looks at a subway train timer before such things existed, they use smartphones before they probably would have been using them (though that timeline's a little fuzzier). These may sound like trivialities, but as they compound, they make the book seem poorly researched and unreliable. Perhaps some of these errors will be corrected before the final printing.
Most of all, though, the relationships just don't fully scan. Tatum often finds herself in all or majority-white spaces, but instead of investigating the nuances of these situations, the author repeatedly has Tatum say that no one there understands her before she socially isolates herself. I never want to suggest that a writer of color make white characters less racist, etc, but Tatum's isolation makes it hard to really grasp her character. Why not, for instance, have her feel compelled to code-switch at work, have some connections with colleagues there, but feel that the relationships are superficial? In a similar episode, the (male) journalist investigating sexual assault accusations against Dominguez explicitly insults Tatum's intelligence as compared to Dominguez's while interviewing her. I don't think every sex crimes journalist is a saint, but this is just unfathomable to me. Tatum dismisses the investigation, instead choosing to pursue her own exploration of the past. That exploration is fair enough, but she's not the main subject of the article. It's just all very messy.
The novel might have been saved somewhat if her relationship with M. Dominguez (Matteo) was more compelling. He is definitely a sleaze and creep, but their relationship stays static for so much of the book that the story gets a little tedious. And while it's clear that he didn't treat her well, she's not exactly wrong when she tells the journalist that she does seem to have occupied a special place in his life. The way he behaved to her would also never warrant a public investigation, even if it is sleazy. Plenty of bad behavior doesn't rise to that level, but given that we know a rape accusation lingers in the background, this all feels a little muted. I want to stress that I'm not trying to minimize lesser forms of abuse; the novel just doesn't have the nuance to make these incidents feel as uncomfortable and exploitative as they might be in a similar real-life situation.
Ultimately, this book feels like a draft, not the finished product. I often read books that feel like this, and I never place blame on the authors. Editors and publishers should not let books out into the world until they are as polished as possible; the kind of minor errors I referenced above are pretty unconscionable. Again, some of these small things may be corrected, but it certainly seems to me that the novel as a whole needed more thorough editing, and it's a shame it didn't receive that treatment.
January 21, 2024
Tatum Vega finally has the life she always envisioned for herself. A tranquil existence in Chile with her partner Vera and a cozy museum job where she’s surrounded by beautiful art. And despite her past hardships, she is happy… as long as she ignores the memories of her decade spent living under the thumb of renowned yet manipulative author M. Dominguez.
All that Tatum has pushed down is forced to surface, however, when a U.S. reporter contacts her for an interview regarding her past with Dominguez. And when he reveals her old infatuation has been accused of assault she is compelled to reevaluate their complex and intense relationship. Although Tatum assures the reporter she is not a victim in the same way, questions and memories begin to plague her as the story unfolds. Did he groom her? Was she a victim of his web of deceit and women? And why can’t she put him in the past to properly move on? As Tatum continues down the rabbit hole she discovers that she may not like the answers. Can she come to terms with what happened over those 10 years? Or will denial and Dominguez’s manipulation get the best of her?
This book surprised me in so many ways. I did not anticipate loving it as much as I did. The synopsis sounded intriguing but nothing could have prepared me for the complex emotions and uncomfortable situations. Bonus points as well for being a debut. I think Ursula Villarreal-Moura is an author to look out for in the future because if this is their first book I can only imagine what greatness is to come.
Tatum is a wildly nuanced and layered main character. Her struggles with being one of the only minorities in an extremely white Massachusetts college start the story off with a feeling of isolation. With reading and art as the only true escape, her favorite book quickly becomes her main source of solace. So when the author responds to her fan letter, the reader can’t help but be as excited as Tatum. You spend so much time in her mind that when someone who we think (the reader and Tatum) truly sees us it is a life-altering moment. Their connection over their Latinx identity is a huge catalyst in their 10-year relationship and it is wildly interesting how he uses that to both deject Tatum and connect to her.
Tatum’s sexuality is another main focus of her growth and is one of the only things separate from Dominguez. That she ended up with Vera shows the amount of maturing and self-discovery she was able to do once she was out from under his thumb. And the way her sexuality is handled by him shows the cruel side of his otherwise alarmingly calm nature. The grooming is eerily well-written throughout the whole book, but these moments especially showcase his slimy tactics.
I love dual-timeline plots so I enjoyed how this took place both in Vera’s current life, while she discusses with the reporter. And in a letter she is penning to Dominguez, which recounts their decade together. My heart broke for young Tatum so many times and she seemed to never quite be able to free herself from him. Even in instances where she seemed she was growing distant, there was always something to reel her back into his web. We grew with Tatum as she went from college, back to Texas with her parents, and then finally to New York, where she spent the majority of her early to mid-adulthood. The plot never lulled and even though we knew their friendship ends it kept you guessing as to the events that took place over those 10 years. What an incredible premise.
Plot and characters aside this may have been some of the best writing, on a line level, I’ve ever read. If the plot and characters haven’t won you over yet then I implore you to pick this up just for the amount of annotations within its pages. Even the areas of her identity where I couldn’t personally relate I still felt so deeply due to the stunning writing of her character. This book is not just a one-and-done, it is a pen-marked and cracked-spine favorite.
All in all, I think this read is a must for 2024. Between the excellently crafted lines, the complex characters, and the gut-wrenching plot there is something for everyone. The intersection of Tatum’s identities brings so much to the table and is ripe for discussion. If you like layered stories, thick with quotable moments then this book is for you. Happy reading!
Thank you to Celadon Books for sending me an ARC copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
For more sapphic reviews follow @the.lebian.library on Instagram, Goodreads, and Tiktok.
All that Tatum has pushed down is forced to surface, however, when a U.S. reporter contacts her for an interview regarding her past with Dominguez. And when he reveals her old infatuation has been accused of assault she is compelled to reevaluate their complex and intense relationship. Although Tatum assures the reporter she is not a victim in the same way, questions and memories begin to plague her as the story unfolds. Did he groom her? Was she a victim of his web of deceit and women? And why can’t she put him in the past to properly move on? As Tatum continues down the rabbit hole she discovers that she may not like the answers. Can she come to terms with what happened over those 10 years? Or will denial and Dominguez’s manipulation get the best of her?
