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The Consequences: Stories
Shimmering stories set in California’s Central Valley, the first book in a decade from a virtuoso story writer.
“Her immediate concern was money.” So begins the first story in Manuel Muñoz’s dazzling new collection. In it, Delfina has moved from Texas to California’s Central Valley with her husband and small son, and her isolation and desperation force her to take a risk that ends in profound betrayal.
These exquisite stories are mostly set in the 1980s in the small towns that surround Fresno. With an unflinching hand, Muñoz depicts the Mexican and Mexican American farmworkers who put food on our tables but are regularly and ruthlessly rounded up by the migra, as well as the quotidian struggles and immense challenges faced by their families. The messy and sometimes violent realities navigated by his characters—straight and gay, immigrant and American-born, young and old—are tempered by moments of surprising, tender care: Two young women meet on a bus to Los Angeles to retrieve husbands who must find their way back from the border after being deported; a gay couple plans a housewarming party that reveals buried class tensions; a teenage mother slips out to a carnival where she encounters the father of her child; the foreman of a crew of fruit pickers finds a dead body and is subsequently—perhaps literally—haunted.
In The Consequences, obligation can shape, support, and sometimes derail us. It’s a magnificent new book from a gifted writer at the height of his powers.
“Her immediate concern was money.” So begins the first story in Manuel Muñoz’s dazzling new collection. In it, Delfina has moved from Texas to California’s Central Valley with her husband and small son, and her isolation and desperation force her to take a risk that ends in profound betrayal.
These exquisite stories are mostly set in the 1980s in the small towns that surround Fresno. With an unflinching hand, Muñoz depicts the Mexican and Mexican American farmworkers who put food on our tables but are regularly and ruthlessly rounded up by the migra, as well as the quotidian struggles and immense challenges faced by their families. The messy and sometimes violent realities navigated by his characters—straight and gay, immigrant and American-born, young and old—are tempered by moments of surprising, tender care: Two young women meet on a bus to Los Angeles to retrieve husbands who must find their way back from the border after being deported; a gay couple plans a housewarming party that reveals buried class tensions; a teenage mother slips out to a carnival where she encounters the father of her child; the foreman of a crew of fruit pickers finds a dead body and is subsequently—perhaps literally—haunted.
In The Consequences, obligation can shape, support, and sometimes derail us. It’s a magnificent new book from a gifted writer at the height of his powers.
224 pages, Paperback
First published October 18, 2022
About the author
Manuel Muñoz
42 books83 followersManuel Munoz's dazzling collection is set in a Mexican-American neighborhood in central California-a place where misunderstandings and secrets shape people's lives. From a set of triplets with three distinct fates to a father who places his hope-and life savings-in the hands of a faith healer, the characters in these stories cross paths in unexpected ways. As they do, they reveal a community that is both embracing and unforgiving, and they discover a truth about the nature of home: you always live with its history. Munoz is an explosive new talent who joins the ranks of such acclaimed authors as Junot Diaz and Daniel Alarcon.Manuel Muoz is the author of one previous story collection, Zigzagger. Originally from California, he now lives in New York City."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
March 20, 2023
A somber short story collection about Latinx immigrant families in the 1980s living in or near Fresno, California. I thought Manuel Muñoz did a great job of highlighting how forces related to class and poverty, gender, and immigrant status affect his characters’ lives. Unfortunately, for the majority of the stories I found the writing flat and that the characters didn’t pop or come alive from the page, even if their circumstances were compelling. However, I did deeply enjoy the final story in the collection “What Kind of Fool Am I?” about an eldest sister who watches her younger brother engage in self-destructive behaviors and tries to intervene to protect him again and again. This story felt like more in the 4-5 star range for me, and I loved how Muñoz portrayed his protagonist’s struggle and eventual growth in both caring about her brother and recognizing what is best for her, even if what’s best feels hard.
October 16, 2022
A powerful and moving collection of short stories that makes you feel like a fly on the wall into people's lives.
This felt very much like real people with real lives and is so convincing its easy to forget its fiction. This doesn't hide away from topical and difficult issues but tackles them head on and raises questions.
A gripping collection.
This felt very much like real people with real lives and is so convincing its easy to forget its fiction. This doesn't hide away from topical and difficult issues but tackles them head on and raises questions.
A gripping collection.
August 1, 2022
A vibrant collection of stories that paint a picture of 1980s Fresno.
The stories touch upon difficult themes as they explore the characters lives. These span young and old, straight and gay, American born and immigrants.
Family also plays a big part of a number of the stories, showing the love and commitment we have to those family members. Their daily struggles are expertly brought to life as we're transported into these memorable tales.
The stories touch upon difficult themes as they explore the characters lives. These span young and old, straight and gay, American born and immigrants.
Family also plays a big part of a number of the stories, showing the love and commitment we have to those family members. Their daily struggles are expertly brought to life as we're transported into these memorable tales.
September 10, 2022
A huge thank you to Indigo Press for this gorgeous book.
The stories in this short story collection had me smiling, nodding along with how the siblings are and gasping at times with the nod to the violence at the time towards Mexicans, females and gay relationships.
Family is a main point throughout the stories, the love of one and the trouble they can cause.
Hopefully not a spoiler but I loved the mention of earlier characters in the later stories. Showing how they can be connected.
