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Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club
Winner of the 2013 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction!
Benjamin Alire Sáenz's stories reveal how all borders—real, imagined, sexual, human, the line between dark and light, addict and straight—entangle those who live on either side. Take, for instance, the Kentucky Club on Avenida Juárez two blocks south of the Rio Grande. It's a touchstone for each of Sáenz's stories. His characters walk by, they might go in for a drink or to score, or they might just stay there for a while and let their story be told. Sáenz knows that the Kentucky Club, like special watering holes in all cities, is the contrary to borders. It welcomes Spanish and English, Mexicans and gringos, poor and rich, gay and straight, drug addicts and drunks, laughter and sadness, and even despair. It's a place of rich history and good drinks and cold beer and a long polished mahogany bar. Some days it smells like piss. "I'm going home to the other side." That's a strange statement, but you hear it all the time at the Kentucky Club.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz is a highly regarded writer of fiction, poetry, and children's literature. Like these stories, his writing crosses borders and lands in our collective psyche. Poets & Writers Magazine named him one of the fifty most inspiring writers in the world. He's been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and PEN Center's prestigious award for young adult fiction. Sáenz is the chair of the creative writing department of University of Texas at El Paso.
Awards:
PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
Lambda Literary Award
Southwest Book Award
Benjamin Alire Sáenz's stories reveal how all borders—real, imagined, sexual, human, the line between dark and light, addict and straight—entangle those who live on either side. Take, for instance, the Kentucky Club on Avenida Juárez two blocks south of the Rio Grande. It's a touchstone for each of Sáenz's stories. His characters walk by, they might go in for a drink or to score, or they might just stay there for a while and let their story be told. Sáenz knows that the Kentucky Club, like special watering holes in all cities, is the contrary to borders. It welcomes Spanish and English, Mexicans and gringos, poor and rich, gay and straight, drug addicts and drunks, laughter and sadness, and even despair. It's a place of rich history and good drinks and cold beer and a long polished mahogany bar. Some days it smells like piss. "I'm going home to the other side." That's a strange statement, but you hear it all the time at the Kentucky Club.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz is a highly regarded writer of fiction, poetry, and children's literature. Like these stories, his writing crosses borders and lands in our collective psyche. Poets & Writers Magazine named him one of the fifty most inspiring writers in the world. He's been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and PEN Center's prestigious award for young adult fiction. Sáenz is the chair of the creative writing department of University of Texas at El Paso.
Awards:
PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
Lambda Literary Award
Southwest Book Award
222 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
80 people are currently reading
4973 people want to read
About the author
Benjamin Alire Sáenz
37 books15.7k followersBenjamin Alire Sáenz (born 16 August 1954) is an award-winning American poet, novelist and writer of children's books.
He was born at Old Picacho, New Mexico, the fourth of seven children, and was raised on a small farm near Mesilla, New Mexico. He graduated from Las Cruces High School in 1972. That fall, he entered St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, Colorado where he received a B.A. degree in Humanities and Philosophy in 1977. He studied Theology at the University of Louvain in Leuven, Belgium from 1977 to 1981. He was a priest for a few years in El Paso, Texas before leaving the order.
In 1985, he returned to school, and studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Texas at El Paso where he earned an M.A. degree in Creative Writing. He then spent a year at the University of Iowa as a PhD student in American Literature. A year later, he was awarded a Wallace E. Stegner fellowship. While at Stanford University under the guidance of Denise Levertov, he completed his first book of poems, Calendar of Dust, which won an American Book Award in 1992. He entered the Ph.D. program at Stanford and continued his studies for two more years. Before completing his Ph.D., he moved back to the border and began teaching at the University of Texas at El Paso in the bilingual MFA program.
His first novel, Carry Me Like Water was a saga that brought together the Victorian novel and the Latin American tradition of magic realism and received much critical attention.
In The Book of What Remains (Copper Canyon Press, 2010), his fifth book of poems, he writes to the core truth of life's ever-shifting memories. Set along the Mexican border, the contrast between the desert's austere beauty and the brutality of border politics mirrors humanity's capacity for both generosity and cruelty.
In 2005, he curated a show of photographs by Julian Cardona.
He continues to teach in the Creative Writing Department at the University of Texas at El Paso.
He was born at Old Picacho, New Mexico, the fourth of seven children, and was raised on a small farm near Mesilla, New Mexico. He graduated from Las Cruces High School in 1972. That fall, he entered St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, Colorado where he received a B.A. degree in Humanities and Philosophy in 1977. He studied Theology at the University of Louvain in Leuven, Belgium from 1977 to 1981. He was a priest for a few years in El Paso, Texas before leaving the order.
In 1985, he returned to school, and studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Texas at El Paso where he earned an M.A. degree in Creative Writing. He then spent a year at the University of Iowa as a PhD student in American Literature. A year later, he was awarded a Wallace E. Stegner fellowship. While at Stanford University under the guidance of Denise Levertov, he completed his first book of poems, Calendar of Dust, which won an American Book Award in 1992. He entered the Ph.D. program at Stanford and continued his studies for two more years. Before completing his Ph.D., he moved back to the border and began teaching at the University of Texas at El Paso in the bilingual MFA program.
His first novel, Carry Me Like Water was a saga that brought together the Victorian novel and the Latin American tradition of magic realism and received much critical attention.
In The Book of What Remains (Copper Canyon Press, 2010), his fifth book of poems, he writes to the core truth of life's ever-shifting memories. Set along the Mexican border, the contrast between the desert's austere beauty and the brutality of border politics mirrors humanity's capacity for both generosity and cruelty.
In 2005, he curated a show of photographs by Julian Cardona.
He continues to teach in the Creative Writing Department at the University of Texas at El Paso.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 387 reviews
February 7, 2013
Amazing. This was a book of seven short stories. It was such an entertaining read that I probably could have read the whole book in a day or two. But each story was so powerful, after each one I just put the book down and thought about it for a while. I read the book over seven days, a story each night.