This book surprised me in so many ways. I did not anticipate loving it as much as I did. The synopsis sounded intriguing but nothing could have prepared me for the complex emotions and uncomfortable situations. Bonus points as well for being a debut. I think Ursula Villarreal-Moura is an author to look out for in the future because if this is their first book I can only imagine what greatness is to come.
Tatum is a wildly nuanced and layered main character. Her struggles with being one of the only minorities in an extremely white Massachusetts college start the story off with a feeling of isolation. With reading and art as the only true escape, her favorite book quickly becomes her main source of solace. So when the author responds to her fan letter, the reader can’t help but be as excited as Tatum. You spend so much time in her mind that when someone who we think (the reader and Tatum) truly sees us it is a life-altering moment. Their connection over their Latinx identity is a huge catalyst in their 10-year relationship and it is wildly interesting how he uses that to both deject Tatum and connect to her.
Tatum’s sexuality is another main focus of her growth and is one of the only things separate from Dominguez. That she ended up with Vera shows the amount of maturing and self-discovery she was able to do once she was out from under his thumb. And the way her sexuality is handled by him shows the cruel side of his otherwise alarmingly calm nature. The grooming is eerily well-written throughout the whole book, but these moments especially showcase his slimy tactics.
I love dual-timeline plots so I enjoyed how this took place both in Vera’s current life, while she discusses with the reporter. And in a letter she is penning to Dominguez, which recounts their decade together. My heart broke for young Tatum so many times and she seemed to never quite be able to free herself from him. Even in instances where she seemed she was growing distant, there was always something to reel her back into his web. We grew with Tatum as she went from college, back to Texas with her parents, and then finally to New York, where she spent the majority of her early to mid-adulthood. The plot never lulled and even though we knew their friendship ends it kept you guessing as to the events that took place over those 10 years. What an incredible premise.
Plot and characters aside this may have been some of the best writing, on a line level, I’ve ever read. If the plot and characters haven’t won you over yet then I implore you to pick this up just for the amount of annotations within its pages. Even the areas of her identity where I couldn’t personally relate I still felt so deeply due to the stunning writing of her character. This book is not just a one-and-done, it is a pen-marked and cracked-spine favorite.
All in all, I think this read is a must for 2024. Between the excellently crafted lines, the complex characters, and the gut-wrenching plot there is something for everyone. The intersection of Tatum’s identities brings so much to the table and is ripe for discussion. If you like layered stories, thick with quotable moments then this book is for you. Happy reading!
Thank you to Celadon Books for sending me an ARC copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
For more sapphic reviews follow @the.lebian.library on Instagram, Goodreads, and Tiktok.
December 20, 2023
This was somewhat depressing — in concept, I mean — since there are so many men in positions of power who use that power to manipulate vulnerable women. It's not always about sex; this certainly wasn't. Sometimes it's about assuaging their ego and having someone who looks up to them and makes them feel more valid or important. Mateo was quite obviously a loser, but I also understand how easily a young girl could become entranced with his apparent talent, intellect, and money/access. He took full advantage of that, and it took many years for Tatum to see clearly.
This was a very quick, easy read — accessible but it didn't skimp on the depth. I found Tatum to be very easy to understand, sympathize with, and care about, and Villarreal-Moura really succeeded with creating a young female character rather than a caricature to further the storyline. Tatum was the heart and soul of "Like Happiness," and while the book left a lot of questions unanswered, I felt pretty happy with how the story was told.
Oddly enough, I do feel like categorizing this as LGBTQIAP+ (as NetGalley did) was a bit misleading. It all felt a bit "token bisexualism" to me and not at all genuine or even important. Tatum is supposedly living with a woman in Chile but we get to know pretty much zero about her partner, how Tatum made that transition into the relationship, etc. It felt like a detail thrown in to be like, "Look how modern! She's QUEER!" and while I get the story wasn't about that and certainly didn't need to be, I nearly wish it wasn't included at all since it added nothing other than a very nagging feeling of disingenuousness. Thankfully, it wasn't harped on too much or it would've taken a few stars off for me.
This was a very quick, easy read — accessible but it didn't skimp on the depth. I found Tatum to be very easy to understand, sympathize with, and care about, and Villarreal-Moura really succeeded with creating a young female character rather than a caricature to further the storyline. Tatum was the heart and soul of "Like Happiness," and while the book left a lot of questions unanswered, I felt pretty happy with how the story was told.
Oddly enough, I do feel like categorizing this as LGBTQIAP+ (as NetGalley did) was a bit misleading. It all felt a bit "token bisexualism" to me and not at all genuine or even important. Tatum is supposedly living with a woman in Chile but we get to know pretty much zero about her partner, how Tatum made that transition into the relationship, etc. It felt like a detail thrown in to be like, "Look how modern! She's QUEER!" and while I get the story wasn't about that and certainly didn't need to be, I nearly wish it wasn't included at all since it added nothing other than a very nagging feeling of disingenuousness. Thankfully, it wasn't harped on too much or it would've taken a few stars off for me.
April 10, 2024
2.75 Stars
Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan audio for the arc in exchange for an honest review! I am incredibly grateful!
I wish I had more to say, but I started this book immersed and ended it staring into space while feeling like it was incomplete. It felt has if this story has missing parts or pages that I didn't get experience. Tatum's story is one I stand behind, felt for and still enjoyed overall, but I just was waiting for some moments that never came.
Trigger Warnings:
Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan audio for the arc in exchange for an honest review! I am incredibly grateful!
I wish I had more to say, but I started this book immersed and ended it staring into space while feeling like it was incomplete. It felt has if this story has missing parts or pages that I didn't get experience. Tatum's story is one I stand behind, felt for and still enjoyed overall, but I just was waiting for some moments that never came.
Trigger Warnings:
April 16, 2024
On my blog.
Rep: Mexican American bi mc, Chilean sapphic li, Puerto Rican character, Japanese side characters
Galley provided by publisher
Like Happiness was, in all honesty, a bit of a disappointment and most of that came down to the fact that I simply could not see the charisma of M. I was not convinced in the slightest that this man was worth having a semi-obsessive codependent relationship over. Those emails alone were just [fart noise] to me. I can’t describe it any other way.