This book hasn't received many rave reviews, so after each amazing chapter, I found myself contemplating why that was. I decided that perhaps the book was too melodramatic or not subtle enough for some, and indeed, after I finished, I sought out some reviews and that does appear to be the complaint. What can I say? I'm not a big fan of subtle. Life isn't subtle.
Just before Kentucky Club, I read the critics' short-story favorite "Tenth of December" by George Saunders. I gave it four stars. It had some great stories, but a couple of clunkers. "Kentucky Club" had seven great stories, and I dare say all seven hit me in the gut more than "Tenth." Great stuff.
This book hasn't received many rave reviews, so after each amazing chapter, I found myself contemplating why that was. I decided that perhaps the book was too melodramatic or not subtle enough for some, and indeed, after I finished, I sought out some reviews and that does appear to be the complaint. What can I say? I'm not a big fan of subtle. Life isn't subtle.
Just before Kentucky Club, I read the critics' short-story favorite "Tenth of December" by George Saunders. I gave it four stars. It had some great stories, but a couple of clunkers. "Kentucky Club" had seven great stories, and I dare say all seven hit me in the gut more than "Tenth." Great stuff.
August 28, 2021
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4 ½ stars
Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club is heartbreakingly beautiful collection of short stories. These stories have Benjamin Alire Sáenz written all over them: Mexican-American boys and men struggling with their identity (not feeling Mexican or American enough), their sexuality, their self-worth, and who have complex relationships with their parents. There is a focus on the dynamic between fathers—of father-like figures—and sons, on family history, on trauma, on feeling lost and disconnected.
I read a review criticising this collection because the stories aren't varied enough, and I guess that they are narrated by boys and men in similar positions. They are conflicted, hurting, and confused. They have parents who are troubled (by depression, addiction, trauma). Most of the narrators also like thinking of the meaning of words and doing creative things. Yet, in spite of these similarities, these stories never blurred together. But if you do prefer collections that offer a wide-range of different styles and themes, maybe Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club won't appeal to you. I just happen to be the 'right' kind of reader for these stories. Sáenz's subtle yet striking prose always gets to me. I love Sáenz's empathy, the tenderness he shows to his characters, the thoughtfulness he demonstrates in discussing trauma, addiction, and abuse. I also liked the Kentucky Club would pop up in each story as did discussions concerning Juárez.
Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club is a moving collection that will definitely appeal to fans of Sáenz.
Read more reviews on my blog / / / View all my reviews on Goodreads
4 ½ stars
“No one had ever taught me how to love. And perhaps, in that department, I was uneducable.”
Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club is heartbreakingly beautiful collection of short stories. These stories have Benjamin Alire Sáenz written all over them: Mexican-American boys and men struggling with their identity (not feeling Mexican or American enough), their sexuality, their self-worth, and who have complex relationships with their parents. There is a focus on the dynamic between fathers—of father-like figures—and sons, on family history, on trauma, on feeling lost and disconnected.
I read a review criticising this collection because the stories aren't varied enough, and I guess that they are narrated by boys and men in similar positions. They are conflicted, hurting, and confused. They have parents who are troubled (by depression, addiction, trauma). Most of the narrators also like thinking of the meaning of words and doing creative things. Yet, in spite of these similarities, these stories never blurred together. But if you do prefer collections that offer a wide-range of different styles and themes, maybe Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club won't appeal to you. I just happen to be the 'right' kind of reader for these stories. Sáenz's subtle yet striking prose always gets to me. I love Sáenz's empathy, the tenderness he shows to his characters, the thoughtfulness he demonstrates in discussing trauma, addiction, and abuse. I also liked the Kentucky Club would pop up in each story as did discussions concerning Juárez.
Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club is a moving collection that will definitely appeal to fans of Sáenz.
Read more reviews on my blog / / / View all my reviews on Goodreads
November 7, 2016
Historias que te llegan al corazón, personajes con necesidad de buscar y encontrar. Un libro con fragmentos tan reales sobre la vida en la frontera.
August 5, 2013
Individually, the stories are powerful, and excellent. There is so much to love, particularly in The Art of Translation. As a collection, there is simply not enough variety. The narrators of the stories are largely indistinct. Nearly every one has indifferent parents, is mired in self-loathing, and won't let himself be loved. This collection would have benefited from more narrative diversity.
May 8, 2018
More than the Kentucky Club itself (a cool, seedy ‘lil place that welcomes you on your walking voyage into Juarez, Mexico—providing you with the best drunken time you can possibly have, if you are an American 18 year old and you're not afraid to tempt the cops and risk driving drunk) it is the theme of pain which unites all seven stories. The pain is palpable; the resurgent feeling of melancholy drives all other emotion down, down...
This is perhaps the quintessential novel about El Paso, Texas. We should all be pretty grateful to Mr. Saenz.
This is perhaps the quintessential novel about El Paso, Texas. We should all be pretty grateful to Mr. Saenz.
February 5, 2015
“C'è sempre una pistola in giro, anche quando non riesci a vederla. C'è sempre un dito incassato da qualche parte nel tuo cervello, un dito che prude, ansioso di premere il grilletto di quella pistola che è sempre in giro”.
Un ponte separa due opposte città, El Paso e Ciudad de Juarez, tracciando un confine crudele come quello tra la vita e la morte. Due comunità si osservano e si studiano come due irrequieti amanti e le cose diventano interessanti e complesse, non appena in gioco ci sono la bellezza e il desiderio, i sentimenti e la violenza. Con uno stile notturno e fertile, in un vortice di relazioni e incontri, Alire-Sàenz elabora una prosa musicale, determinata e irriverente, accompagnando il lettore in un viaggio poetico e passionale sulla natura umana e i suoi paesaggi psicologici. Ci sono vicende che narrano in profondità l'esistenza di uomini e donne, genitori e figli, fratelli e sorelle: le regole di un padre, l'eccesso di droga, la dipendenza dal sesso, la minaccia dei legami, le trasformazioni dell'amore, la perdita e la morte, l'inganno della storia. Il destino dei personaggi è legato all'incapacità di essere felici e alla loro inesauribile volontà di essere vivi e di amare, fino in fondo e senza condizioni.
Un ponte separa due opposte città, El Paso e Ciudad de Juarez, tracciando un confine crudele come quello tra la vita e la morte. Due comunità si osservano e si studiano come due irrequieti amanti e le cose diventano interessanti e complesse, non appena in gioco ci sono la bellezza e il desiderio, i sentimenti e la violenza. Con uno stile notturno e fertile, in un vortice di relazioni e incontri, Alire-Sàenz elabora una prosa musicale, determinata e irriverente, accompagnando il lettore in un viaggio poetico e passionale sulla natura umana e i suoi paesaggi psicologici. Ci sono vicende che narrano in profondità l'esistenza di uomini e donne, genitori e figli, fratelli e sorelle: le regole di un padre, l'eccesso di droga, la dipendenza dal sesso, la minaccia dei legami, le trasformazioni dell'amore, la perdita e la morte, l'inganno della storia. Il destino dei personaggi è legato all'incapacità di essere felici e alla loro inesauribile volontà di essere vivi e di amare, fino in fondo e senza condizioni.
June 6, 2013
This was an absolutely fantastic (if too short) story collection which captivated me from the very first sentence, moved me, and made me want more from every story. I can easily see why this collection received both the 2013 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction as well as the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction (although not every story is gay-themed).
The Kentucky Club in Juárez, Mexico, just over the U.S. border, is a touchstone in every story. Much like the characters in Saenz's stories, the Kentucky Club caters to both young and old, straight and gay, rich and poor, Mexican and American, and serves as everything from a special rendezvous spot to a pickup joint to a place of distant and pleasant memory.
Overall, the stories in this collection aren't quite happy ones, but they pack a powerful punch, and they're stuck in my head now that I'm finished with them. From the opening story, He Has Gone to Be with the Women, which chronicles the highs and lows of love, to the closing story, The Hurting Game, in which the main character struggles between falling in love and protecting himself from getting hurt, I was mesmerized by Saenz's use of language, the beauty of his narrative, and the memorable characters. Any one of these stories could be a novel on its own, because I so wanted to know what happened to the characters after the stories ended.
With only seven stories, it's difficult to pick favorites. There were stories that moved me a little more than others, but at the end of each, I wondered whether Saenz could top himself. And he often did.
If you're a fan of short stories or just magnificent, emotionally rich writing, definitely pick up Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club. You'll be glad you did, but like me, you'll probably be sad when you're done.
The Kentucky Club in Juárez, Mexico, just over the U.S. border, is a touchstone in every story. Much like the characters in Saenz's stories, the Kentucky Club caters to both young and old, straight and gay, rich and poor, Mexican and American, and serves as everything from a special rendezvous spot to a pickup joint to a place of distant and pleasant memory.
Overall, the stories in this collection aren't quite happy ones, but they pack a powerful punch, and they're stuck in my head now that I'm finished with them. From the opening story, He Has Gone to Be with the Women, which chronicles the highs and lows of love, to the closing story, The Hurting Game, in which the main character struggles between falling in love and protecting himself from getting hurt, I was mesmerized by Saenz's use of language, the beauty of his narrative, and the memorable characters. Any one of these stories could be a novel on its own, because I so wanted to know what happened to the characters after the stories ended.
With only seven stories, it's difficult to pick favorites. There were stories that moved me a little more than others, but at the end of each, I wondered whether Saenz could top himself. And he often did.
If you're a fan of short stories or just magnificent, emotionally rich writing, definitely pick up Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club. You'll be glad you did, but like me, you'll probably be sad when you're done.
May 15, 2021
Da una parte c’è El Paso, Texas (USA), e dall’altra Ciudad Juárez, Messico; in mezzo, un ponte, che unisce due stati e tante storie, tante vite, complicate, destini che si incrociano e scontrano, e passano, si incontrano, ritornano al Kentucky Club. Di questi splendidi racconti, vividi e dolorosi, ho gustato ogni singola parola.
January 2, 2021
3 días y 253 páginas después. El primer libro que leo del autor, y que casi encontré por casualidad.
Un compilado de siete historias medianas, dónde el común denominador es... la desgracia? la frontera? las adicciones? la miseria? la homosexualidad? Yo tampoco lo sé, pero el sabor se siente tan agridulce en todas y cada una de ellas.
Cada cuento es maravilloso y fulminante a su modo, pero: Él se fue a estar con las mujeres, El que pone las reglas, Hermano en otro idioma, son los mejores y pude encontrar un poco (demasiado) de empatía con ellos; esto quiere decir que me encontré yo mismo dentro de ellos.
El tono fronterizo-chicano que se maneja es especial, ya que no cualquier mexicano podría entenderlo, así que yo me basé en otras cosas. A primera instancia pensé que el autor era mexicano, pero pronto me di cuenta que era estadounidense, y esa mezcla de nacionalidades es donde la gran genialidad radica.
Y, sí, todo acaba en el Kentucky Club.
Muy probablemente habrá reseña. Buen libro para comenzar el año, leí un cuento por día, pero al final solo quería leer todos. Bien.
Un compilado de siete historias medianas, dónde el común denominador es... la desgracia? la frontera? las adicciones? la miseria? la homosexualidad? Yo tampoco lo sé, pero el sabor se siente tan agridulce en todas y cada una de ellas.