So yeah. Safe to say this was not one for me!
The book is basically about what happens when our main character is contacted by a journalist following revelations of the aforementioned M’s sexual harassment. Tatum is well clear of M by now, but the talk raises the question of whether he did anything inappropriate with her (since she had not, before now, felt inclined to look back over a relationship that drained her in the way it did).
From the start, we know that M is skeevy. It’s clear from the blurb and from the opening chapters. This is not some big reveal at the end of it all. So I think the book needed to be working twice as hard to make M seem genuinely charismatic and the relationship all-consuming. Instead, I got obvious red flag after obvious red flag. Tatum is in the midst of being groomed, so clearly she won’t be aware of this, but to put it bluntly: you almost need to groom the reader too. Of course, you want to slot some red flags in there, since otherwise the reveal’s going to come out of nowhere, but here it was just. A damp squib.
Obviously this is a hard balance to strike. We know M is going to turn out to be an abuser, so it’s harder to hide those red flags effectively. I think what might have been better here would be if we didn’t know why the journalist was contacting Tatum about M. If, to us as well as her, it felt like just a bad breakup of a codependent relationship (with a freaking weird age gap, which already could clue us in). But instead, we know from the start that this story is about Tatum scouring her relationship after these revelations. So, it worked less well.
That’s not to say this book was badly written on a prose level: I read it quickly and I did enjoy the writing in that sense. It’s just, as I said, the entire thing came off like a damp squib. Maybe it won’t be this way for everyone, but that is, ultimately, my lasting impression.
Rep: Mexican American bi mc, Chilean sapphic li, Puerto Rican character, Japanese side characters
Galley provided by publisher
Like Happiness was, in all honesty, a bit of a disappointment and most of that came down to the fact that I simply could not see the charisma of M. I was not convinced in the slightest that this man was worth having a semi-obsessive codependent relationship over. Those emails alone were just [fart noise] to me. I can’t describe it any other way.
So yeah. Safe to say this was not one for me!
The book is basically about what happens when our main character is contacted by a journalist following revelations of the aforementioned M’s sexual harassment. Tatum is well clear of M by now, but the talk raises the question of whether he did anything inappropriate with her (since she had not, before now, felt inclined to look back over a relationship that drained her in the way it did).
From the start, we know that M is skeevy. It’s clear from the blurb and from the opening chapters. This is not some big reveal at the end of it all. So I think the book needed to be working twice as hard to make M seem genuinely charismatic and the relationship all-consuming. Instead, I got obvious red flag after obvious red flag. Tatum is in the midst of being groomed, so clearly she won’t be aware of this, but to put it bluntly: you almost need to groom the reader too. Of course, you want to slot some red flags in there, since otherwise the reveal’s going to come out of nowhere, but here it was just. A damp squib.
Obviously this is a hard balance to strike. We know M is going to turn out to be an abuser, so it’s harder to hide those red flags effectively. I think what might have been better here would be if we didn’t know why the journalist was contacting Tatum about M. If, to us as well as her, it felt like just a bad breakup of a codependent relationship (with a freaking weird age gap, which already could clue us in). But instead, we know from the start that this story is about Tatum scouring her relationship after these revelations. So, it worked less well.
That’s not to say this book was badly written on a prose level: I read it quickly and I did enjoy the writing in that sense. It’s just, as I said, the entire thing came off like a damp squib. Maybe it won’t be this way for everyone, but that is, ultimately, my lasting impression.
April 7, 2024
3.5 stars. I really enjoyed this book even though I’d didn’t know much about it before going into it. It’s about a young woman who is a student at college who becomes completely obsessed with a novel and decides to write to the author, only to have him write back. They develop a close friendship and eventually a sexual relationship which spans years. The narrative it also paralleled with the same women far in the future who has now severed ties with him, who gets told by a journalised that the author has been accused of some serious allegations by a number of women.
It had a very big My Dark Vanessa vibe with the way that she was quite young and he was a lot older than her and uses his influence and power over her to make himself feel good. I would have liked to have a bit more of the book focus on when she was older but it was so interesting reading about their relationship and how toxic it became, especially with the unhealthy power balance. The ending and the reason why she eventually cuts him off was so crazy and my jaw was on the floor reading that part.
This was such an enjoyable novel and I ate it up so fast because it really grabbed my attention. I’d recommend for fans of Vanessa but also books about writers and writing, and for if you enjoy books about obsession and damaging relationships.
It had a very big My Dark Vanessa vibe with the way that she was quite young and he was a lot older than her and uses his influence and power over her to make himself feel good. I would have liked to have a bit more of the book focus on when she was older but it was so interesting reading about their relationship and how toxic it became, especially with the unhealthy power balance. The ending and the reason why she eventually cuts him off was so crazy and my jaw was on the floor reading that part.
This was such an enjoyable novel and I ate it up so fast because it really grabbed my attention. I’d recommend for fans of Vanessa but also books about writers and writing, and for if you enjoy books about obsession and damaging relationships.
March 22, 2024
UPCOMING RELEASE REVIEW
Thank you #partners @celadonbooks & @macmillan.audio for my #gifted copies 💙
Like Happiness
Ursula Villarreal-Moura
3/26
📖 Like Happiness follows the story of Tatum Vega, a young Latina woman, as she recounts her complicated relationship with a man at the forefront of the #MeToo movement.
Tatum is gifted, and as a young woman, she seems to struggle finding her place amongst the intellectually inferior, especially as a Latina in a predominantly white environment. When she discovers 'Happiness', a book of short stories by Mateo Dominguez, an older Latino man, she sees herself in its pages and it becomes her favorite book. Tatum reaches out to the author, and is surprised when he responds. And so begins their decade long relationship full of complexities and uncertainties and a clear power dynamic.
Years later, the New York Times reaches out to Tatum for an interview, as Dominguez has been accused of sexual improprieties. Through a letter to Mateo, Tatum recounts their friendship with the benefits of age, maturity and hindsight, and confronts the ways in which their relationship shaped the trajectory of her life.
💭 I loved this!! We all know I'm a sucker for a coming-of-age novel, and this one ticked so many of my boxes. Villarreal-Moura explores themes of sexuality, identity, belonging, idolization, and the ways in which young women fall prey to older men, oftentimes at great personal cost. Like Happiness is powerful, multilayered, thought-provoking, and unexpected, with a compelling protagonist that readers will come to care for. And while I'm not always a fan of a letter format, it's actually perfect here! Hear me when I shout that this debut novel is a must read! 🗣️
🎧 I paired my physical ARC with the audiobook, and wowza! The narrator, Marisa Blake, is fantastic!!! She really captured Tatum's voice, and her powerful performance was such a pleasure to listen to. If you're an audiobooker, read this one with your ears, and thank me later. 😉
Can't wait to see what this author does next! 💙
Thank you #partners @celadonbooks & @macmillan.audio for my #gifted copies 💙
Like Happiness
Ursula Villarreal-Moura
3/26
📖 Like Happiness follows the story of Tatum Vega, a young Latina woman, as she recounts her complicated relationship with a man at the forefront of the #MeToo movement.
Tatum is gifted, and as a young woman, she seems to struggle finding her place amongst the intellectually inferior, especially as a Latina in a predominantly white environment. When she discovers 'Happiness', a book of short stories by Mateo Dominguez, an older Latino man, she sees herself in its pages and it becomes her favorite book. Tatum reaches out to the author, and is surprised when he responds. And so begins their decade long relationship full of complexities and uncertainties and a clear power dynamic.
Years later, the New York Times reaches out to Tatum for an interview, as Dominguez has been accused of sexual improprieties. Through a letter to Mateo, Tatum recounts their friendship with the benefits of age, maturity and hindsight, and confronts the ways in which their relationship shaped the trajectory of her life.
💭 I loved this!! We all know I'm a sucker for a coming-of-age novel, and this one ticked so many of my boxes. Villarreal-Moura explores themes of sexuality, identity, belonging, idolization, and the ways in which young women fall prey to older men, oftentimes at great personal cost. Like Happiness is powerful, multilayered, thought-provoking, and unexpected, with a compelling protagonist that readers will come to care for. And while I'm not always a fan of a letter format, it's actually perfect here! Hear me when I shout that this debut novel is a must read! 🗣️
🎧 I paired my physical ARC with the audiobook, and wowza! The narrator, Marisa Blake, is fantastic!!! She really captured Tatum's voice, and her powerful performance was such a pleasure to listen to. If you're an audiobooker, read this one with your ears, and thank me later. 😉
Can't wait to see what this author does next! 💙
November 7, 2023
Oh my word. I haven’t read a story this gripping and powerful in quite a while. Tatum is a captivating narrator, alternating between her present day life and a letter she is drafting to a man she has a complicated history with. I found irony in the fact she’s written as a character viewed by her family and peers as someone who is complacent but her story took such intriguing turns—it hardly matched her reputation.
This story addresses issues such as toxic relationships, digging up the past, coming of age, as well as heritage and gender. Tatum’s story had me racing through the pages, dying to know what happened between her and this relationship with famous author M. Domínguez.
I actually really liked that the actual assault accusation wasn’t a central topic to what was largely TATUM’S story. We don’t know all the details but that remains insignificant when Tatum is meant to be at the forefront. Instead, readers get a story wrought with self discovery, gaining closure, and realizing mistakes and growing from them.
I’m glad that while she spent much of the novel feeling like a doormat for an “important” man, Tatum finally gets her story told in a powerful way.
I’m reading anything Ursula Villarreal-Moura publishes in the future!
**Thank you Celadon books for my advanced readers copy! All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.**
This story addresses issues such as toxic relationships, digging up the past, coming of age, as well as heritage and gender. Tatum’s story had me racing through the pages, dying to know what happened between her and this relationship with famous author M. Domínguez.
I actually really liked that the actual assault accusation wasn’t a central topic to what was largely TATUM’S story. We don’t know all the details but that remains insignificant when Tatum is meant to be at the forefront. Instead, readers get a story wrought with self discovery, gaining closure, and realizing mistakes and growing from them.
I’m glad that while she spent much of the novel feeling like a doormat for an “important” man, Tatum finally gets her story told in a powerful way.
I’m reading anything Ursula Villarreal-Moura publishes in the future!
**Thank you Celadon books for my advanced readers copy! All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.**
November 19, 2023
A complex and beautifully wrought story of a young woman who has tied herself to a famous writer.
When Tatum is contacted by a reporter, she is unsure whether she wants to look back at the years that her live revolved around the legendary writer M. But through a series of flashbacks and conversations, Tatum looks back at her experiences with M and the choices she made.
I found the writing to be beyond exceptional and mesmerizing as it exposed truth after truth. For me, the strongest portions are the details of being a shadow citizen or the microaggressions she endured. I will pick up anything Ursula Villarreal-Moura writes !#Celadon #Likehappiness #ursulavillarrealmoura
When Tatum is contacted by a reporter, she is unsure whether she wants to look back at the years that her live revolved around the legendary writer M. But through a series of flashbacks and conversations, Tatum looks back at her experiences with M and the choices she made.
I found the writing to be beyond exceptional and mesmerizing as it exposed truth after truth. For me, the strongest portions are the details of being a shadow citizen or the microaggressions she endured. I will pick up anything Ursula Villarreal-Moura writes !#Celadon #Likehappiness #ursulavillarrealmoura
November 8, 2024
Fühlte sich an vielen Stellen irgendwie unfertig an.
So viele relevante und für mich interessante Themen wurden nur grob umrissen, darunter Tatums Sexualität, ihre Beziehung zu Vera, Vera einfach generell und leider auch der Teil der Handlung, der sich mit sexuellem Missbrauch und #MeToo beschäftigt.
Stattdessen wurde M. durch das ständig wiederholte Hervorheben von Tatums an Obsession grenzender Bewunderung für ihn viel zu viel Raum gegeben, nach dem fünften Mal hat wahrscheinlich auch der letzte Idiot verstanden, wie toll sie seinen Intellekt doch findet.