Cada cuento es maravilloso y fulminante a su modo, pero: Él se fue a estar con las mujeres, El que pone las reglas, Hermano en otro idioma, son los mejores y pude encontrar un poco (demasiado) de empatía con ellos; esto quiere decir que me encontré yo mismo dentro de ellos.
El tono fronterizo-chicano que se maneja es especial, ya que no cualquier mexicano podría entenderlo, así que yo me basé en otras cosas. A primera instancia pensé que el autor era mexicano, pero pronto me di cuenta que era estadounidense, y esa mezcla de nacionalidades es donde la gran genialidad radica.
Y, sí, todo acaba en el Kentucky Club.
Muy probablemente habrá reseña. Buen libro para comenzar el año, leí un cuento por día, pero al final solo quería leer todos. Bien.
January 26, 2016
Seven short stories about stunted boys who have been dealt blows by life's hurting game. Struggling through with different methods and different results. A bit of a melancholic read but the last one gave me hope, hope that after all the struggling, rays of light will shine through.
"Salvation existed in his own broken heart and he'd have to find a way to get at it."
Having just finished watching the series The Bridge set in Juarez/El Paso these short stories added more images about thoses places/people in my mind.
Reading with Maya 22.01.2016
August 27, 2021
io che ho letto 2666 e ossa nel deserto potevo farmi mancare questo libro?
no, e non dovrebbe farselo mancare nessuno.
no, e non dovrebbe farselo mancare nessuno.
February 21, 2016
“Do you know what to do with love, Charlie?”
“Probably not.”
While all stories in this collection affected me emotionally, for me, they didn’t deliver what the blurb promised.
The first two stories stood out (He Has Gone To Be with the Women is a love story between two men - one from El Paso and the other from Juárez; The Art of Translation is about the aftermath of a racist bashing on a young Mexican student). With them I understood the direction this collection was taking, I saw what the conflict was, I saw how easily dreams were killed in the desert.
Then, the next five stories, although with different plots, basically were variations on the theme, as one of the characters put it:
I think it matters very much whether your father loves you or not.
But even while writing this I keep asking myself if this is not an extreme simplification of the meaning of these stories. Because what the author said in this interview:
"We're people who feel and breathe and die and suffer and hope for salvation and yearn for love," he says. "We're not just a newspaper headline."
came through the stories loud and clear. And yet,
So, yes, that repetitiveness took away some of the power the stories could’ve had if read on their own (The Hurting Game a definite stand-out among them) but what I felt lacking the most was a deeper insight into
3.5 stars
BR with Sofia, Jan 2016
June 27, 2021
This author always knows how to tug at my heartstrings.
April 26, 2014
I wanted to carry this book around everywhere I went, not because I wanted to be seen as an intellectual, or deep, and soulful, but just because I wanted to talk about it with everyone I'd come in contact. Then, near the end, there were other stories that made me want to run home and cry because someone found out what I looked like inside. After I've cried down this lump in my throat to the knot in my stomach, I'll have a drink and wish for a cigarette, sorry that I can't walk over the bridge to "my" corner booth at the Kentucky Club.
April 13, 2017
[Ec-ce-zio-na-le]
7 racconti lunghi senza battute d’arresto.
Sembra tutto molto vero, credibile.
Delicato, poetico, commovente.
Parole chiave: dolore // bourbon liscio // genitori crudeli // amore-sesso (soprattutto gay) // droghe // (non) lasciarsi andare // l’idea di confine al suo meglio. [80/100]
7 racconti lunghi senza battute d’arresto.
Sembra tutto molto vero, credibile.
Delicato, poetico, commovente.
Parole chiave: dolore // bourbon liscio // genitori crudeli // amore-sesso (soprattutto gay) // droghe // (non) lasciarsi andare // l’idea di confine al suo meglio. [80/100]
February 3, 2024
"There was never anything to say when it mattered so much to say something."
I’m such a big fan of the way Ben uses words. These short stories were nothing short of heart-breaking and breath-taking, Everything I expect when I open one of his stories.
I’m such a big fan of the way Ben uses words. These short stories were nothing short of heart-breaking and breath-taking, Everything I expect when I open one of his stories.
April 4, 2013
3 1/2 stars.
Emotionally wrenching stories. Some beautiful writing in this collection. My problem here is that virtually every protagonist is an incredibly SLIGHT variation on the writer's Aristotle character from "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe". There's a sameness in their personalities, their speech patterns, their outlooks on life. I don't see a whole lot of range here.
As with the author's YA book mentioned above, the number of times I see "That made me laugh" throughout this book makes me want to scream.
Emotionally wrenching stories. Some beautiful writing in this collection. My problem here is that virtually every protagonist is an incredibly SLIGHT variation on the writer's Aristotle character from "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe". There's a sameness in their personalities, their speech patterns, their outlooks on life. I don't see a whole lot of range here.
As with the author's YA book mentioned above, the number of times I see "That made me laugh" throughout this book makes me want to scream.
June 12, 2019
A lo largo de este libro, seguimos una serie de historias de personas diferentes, con vidas diferentes, pero que eventualmente acuden a este mismo bar en la ciudad de Juárez, en la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos. La primera historia, un romance entre un escritor y un muchacho, me pareció pasional, entrañable y conmovedora. Pero las demás historias... Eran básicamente lo mismo: personajes adolescentes/adultos jóvenes, con identidad mexicana/estadounidense, casi todos homosexuales, con padres problemáticos que los marcan, casi todos abocados a las artes (muchos al arte, así de seco), y principalmente de una situación socio-económica media alta. En un principio las historias me parecieron innovadoras a todo lo que había leído, pues lidian con el asunto de la doble identidad nacional de los protagonistas (así como mayor representación LGBT). Pero al ser todas las historias tan parecidas, pierden fuerza, y en mi mente todas reflejan y son lo mismo.