Dennoch fand ich viele dieser ekelhaften, toxischen Machtstrukturen, die die Beziehung der beiden bestimmt, gut subtil (und manchmal auch sehr offensichtlich) herausgearbeitet und auch Tatums Situation als eine junge Frau, die Opfer von Grooming und Manipulation wird, war für mich überwiegend überzeugend.
So viele relevante und für mich interessante Themen wurden nur grob umrissen, darunter Tatums Sexualität, ihre Beziehung zu Vera, Vera einfach generell und leider auch der Teil der Handlung, der sich mit sexuellem Missbrauch und #MeToo beschäftigt.
Stattdessen wurde M. durch das ständig wiederholte Hervorheben von Tatums an Obsession grenzender Bewunderung für ihn viel zu viel Raum gegeben, nach dem fünften Mal hat wahrscheinlich auch der letzte Idiot verstanden, wie toll sie seinen Intellekt doch findet.
Dennoch fand ich viele dieser ekelhaften, toxischen Machtstrukturen, die die Beziehung der beiden bestimmt, gut subtil (und manchmal auch sehr offensichtlich) herausgearbeitet und auch Tatums Situation als eine junge Frau, die Opfer von Grooming und Manipulation wird, war für mich überwiegend überzeugend.
February 23, 2024
gifted by the publisher
When Tatum Vega receives a call from a reporter to comment on an alleged assault of her old friend/mentor, famous author M. Domínguez, the careful separation Tatum has constructed between her past and present begins to crumble.
I adore everything about HAPPINESS. The academia/publishing setting, the layered story of a complex and destructive relationship, and the examination of the power imbalance between two Latinx individuals. Villarreal-Moura digs deeper into toxic relationships that surpass superficial white vs. non-white tropes but analyzes the blurred lines between mentor-mentee, friendship, and grooming. When there are vast differences between age, fame, and financial stability, can we build meaningful relationships that stand the test of time?
Told in letters addressed to Domínguez from present-day Tatum, I appreciate the maturity in her voice while witnessing Tatum's character evolve. LIKE HAPPINESS pairs well with I LOVE YOU SO MUCH IT'S KILLING US BOTH (Mariah Stovall) and ANNIE BOT (Sierra Greer), and is a debut I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone looking for a nuanced exploration of the unexpected ways power dynamics manifest.
When Tatum Vega receives a call from a reporter to comment on an alleged assault of her old friend/mentor, famous author M. Domínguez, the careful separation Tatum has constructed between her past and present begins to crumble.
I adore everything about HAPPINESS. The academia/publishing setting, the layered story of a complex and destructive relationship, and the examination of the power imbalance between two Latinx individuals. Villarreal-Moura digs deeper into toxic relationships that surpass superficial white vs. non-white tropes but analyzes the blurred lines between mentor-mentee, friendship, and grooming. When there are vast differences between age, fame, and financial stability, can we build meaningful relationships that stand the test of time?
Told in letters addressed to Domínguez from present-day Tatum, I appreciate the maturity in her voice while witnessing Tatum's character evolve. LIKE HAPPINESS pairs well with I LOVE YOU SO MUCH IT'S KILLING US BOTH (Mariah Stovall) and ANNIE BOT (Sierra Greer), and is a debut I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone looking for a nuanced exploration of the unexpected ways power dynamics manifest.
April 5, 2024
I wonder who I would've become if you'd tossed my letter in the trash can, if you had let me be.
Tatum Vega is in college when she picks up M. Domínguez's debut collection of short stories. Impulsively, she writes him a fan letter telling him how much his writing affected and inspired her, and she can hardly believe it when he responds. And so begins a tumultuous relationship between Tatum and the much older writer, one marked by blurred lines, power imbalances, obsession, and subtle manipulation. Now, more than a decade later, Domínguez has been accused of sexual misconduct, and Tatum is compelled to reexamine her relationship with him.
Like Happiness joins a growing number of contemporary novels that seek to explore toxic relationships and the complex power dynamics that often go hand in hand with them. This book, though, is a bit more subtle, because Domínguez doesn't actually have any defined power over Tatum; he isn't an authority figure in her life. It's a more understated version of grooming and manipulation that relies on Domínguez ensuring that Tatum consistently feels off-balance, inferior, and naive. Tatum's idolatry of Domínguez is at first intellectual rather than physical, with his writing/mind serving as the basis for her initial attraction. The sexual aspect of their relationship is secondary, and largely lacking --which is one of the ways Domínguez influences Tatum and ensures her continuing obsession and feelings of inferiority. It's only years later, removed from the maelstrom of the relationship and with the wisdom of lived experiences, that Tatum can fully reckon with his treatment of her.
Ursula Villarreal-Moura's writing is luminous and emotional as she weaves a bittersweet coming of age story with fascinating commentary about gender and power imbalances, the nature of fame, and Latinx identity. I enjoyed the structure of the book, which alternates between Tatum in the present and a letter she writes to Domínguez dissecting their relationship. Although, frankly, Domínguez doesn't really deserve such a letter, and Tatum's present-day life, and how she found her way to it, could have been further explored. But overall this is a strong, thought-provoking debut, and the audiobook is brilliantly read by Marisa Blake, who infuses Tatum with both vulnerability and strength.
Some comps on the topic of skewed power dynamics in relationships: My Dark Vanessa, A Very Nice Girl, Little Rabbit, We Do What We Do in the Dark.
November 8, 2023
Like Happiness is a stunning masterpiece of a debut.
I'm in awe of Ursula Villarreal-Moura's writing and how she transforms mundane, everyday things into literary gems.
I wish I could share a quote - I've marked my book at least 87 times! Mark your calendar for 3/26/24 to pick up your own сору 🥰
Exploring the most pivotal relationship in Tatum Vega's past, her love of literature, and her innermost thoughts, you can't help but feel a connection to her.
I was (and still am) captivated by Tatum's relatable yet poetic narrative and wouldn't be surprised if Villarreal-Moura becomes one of the greats.
✨Immense thanks to Celadon Books for the ARC✨
I'm in awe of Ursula Villarreal-Moura's writing and how she transforms mundane, everyday things into literary gems.
I wish I could share a quote - I've marked my book at least 87 times! Mark your calendar for 3/26/24 to pick up your own сору 🥰
Exploring the most pivotal relationship in Tatum Vega's past, her love of literature, and her innermost thoughts, you can't help but feel a connection to her.