March 25, 2013
what a phenomenal collection. the stories are tender and wrought but not (often) overly sentimental and full of heart and honesty. they examine and complicate all kinds of borders: the physical borders of countries, borders of sexual identity, and the borders and walls we put up ourselves. they were really fucking sad but so, so beautiful that i couldn't put it down. i thought the use of the kentucky club was almost unnecessary--all the stories would have felt related even if they didn't all stop by the same bar (although in the last story he flips this very idea on its head a bit) and it felt at times like a slightly silly literary ploy, but i forgive this book all its minor flaws for how deeply i loved its characters. in my dream class i would pair this with gloria anzaldua's "borderlands" for an examination of marginalized identities and the ways we all resist and yet are shaped by borders. this was completely deserving of the pen faulker (much like his YA adult deserved the slew of awards it got this year). i want to give it to every open-hearted person i love.
January 9, 2014
I was one of the not so few white El Pasoans fortunate enough to visit the Kentucky Club before the shit started in Juarez. Though I was in my late teens and bent on getting drunk-uninterested in the rich history of some of the establishments in which I found myself drinking-I did recognize the inherent specialness of the Kentucky Club. It seemed to me to have a reverence and mystery about it. A history and knowledge that I was drawn to, even in my ignorant, blissful youth. I insisted my friends and I begin our nights in the Kentucky Club, and sometimes end them there.
Saenz's characters and stories parallel many of my feelings toward that nostalgic eponymous setting. Finding, or losing, their footing down the mysterious avenues of my youth with a kind of graceful reverence. Saenz understands El Paso and is an effortless and masterful writer, though some of his main characters can, at times, bleed into one another. He has, nevertheless, delivered incredibly well-crafted stories of the inherent struggles found and lost with love: of one's self, in romance, and in families.
Saenz's characters and stories parallel many of my feelings toward that nostalgic eponymous setting. Finding, or losing, their footing down the mysterious avenues of my youth with a kind of graceful reverence. Saenz understands El Paso and is an effortless and masterful writer, though some of his main characters can, at times, bleed into one another. He has, nevertheless, delivered incredibly well-crafted stories of the inherent struggles found and lost with love: of one's self, in romance, and in families.
November 3, 2013
Tragic, emotional, compelling, raw and biting. Benjamin Alire Sáenz collection of short stories is stunningly beautiful as it tackles the topic borders, both literal and figurative. The literal border is the U.S. Mexico border with the cities of El Paso and Juarez offering two very different experiences. One of freedom and relative peace and the other of extreme violence and danger. But more importantly the seven stories in the collection explore the difficult borders of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Characters struggle with these issues; sometimes borders and boundaries are very clear and other times the blurred lines lead to extreme sadness, tragedy and rage.
Although some negative reviews call the stories to melodramatic or extreme in emotion, the profound array emotions moves the stories along and keeps the read engaged. This collection is brutal and brave; one of the best books I read in 2013.
Although some negative reviews call the stories to melodramatic or extreme in emotion, the profound array emotions moves the stories along and keeps the read engaged. This collection is brutal and brave; one of the best books I read in 2013.
December 28, 2018
WARNING: SUICIDE ATTEMPT, DRUGS, ATTEMPTED MURDER AND ASSAULT - HATE CRIME
Benjamin Alire Sáenz's stories reveal how all borders—real, imagined, sexual, human, the line between dark and light, addict and straight—entangle those who live on either side. Take, for instance, the Kentucky Club on Avenida Juárez two blocks south of the Rio Grande. It's a touchstone for each of Sáenz's stories. His characters walk by, they might go in for a drink or to score, or they might just stay there for a while and let their story be told. Sáenz knows that the Kentucky Club, like special watering holes in all cities, is the contrary to borders. It welcomes Spanish and English, Mexicans and gringos, poor and rich, gay and straight, drug addicts and drunks, laughter and sadness, and even despair. It's a place of rich history and good drinks and cold beer and a long polished mahogany bar. Some days it smells like piss. "I'm going home to the other side." That's a strange statement, but you hear it all the time at the Kentucky Club.
Dear Benjamin Alire Saenz,
I loved your book "Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe" and started to read this collection of short stories shortly thereafter I finished it. It just so happened that I read three or four of the novelettes/short stories and put it aside. Recently I picked the book up again, reread what I read previously and finished it.
"The slant of morning light made him look like he was about to catch on fire. Every Sunday he was there, a singular, solitary figure—but not sad and not lonely. And not tragic. He became the main character of a story I was writing in my head. Some people are so beautiful that they belong everywhere they go. That was the first sentence of the story. I always noticed what he was reading: Dostoyevsky, Kazantzakis, Faulkner. He was in love with serious literature. And tragedy. Well, he lived on the border. And on the border you could be in love with tragedy without being tragic."
This is how the first novelette "He has gone to be with the women" begins. The blurb talks about Kentucky club being a touchstone for every story and it is true that in every story the characters visit it, but I am not sure about it being an important setting or important "character" in the story. I mean I realize that was an intention, but for me they just as well could have done their talking and drinking anywhere else.
I highly recommend trying the sample of this collection before buying it. I think it is a good idea to try a sample of every book, but the author's writing style is unusual. For me it worked very well, I know the author also writes poetry and I think poetic is a very good way to describe it - short sentences, very clean, very beautiful and song like, but opinions may differ. Here is another excerpt for you to consider also from the first novelette. There are seven of them in this collection.
"The slant of morning light made him look like he was about to catch on fire. Every Sunday he was there, a singular, solitary figure—but not sad and not lonely. And not tragic. He became the main character of a story I was writing in my head. Some people are so beautiful that they belong everywhere they go. That was the first sentence of the story.
I always noticed what he was reading: Dostoyevsky, Kazantzakis, Faulkner. He was in love with serious literature. And tragedy. Well, he lived on the border. And on the border you could be in love with tragedy without being tragic."