I was (and still am) captivated by Tatum's relatable yet poetic narrative and wouldn't be surprised if Villarreal-Moura becomes one of the greats.
✨Immense thanks to Celadon Books for the ARC✨
January 19, 2024
Ursula Villarreal-Moura has written a great book. I had the opportunity to read it in one sitting, and it was thoroughly entertaining.
Highly relatable and so well-crafted with great wit, we are introduced into the story by our main character Tatum Vega. Tatum is a woman from Texas who is studying at a prestigious east coast college. She is highly aware of her working-class Latina background as a minority student who is very interested in art and literature. Both subjects are deeply important to her. She hopes that her reading will teach her some greater meaning about life, and she idolizes many authors. At school she took refuge in her books as she didn’t have many friends. Then she reads a book that speaks to her soul. On a whim she reaches out to the author and he responds.
I refuse to spoil the story for potential readers, but from their first email her life begins to change. What starts off as a simple fan email takes on a life of its own with great consequences. Raging within in this upside-down relationship is a young woman in search of herself who doesn’t have a great deal of experience navigating life. She falls under the spell of the great writer, and he just takes this for granted as he is a star that is used to the attention. Did I mention that the author is an older successful man who doesn’t stop for one minute to see the consequences of his actions?
Tatum learns a lot about herself along the way, even about her sexuality and ultimately gets what she wants.
All in all I so enjoyed reading this book. It has good characters, fine sarcastic writing and brings a fresh voice into the world. Hope everyone reads this.
Highly relatable and so well-crafted with great wit, we are introduced into the story by our main character Tatum Vega. Tatum is a woman from Texas who is studying at a prestigious east coast college. She is highly aware of her working-class Latina background as a minority student who is very interested in art and literature. Both subjects are deeply important to her. She hopes that her reading will teach her some greater meaning about life, and she idolizes many authors. At school she took refuge in her books as she didn’t have many friends. Then she reads a book that speaks to her soul. On a whim she reaches out to the author and he responds.
I refuse to spoil the story for potential readers, but from their first email her life begins to change. What starts off as a simple fan email takes on a life of its own with great consequences. Raging within in this upside-down relationship is a young woman in search of herself who doesn’t have a great deal of experience navigating life. She falls under the spell of the great writer, and he just takes this for granted as he is a star that is used to the attention. Did I mention that the author is an older successful man who doesn’t stop for one minute to see the consequences of his actions?
Tatum learns a lot about herself along the way, even about her sexuality and ultimately gets what she wants.
All in all I so enjoyed reading this book. It has good characters, fine sarcastic writing and brings a fresh voice into the world. Hope everyone reads this.
December 8, 2024
Not gay enough but still very good. Mateo made me sooooooo angry throughout the entire book
January 27, 2024
4.75/5 ⭐️
I could not put this down - an incredible story of a young Latina woman named Tatum who befriends a famous author after writing him a fan letter. From there, their relationship ebbs and flows as they develop and change over the course of their lives - for better or for worse. Ursula Villarreal-Moura makes readers feel like they, too, are part of the story and involved in the nitty gritty details of each character’s life. The story jumps in time between present day reflection of the events, and then plunges readers back into the thick of Tatum’s youth as events unfold.
This amazing debut from Villarreal-Moura does not shy away from all the nuances of life it involves - gender inequality, imbalanced relationships, differences in memory, friendship, betrayal, and our relationship with our own cultural identity. This book felt very personal and self aware, and very genuine.
The end was a bit abrupt but I think that was intentional to reflect certain aspects of the narratives in the story. However, it left me hoping for more resolution for Tatum - but again, doesn’t life often leave us wanting more? Isn’t closure never quite as we hope it will be?
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the audiobook ARC of this book. All options in this review are my own.
I could not put this down - an incredible story of a young Latina woman named Tatum who befriends a famous author after writing him a fan letter. From there, their relationship ebbs and flows as they develop and change over the course of their lives - for better or for worse. Ursula Villarreal-Moura makes readers feel like they, too, are part of the story and involved in the nitty gritty details of each character’s life. The story jumps in time between present day reflection of the events, and then plunges readers back into the thick of Tatum’s youth as events unfold.
This amazing debut from Villarreal-Moura does not shy away from all the nuances of life it involves - gender inequality, imbalanced relationships, differences in memory, friendship, betrayal, and our relationship with our own cultural identity. This book felt very personal and self aware, and very genuine.
The end was a bit abrupt but I think that was intentional to reflect certain aspects of the narratives in the story. However, it left me hoping for more resolution for Tatum - but again, doesn’t life often leave us wanting more? Isn’t closure never quite as we hope it will be?
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the audiobook ARC of this book. All options in this review are my own.
October 21, 2024
This pissed me off
March 30, 2024
Review to come 💙📘!
March 28, 2024
TW: Abuse
Themes:
Latinx
#MeToo
LGBTQ+
Present-past narratives
What beautiful prose. This poetic language flows like water down a stream. The narrator did a beautiful job telling this story. It was a delight to listen to this novel. It was elegant yet complex. The story explores the nuances of a relationship among a young woman and a famous author, and gives you a front seat to the struggles of manipulating and abuse of power. I loved this book, and I will definitely read more from the Ursula Villarreal-Moura. I can’t wait for her next release.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen this beautiful story in exchange for my honest review.
Themes:
Latinx
#MeToo
LGBTQ+
Present-past narratives
What beautiful prose. This poetic language flows like water down a stream. The narrator did a beautiful job telling this story. It was a delight to listen to this novel. It was elegant yet complex. The story explores the nuances of a relationship among a young woman and a famous author, and gives you a front seat to the struggles of manipulating and abuse of power. I loved this book, and I will definitely read more from the Ursula Villarreal-Moura. I can’t wait for her next release.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen this beautiful story in exchange for my honest review.
January 19, 2024
It’s 2015 and Tatum finally feels that after years of her life crumbling, it’s coming together. She’s living in Chile with her partner and working for a museum. She loves her life and she’s free from the famous author she spent so much time with before.