The young men who tell us the stories of their lives were very sympathetic narrators - their lives were not very happy though for various reasons. The author shows us a lot of not very caring parents, the narrators' attempts to find love and them being scared of that. The author also shows us what it means to be Mexican and Mexican American - how authentically he shows is not my place to evaluate, but considering that this is author's own heritage, I will defer to his knowledge and experience.
To me the most heart breaking story in the collection was "The art of translation". It deals with the survivor of the xenophobic attack trying to come back to the "land of living" slowly but surely. The most gut kicking moment is that the year is 1985. I could have easily dated it as 2018, sadly.
"Shouldn’t everyone’s scars be silent and hidden? Shouldn’t we all pretend perfection and beauty and the optimism of a perfect day in spring? Why not? This was America, the country of happiness, and we had come from Mexico, the most tragic country in the world. And the only thing me—and those like me—were allowed to feel was gratitude. The boys who had hurt me, they spoke a different language and it was not a language I understood and maybe never would understand."
"I wondered what they felt because all I felt was that I was left for dead on the outskirts of Albuquerque on a warm night when I had stepped out to mail a letter. That was all I was doing, mailing a letter at the post office and then I heard someone yelling names at me and then I was being dragged away and kicked and everything changed. And here I was in a hospital room, not dead, not dead. But I knew that something in me had died. I did not know the name for that something."
Most of the stories were quite dark really, and beautiful at the same time.
As some of the other reviewers already stated the last story "The hurting game" actually gave the most hope to me as well. Which is hopeful in comparison to others, sure, but it is not like we have kittens and unicorns running around at the end.
Since I glanced at other reviews, I also wanted to state what I thought about the criticism I had seen in several reviews. Absolutely I agree that the stories deal with the very similar theme and the narrators deal with the similar pain, but to me it made sense, I really did not think that the author was trying for thematic variety.
Grade: B+
Benjamin Alire Sáenz's stories reveal how all borders—real, imagined, sexual, human, the line between dark and light, addict and straight—entangle those who live on either side. Take, for instance, the Kentucky Club on Avenida Juárez two blocks south of the Rio Grande. It's a touchstone for each of Sáenz's stories. His characters walk by, they might go in for a drink or to score, or they might just stay there for a while and let their story be told. Sáenz knows that the Kentucky Club, like special watering holes in all cities, is the contrary to borders. It welcomes Spanish and English, Mexicans and gringos, poor and rich, gay and straight, drug addicts and drunks, laughter and sadness, and even despair. It's a place of rich history and good drinks and cold beer and a long polished mahogany bar. Some days it smells like piss. "I'm going home to the other side." That's a strange statement, but you hear it all the time at the Kentucky Club.
Dear Benjamin Alire Saenz,
I loved your book "Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe" and started to read this collection of short stories shortly thereafter I finished it. It just so happened that I read three or four of the novelettes/short stories and put it aside. Recently I picked the book up again, reread what I read previously and finished it.
"The slant of morning light made him look like he was about to catch on fire. Every Sunday he was there, a singular, solitary figure—but not sad and not lonely. And not tragic. He became the main character of a story I was writing in my head. Some people are so beautiful that they belong everywhere they go. That was the first sentence of the story. I always noticed what he was reading: Dostoyevsky, Kazantzakis, Faulkner. He was in love with serious literature. And tragedy. Well, he lived on the border. And on the border you could be in love with tragedy without being tragic."
This is how the first novelette "He has gone to be with the women" begins. The blurb talks about Kentucky club being a touchstone for every story and it is true that in every story the characters visit it, but I am not sure about it being an important setting or important "character" in the story. I mean I realize that was an intention, but for me they just as well could have done their talking and drinking anywhere else.
I highly recommend trying the sample of this collection before buying it. I think it is a good idea to try a sample of every book, but the author's writing style is unusual. For me it worked very well, I know the author also writes poetry and I think poetic is a very good way to describe it - short sentences, very clean, very beautiful and song like, but opinions may differ. Here is another excerpt for you to consider also from the first novelette. There are seven of them in this collection.
"The slant of morning light made him look like he was about to catch on fire. Every Sunday he was there, a singular, solitary figure—but not sad and not lonely. And not tragic. He became the main character of a story I was writing in my head. Some people are so beautiful that they belong everywhere they go. That was the first sentence of the story.
I always noticed what he was reading: Dostoyevsky, Kazantzakis, Faulkner. He was in love with serious literature. And tragedy. Well, he lived on the border. And on the border you could be in love with tragedy without being tragic."
The young men who tell us the stories of their lives were very sympathetic narrators - their lives were not very happy though for various reasons. The author shows us a lot of not very caring parents, the narrators' attempts to find love and them being scared of that. The author also shows us what it means to be Mexican and Mexican American - how authentically he shows is not my place to evaluate, but considering that this is author's own heritage, I will defer to his knowledge and experience.
To me the most heart breaking story in the collection was "The art of translation". It deals with the survivor of the xenophobic attack trying to come back to the "land of living" slowly but surely. The most gut kicking moment is that the year is 1985. I could have easily dated it as 2018, sadly.
"Shouldn’t everyone’s scars be silent and hidden? Shouldn’t we all pretend perfection and beauty and the optimism of a perfect day in spring? Why not? This was America, the country of happiness, and we had come from Mexico, the most tragic country in the world. And the only thing me—and those like me—were allowed to feel was gratitude. The boys who had hurt me, they spoke a different language and it was not a language I understood and maybe never would understand."
"I wondered what they felt because all I felt was that I was left for dead on the outskirts of Albuquerque on a warm night when I had stepped out to mail a letter. That was all I was doing, mailing a letter at the post office and then I heard someone yelling names at me and then I was being dragged away and kicked and everything changed. And here I was in a hospital room, not dead, not dead. But I knew that something in me had died. I did not know the name for that something."