When she gets a call from a US reporter asking for an interview in the face of the meto movement, Tatum’s carefully built walls of past and present begin to crumble. The author has been accused of assault, and the reporter is looking for corroboration. Tatum must determine what she’s going to reveal.
This was an interesting and beautifully written coming of age story. The author writes a very compelling story that kept me captivated and engaged with what was going on. This is a quick read, but not necessarily an easy read as it does deal with some heavy topics such as how those in positions of power can take advantage of those less fortunate. I was glad that Tatum was able to grow up and finally realize what had happened to her and get herself in a better position. That can’t be said for everyone who’s been in her position. The part of this story that fell a little flat for me was the sapphic romance. It felt a little forced and that it was only present to check a box, it was just felt that didn’t belong in this story or it could have been handled differently. I did, however, particularly enjoy how this book was written overall and laid out, the timeline was well done and really built up to the climax of the story.
If you are looking for a wonderful piece of literary fiction with a past and present timeline, then check this one out.
Thank you so much to Celadon Books @celadonbooks and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-arc in exchange honest review.
When she gets a call from a US reporter asking for an interview in the face of the meto movement, Tatum’s carefully built walls of past and present begin to crumble. The author has been accused of assault, and the reporter is looking for corroboration. Tatum must determine what she’s going to reveal.
This was an interesting and beautifully written coming of age story. The author writes a very compelling story that kept me captivated and engaged with what was going on. This is a quick read, but not necessarily an easy read as it does deal with some heavy topics such as how those in positions of power can take advantage of those less fortunate. I was glad that Tatum was able to grow up and finally realize what had happened to her and get herself in a better position. That can’t be said for everyone who’s been in her position. The part of this story that fell a little flat for me was the sapphic romance. It felt a little forced and that it was only present to check a box, it was just felt that didn’t belong in this story or it could have been handled differently. I did, however, particularly enjoy how this book was written overall and laid out, the timeline was well done and really built up to the climax of the story.
If you are looking for a wonderful piece of literary fiction with a past and present timeline, then check this one out.
Thank you so much to Celadon Books @celadonbooks and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-arc in exchange honest review.
July 8, 2024
Yay, another mediocre and slightly pretentious book where the topic interested me, but the execution bored me!! Nothing about Ursula Villareal-Moura’s debut novel is terrible, but I also don’t feel that much of this will be memorable to me in a few years. It’s one of those books where I’d recommend it to you only if the topic is “your thing.” However, if you aren’t deeply fascinated by the power imbalances and quasi-romantic relationships between budding artists and their mentors, I might skip this one. I’d also like to plug Catherine’s fantastic review, which includes books within this category that seem to be better received. I will be looking forward to reading these ones in the future!
Small complaints about lesbian cosplay
I think part of my disappointment was because the present-day scenes served as a frame for the past relationship, instead of a real counterbalance of the story between Tatum and Mateo. Unfortunately for me, the present-day scene is where the sapphic relationship lives—so I was very underwhelmed to focus so little there after it being featured rather prominently in the descriptions of this book.
The main issue: I haven’t read a book this pretentious since Town of Babylon
While reading Like Happiness, I kept being reminded of. my experience with Alejandro Varela’s debut novel. While that book’s condescension mainly comes from the protagonist’s disdain for the “cultureless suburb” he grew up in, this book is a little differently. Tatum thinks she is “better than” all of the other women who came in contact with her problematic author bestie, largely because of her sUpErIoR iNtELLeCt. I do have to give Ursula Villareal-Moura her props in fleshing out Tatum’s character with all the right obnoxious signifiers. Based on my visits to see my girlfriend at Williams and my experiences with her classmates over the years, I think Tatum’s particular brand of “sapiosexual” smugness was on the money. Despite a few pandering comments in her letters to Mateo, readers can clearly tell Tatum believes her liberal arts education and interest in the fine arts should exempt her above the misfortune and mistreatment “lesser” women face. This is shockingly evident in the adult sections of the book, when you would’ve hoped that Tatum would’ve become more compassionate with her age. Instead, she proves herself to be similarly callous as Mateo. Too much bird behavior for me to stomach!!!
I think the real problem is not just that the narrator is pretentious, but that the execution of this pretentiousness is not done well. I came across an interview where Ursula Villareal-Moura states that “Tatum is definitely aroused by the intellectual pursuits of writing and reading. She’s in love with language and her outsized love of books finds her romanticizing writers, too. Ultimately, she finds people she considers intelligent more alluring than physically ‘beautiful’ people. This is an important revelation for her. What she deems sexy relates to the mind.”
Oh, how I wish this actually was the case!!!! It reminded me of this tweet I saw years ago that wished we could see the show Courtney Kemp thinks she made when she’s describing the trainwreck of a show she actually made (Power.) It would have been really enjoyable to read about the version of Tatum that Villareal-Moura describes. Instead, the version I met on the page was a smug asshole who couldn’t make up her mind and was nowhere near as smart as she believed herself to be. Like, you just can’t sell me on the brilliance of a 20-year old woman who was shocked that a known philanderer call was recycling a pet name she thought was JuSt fOr HeR. That is just not a smart person!!! Even more to the point, Tatum is indecisive and just incredibly cruel about the reasons why she was “more valuable” to Mateo than a working-class woman that he assaulted. The reality is that Mateo was terrible to both characters, but that Tatum seemed to accept more of his bad behavior towards other women, because of how is stroked her ego. There is a quote on page 239 that explains this phenomenon perfectly:
I just wanted Tatum, Ursula, and her editor to make up their minds. The waffling did not succeed for me on a narrative level! That interview from earlier, asks “might there be two levels of doubt your novel is working with: First at the level of the “truth” of what happened, and second at the level of how she understands or experiences what happened?” I think this is the case, but unfortunately Villarreal-Moura fumbled these two levels of doubt. I never felt like I could trust the narrator’s understanding and interpretation of what happened, but also felt that I had no other way into understanding the story outside of her mind and my own extrapolations.
I found more in the rabbitholes this book brought up than in the actual book
My final complaint is how unimaginative this book was about the Mateo character. The guy is just so clearly a stand-in for Junot Diaz that I ended up being more interested in the real-life story than the story I was supposed to be reading in the book. I went back to Carmen Maria Machado’s review of This Is How You Lose Her, and was shocked by how relevant her criticism of Yunior was to my criticism of Tatum. Machado notes that “It is with a serial cheater’s signature arrogance that Yunior seems to think that the mere act of being able to articulately and beautifully confess to his crimes constitutes an atonement, and it seems as if Díaz thinks so, too.” This is my exact issue with Tatum, as well—see the quote on page 239.
When Tatum is confessing about how “awful” Mateo was to her and allegedly other women, she does so in a self-congratulatory, contemptuous way that still seeks to show how Tatum is better, smarter, and more of an equal to Mateo than his glossy girlfriends that work in marketing. This confession devoid of any growth or resolve to do better seems very narcissistic—I thought about that note about how many serial killers attend the funerals and vigils for their victims, not because they feel actual remorse, but because it gives them joy to relive their own actions. Tatum isn’t that level of awful, but she does remind me of those couples therapy episodes where people will gleefully describe their cheating escapades or how they hurt their partners. It’s very clear that they still derive joy from the misery they were able to put their spouses through, or the superiority they felt when they were “chosen” above another person for an affair. This sort of behavior never lands well with me on those reality shows, and it did not land well with me in this book! Let’s hope for better next time.
Small complaints about lesbian cosplay
I think part of my disappointment was because the present-day scenes served as a frame for the past relationship, instead of a real counterbalance of the story between Tatum and Mateo. Unfortunately for me, the present-day scene is where the sapphic relationship lives—so I was very underwhelmed to focus so little there after it being featured rather prominently in the descriptions of this book.
The main issue: I haven’t read a book this pretentious since Town of Babylon
While reading Like Happiness, I kept being reminded of. my experience with Alejandro Varela’s debut novel. While that book’s condescension mainly comes from the protagonist’s disdain for the “cultureless suburb” he grew up in, this book is a little differently. Tatum thinks she is “better than” all of the other women who came in contact with her problematic author bestie, largely because of her sUpErIoR iNtELLeCt. I do have to give Ursula Villareal-Moura her props in fleshing out Tatum’s character with all the right obnoxious signifiers. Based on my visits to see my girlfriend at Williams and my experiences with her classmates over the years, I think Tatum’s particular brand of “sapiosexual” smugness was on the money. Despite a few pandering comments in her letters to Mateo, readers can clearly tell Tatum believes her liberal arts education and interest in the fine arts should exempt her above the misfortune and mistreatment “lesser” women face. This is shockingly evident in the adult sections of the book, when you would’ve hoped that Tatum would’ve become more compassionate with her age. Instead, she proves herself to be similarly callous as Mateo. Too much bird behavior for me to stomach!!!
I think the real problem is not just that the narrator is pretentious, but that the execution of this pretentiousness is not done well. I came across an interview where Ursula Villareal-Moura states that “Tatum is definitely aroused by the intellectual pursuits of writing and reading. She’s in love with language and her outsized love of books finds her romanticizing writers, too. Ultimately, she finds people she considers intelligent more alluring than physically ‘beautiful’ people. This is an important revelation for her. What she deems sexy relates to the mind.”
Oh, how I wish this actually was the case!!!! It reminded me of this tweet I saw years ago that wished we could see the show Courtney Kemp thinks she made when she’s describing the trainwreck of a show she actually made (Power.) It would have been really enjoyable to read about the version of Tatum that Villareal-Moura describes. Instead, the version I met on the page was a smug asshole who couldn’t make up her mind and was nowhere near as smart as she believed herself to be. Like, you just can’t sell me on the brilliance of a 20-year old woman who was shocked that a known philanderer call was recycling a pet name she thought was JuSt fOr HeR. That is just not a smart person!!! Even more to the point, Tatum is indecisive and just incredibly cruel about the reasons why she was “more valuable” to Mateo than a working-class woman that he assaulted. The reality is that Mateo was terrible to both characters, but that Tatum seemed to accept more of his bad behavior towards other women, because of how is stroked her ego. There is a quote on page 239 that explains this phenomenon perfectly:
“I’d told Vera I was going to confront Mateo, but as I sat staring at the blank screen, the task felt overwhelming….Was my aim to tell Mateo how horrible he’d been? Or was it to tell him that he’d been important to me?”
I just wanted Tatum, Ursula, and her editor to make up their minds. The waffling did not succeed for me on a narrative level! That interview from earlier, asks “might there be two levels of doubt your novel is working with: First at the level of the “truth” of what happened, and second at the level of how she understands or experiences what happened?” I think this is the case, but unfortunately Villarreal-Moura fumbled these two levels of doubt. I never felt like I could trust the narrator’s understanding and interpretation of what happened, but also felt that I had no other way into understanding the story outside of her mind and my own extrapolations.
I found more in the rabbitholes this book brought up than in the actual book
My final complaint is how unimaginative this book was about the Mateo character. The guy is just so clearly a stand-in for Junot Diaz that I ended up being more interested in the real-life story than the story I was supposed to be reading in the book. I went back to Carmen Maria Machado’s review of This Is How You Lose Her, and was shocked by how relevant her criticism of Yunior was to my criticism of Tatum. Machado notes that “It is with a serial cheater’s signature arrogance that Yunior seems to think that the mere act of being able to articulately and beautifully confess to his crimes constitutes an atonement, and it seems as if Díaz thinks so, too.” This is my exact issue with Tatum, as well—see the quote on page 239.
When Tatum is confessing about how “awful” Mateo was to her and allegedly other women, she does so in a self-congratulatory, contemptuous way that still seeks to show how Tatum is better, smarter, and more of an equal to Mateo than his glossy girlfriends that work in marketing. This confession devoid of any growth or resolve to do better seems very narcissistic—I thought about that note about how many serial killers attend the funerals and vigils for their victims, not because they feel actual remorse, but because it gives them joy to relive their own actions. Tatum isn’t that level of awful, but she does remind me of those couples therapy episodes where people will gleefully describe their cheating escapades or how they hurt their partners. It’s very clear that they still derive joy from the misery they were able to put their spouses through, or the superiority they felt when they were “chosen” above another person for an affair. This sort of behavior never lands well with me on those reality shows, and it did not land well with me in this book! Let’s hope for better next time.
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