Most of the stories were quite dark really, and beautiful at the same time.
As some of the other reviewers already stated the last story "The hurting game" actually gave the most hope to me as well. Which is hopeful in comparison to others, sure, but it is not like we have kittens and unicorns running around at the end.
Since I glanced at other reviews, I also wanted to state what I thought about the criticism I had seen in several reviews. Absolutely I agree that the stories deal with the very similar theme and the narrators deal with the similar pain, but to me it made sense, I really did not think that the author was trying for thematic variety.
Grade: B+
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2016
De verdad que este libro esta lleno de demasiados sentimientos en las 7 diferentes historias el autor Alire Sáenz nos cuenta a través de sus paginas, al igual que con "Aristoteles y Dante" en estos relatos el escritor hace que te enamores de los personajes y que les tengas cierto cariño que al final de verdad que te duele dejarlos atrás, para conocer otra historia diferente; pero esto; se vuelve a repetir y así hasta terminar el libro completo. A estas alturas no puedo decidir cual historia fue la que me tiene mas maravillado porque de verdad que cada una es muy, muy, muy especial y te hace ver las cosas de diferente maneras y te hace llorar, reír, te emociona y todo esto solo puede ser algo tan característico de "Benjamin Alire Sáenz".
August 18, 2017
This was such a delicate book to read. I am usually drawn to deep, powerful, punch in the face kind of writing, but this is the exact opposite of it. This collection of short stories is written with an exacerbated sensitivity. The stories themselves are paperweight, and reading them feels like submerging yourself in water.
You felt its feathery touch, but you are not scarred. Just caressed with unimaginable care and delicacy.
Beautiful.
You felt its feathery touch, but you are not scarred. Just caressed with unimaginable care and delicacy.
Beautiful.
September 7, 2016
Es más un 4.5/5
Las historias son bastante buenas, muy reales. Pero lo único que me disgustaba era que la mayoría de los narradores eran casi lo mismo: desdichados, sin padres amorosos y apasionados por el arte (la pintura). Pero fuera de eso estuvieron buenísimos esos cuentos. Mis favoritos fueron El que pone las reglas; A veces la lluvia; y, Persiguiendo al dragón.
Las historias son bastante buenas, muy reales. Pero lo único que me disgustaba era que la mayoría de los narradores eran casi lo mismo: desdichados, sin padres amorosos y apasionados por el arte (la pintura). Pero fuera de eso estuvieron buenísimos esos cuentos. Mis favoritos fueron El que pone las reglas; A veces la lluvia; y, Persiguiendo al dragón.
April 27, 2021
Como siempre, las historias de Benjamin tienen personajes que están bien jodidos y que, de una u otra manera, te llegan hasta el corazón.
Sin embargo (y a mi gusto), solo tuvo un inicio potente, capaz de atraparme de inmediato. Subsecuentemente, las historias fueron perdiendo su fuerza y al final me tuvo con un sentimiento que se resume en un gran chale. No porque me haya decepcionado, no porque sus personajes e historias no sean reales, ni mucho menos porque lo que pasa en la frontera es todavía peor. Tal vez es porque mi corazón quiere creer en los buenos finales, aun cuando no son tan comunes en la vida real.
Todos los relatos hablan de la identidad propia, del arte, la adicción al sexo, al alcohol o a las drogas; todos nos muestran diferentes caras de la pérdida y la siempre presente herida de los corazones rotos, incompletos. Cómo muchas personas no saben amar y tampoco dejan que otros sean libres de hacerlo. Cómo a veces el dinero te deja todavía más vacío y cómo un simple gesto de compasión lo cambia todo.
A veces lo más valiente que puedes hacer es amarte a ti mismo.
A veces, nadie es tan fuerte como para hacerlo.
Sea cual sea el caso, me sigue gustando mucho su estilo y pese a que no entró a la categoría de mis favoritos, creo que si vale mucho la pena leerlo.
Sin embargo (y a mi gusto), solo tuvo un inicio potente, capaz de atraparme de inmediato. Subsecuentemente, las historias fueron perdiendo su fuerza y al final me tuvo con un sentimiento que se resume en un gran chale. No porque me haya decepcionado, no porque sus personajes e historias no sean reales, ni mucho menos porque lo que pasa en la frontera es todavía peor. Tal vez es porque mi corazón quiere creer en los buenos finales, aun cuando no son tan comunes en la vida real.
Todos los relatos hablan de la identidad propia, del arte, la adicción al sexo, al alcohol o a las drogas; todos nos muestran diferentes caras de la pérdida y la siempre presente herida de los corazones rotos, incompletos. Cómo muchas personas no saben amar y tampoco dejan que otros sean libres de hacerlo. Cómo a veces el dinero te deja todavía más vacío y cómo un simple gesto de compasión lo cambia todo.
A veces lo más valiente que puedes hacer es amarte a ti mismo.
A veces, nadie es tan fuerte como para hacerlo.
Sea cual sea el caso, me sigue gustando mucho su estilo y pese a que no entró a la categoría de mis favoritos, creo que si vale mucho la pena leerlo.
August 27, 2020
Siete relatos que tienen lugar en la frontera entre El Paso y Juárez, y que comparten un escenario el cual es el Kentucky Club.
Este es uno de esos libros que no conocía y llegué sin esperar gran cosa, sin embargo terminó sorprendiéndome por la gran forma de escribir de Benjamin Alire Sáenz, te atrapa desde el inicio y no te suelta hasta qué has terminado todo el libro.
Cada uno de estos relatos logró hacerme sentir un nudo en la garganta, pero mis favoritos son:
- El que pone las reglas
- A veces la lluvia
Excelente experiencia y espero continuar pronto con otros de los libros más populares del autor.
Este es uno de esos libros que no conocía y llegué sin esperar gran cosa, sin embargo terminó sorprendiéndome por la gran forma de escribir de Benjamin Alire Sáenz, te atrapa desde el inicio y no te suelta hasta qué has terminado todo el libro.
Cada uno de estos relatos logró hacerme sentir un nudo en la garganta, pero mis favoritos son:
- El que pone las reglas
- A veces la lluvia
Excelente experiencia y espero continuar pronto con otros de los libros más populares del autor.
Read
October 25, 2018I am in love with Saenz's writing. Let me just put it out there.
I had no idea about the Mexican culture before reading his books. I still can't say I know a lot. I don't. BUT I am intrigued. AND I can't wait to learn more about it. All thanks to this wonderful author.
Jaurez is as much a character in this collection of 7 short stories as any of the humans in it. We are forced to let go of our quick judgement and biases as we get sucked into the underbelly of the city.
There is a lot of melodrama, not at all subtle.
To hell with subtle.
HMMMM ... More on it later.
I had no idea about the Mexican culture before reading his books. I still can't say I know a lot. I don't. BUT I am intrigued. AND I can't wait to learn more about it. All thanks to this wonderful author.
Jaurez is as much a character in this collection of 7 short stories as any of the humans in it. We are forced to let go of our quick judgement and biases as we get sucked into the underbelly of the city.
There is a lot of melodrama, not at all subtle.
To hell with subtle.
HMMMM ... More on it later.
October 16, 2017
3.5
Cuentos magníficos. Mi favorito El que pone las reglas.
Mi único inconveniente es que todos se parecen tanto, que al final se vuelve incluso monótono el compilado.
Cuentos magníficos. Mi favorito El que pone las reglas.
Mi único inconveniente es que todos se parecen tanto, que al final se vuelve incluso monótono el compilado.
July 10, 2021
Vigésimo quinto libro leído en 2021.
Debido a que el libro es una antología de historias cortas, tengo que calificar cada una de las siete que lo conforman (en orden de aparición):
I. Él se fue a estar con las mujeres ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Comenzando bien y rompiéndome el corazón. Dios mío, esta historia me llegó al corazón. Un retrato precioso del amor a las palabras, el amor sin etiquetas, la soledad, la simpleza y que además envuelve temas recurrentes en las demás historias como los feminicidios, crímenes de odio, migración, narcotráfico, abuso de poder por parte de grupos armados y militantes.
II. El arte de la traducción ⭐⭐⭐
Esta segunda parte era la que más prometía según comentarios de lectores y me pareció un tanto decepcionante. Tiene una analogía fuerte, pero no me resultó interesante.
III. El que pone las reglas ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Que preciosa narrativa, de un niño volviéndose hombre. La relación que hay de padre e hijo que no se conocen ni se quieren es de lo más bello que ha retratado Benjamín.
IV. Hermano en otro idioma ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Todavía tengo mis dudas, porque fue disfrutable a su modo pero no tan memorable.
V. A veces la lluvia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Benjamín lo hizo de nuevo. EXIJO que haga una novela entera con esta historia, no puedo describir la belleza de esta prosa narrativa.
VI. Persiguiendo al dragón ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Las narraciones de personas con adicciones no me laten mucho por cuestiones personales, aún así me gusta que se muestre la "salida" de la perdición en casos así.
VII. El juego del dolor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Si el libro empezó tan bien, ¿cómo no iba a acabar igual? No solo cierra la colección de historias con el título del libro, sino que me deja con un agradable sabor de boca al ser este el final feliz que tanto esperaba entra las tragedias de cada página anterior.
En general, muy bello. El choque de culturas méxico-americanas siempre me ha dado curiosidad. El hecho de que sean historias de hombre de diferente clase social, nacionalidad y orientación sexual ayuda mucho a que sea una profunda exploración de las masculinidades durante distintas brechas generacionales.
Debido a que el libro es una antología de historias cortas, tengo que calificar cada una de las siete que lo conforman (en orden de aparición):
I. Él se fue a estar con las mujeres ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Comenzando bien y rompiéndome el corazón. Dios mío, esta historia me llegó al corazón. Un retrato precioso del amor a las palabras, el amor sin etiquetas, la soledad, la simpleza y que además envuelve temas recurrentes en las demás historias como los feminicidios, crímenes de odio, migración, narcotráfico, abuso de poder por parte de grupos armados y militantes.
II. El arte de la traducción ⭐⭐⭐
Esta segunda parte era la que más prometía según comentarios de lectores y me pareció un tanto decepcionante. Tiene una analogía fuerte, pero no me resultó interesante.
III. El que pone las reglas ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Que preciosa narrativa, de un niño volviéndose hombre. La relación que hay de padre e hijo que no se conocen ni se quieren es de lo más bello que ha retratado Benjamín.
IV. Hermano en otro idioma ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Todavía tengo mis dudas, porque fue disfrutable a su modo pero no tan memorable.
V. A veces la lluvia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Benjamín lo hizo de nuevo. EXIJO que haga una novela entera con esta historia, no puedo describir la belleza de esta prosa narrativa.
VI. Persiguiendo al dragón ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Las narraciones de personas con adicciones no me laten mucho por cuestiones personales, aún así me gusta que se muestre la "salida" de la perdición en casos así.
VII. El juego del dolor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Si el libro empezó tan bien, ¿cómo no iba a acabar igual? No solo cierra la colección de historias con el título del libro, sino que me deja con un agradable sabor de boca al ser este el final feliz que tanto esperaba entra las tragedias de cada página anterior.
En general, muy bello. El choque de culturas méxico-americanas siempre me ha dado curiosidad. El hecho de que sean historias de hombre de diferente clase social, nacionalidad y orientación sexual ayuda mucho a que sea una profunda exploración de las masculinidades durante distintas brechas generacionales.
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