Will definitely read more from Manuel Munoz
The stories in this short story collection had me smiling, nodding along with how the siblings are and gasping at times with the nod to the violence at the time towards Mexicans, females and gay relationships.
Family is a main point throughout the stories, the love of one and the trouble they can cause.
Hopefully not a spoiler but I loved the mention of earlier characters in the later stories. Showing how they can be connected.
Will definitely read more from Manuel Munoz
June 25, 2023
I decided to read this short story collection because it won the 2023 Joyce Carol Oates’ award. I had never read Manuel Munoz’s writing before, but I look forward to reading more of his work because his writing is excellent. He has a subtle way of pulling one into the story slowly but completely.
The best word to describe these stories is melancholy. All of the stories feature Latinos (some born across the border in Mexico/others born in America) and take place in Fresno, California in the 1980’s. There are characters struggling to survive, understand or accept their sexuality, find a place for themselves in their respective families. The family is extremely important in Latino culture and its significance and value is featured over and over again, in each story. Although I describe these stories as melancholy, none of them felt depressing, but rather probing and heartfelt. Beautifully written and quite compelling stories. Highly recommended.
The best word to describe these stories is melancholy. All of the stories feature Latinos (some born across the border in Mexico/others born in America) and take place in Fresno, California in the 1980’s. There are characters struggling to survive, understand or accept their sexuality, find a place for themselves in their respective families. The family is extremely important in Latino culture and its significance and value is featured over and over again, in each story. Although I describe these stories as melancholy, none of them felt depressing, but rather probing and heartfelt. Beautifully written and quite compelling stories. Highly recommended.
July 8, 2023
If you are following my reviews, it will come as no surprise that I read this one as I had the chance to see Manuel Munoz at the 2023 Santa Fe International Literary Festival. I was not familiar with him, and only peripherally aware of this book (it had some buzz in my literary social media circles), but I was excited to see an LGBTQ author at this year's festival. One thing of about attending the festival and then reading the books by the author's I had seen, particularly ones that I was not familiar with before the festival, I have been really struck by how much of the author's personality and temperament come through in their writing. I know this should be no surprise, but spending a weekend listening to a bunch of authors it's something I now kind of notice.
So anyhow, Munoz was quiet, reflective, modest, humble, and charming and that is certainly the tone of this short story collection, primarily taking place in the California's Central Valley - Munoz's early stomping grounds. The stories are often about immigrant farm workers, both "legal" and not, but a theme more of family and relationships and struggles. There are also several stories about Mexican American gay men, which felt like a fresh perspective to me and one that Munoz can speak to. As I said above, they are quiet and reflective -- so there is not a bit or flashy WOW! factor or some shocking twists and turns, but just slices of life -- with the WOW! factor being Munoz's stellar prose and ability to create characters and settings that feel very authentic.
There were some connections/ties between the stories, once I realized so I'm guessing there were probably even more, but that's never my super-strong point/skill in this type of situation. But two stories that are very much connected really was a nice surprise and made me yearn for a full novel telling more of that particular story from its various perspectives.
As is my experience with most short story collections, some work better than others but again there is no denying Munoz's skill and empathy and, once again, I am glad to have "discovered" him at this year's festival.
February 24, 2023
A good bunch o’ short stories — bonus treat that some of them ended up connecting with each other
November 4, 2024
Wow. I was going to give this four stars because a few of the stories were of middling interest to me, but after reading the last story (WOW) I feel totally obligated to give it a 5.
The Consequences is the first short story collection I've finished during my semester-long goal of reading one short story a day, maybe because picking it up always felt the easiest. When I wasn't ready to delve into some heavy American anthology, Muñoz's prose always felt approachable, even if his stories often ended up leaving me feeling sort of weak in the knees. As he writes about queerness and Latinx community in the Southwest, family and obligation, secrets and longing, all of his stories have a sort of quiet, lethal rip current running through them, and I was consistently stunned by his skillful endings.
If you don't want to read the whole collection, I'd recommend "Anyone Can Do It" and "What Kind of Fool Am I?"... "The Reason is Because" if you really want to be amazed.
The Consequences is the first short story collection I've finished during my semester-long goal of reading one short story a day, maybe because picking it up always felt the easiest. When I wasn't ready to delve into some heavy American anthology, Muñoz's prose always felt approachable, even if his stories often ended up leaving me feeling sort of weak in the knees. As he writes about queerness and Latinx community in the Southwest, family and obligation, secrets and longing, all of his stories have a sort of quiet, lethal rip current running through them, and I was consistently stunned by his skillful endings.
If you don't want to read the whole collection, I'd recommend "Anyone Can Do It" and "What Kind of Fool Am I?"... "The Reason is Because" if you really want to be amazed.
March 6, 2023
A very good collection of stories about Latino immigrants and the Latino immigrant experience, with “familiar” ideas in these types of stories like migra vans and working in the fields, as well as more universal and broad reaching experiences in America such as poverty, class, gender and sexuality, loneliness and community, family and what we owe them… each story stands on its own but there were a few overlapping characters which was fun to spot. My favorite stories were What Kind of Fool Am I (about responsible sister Bea caring for her brother Teo/Teddy who we’d met earlier), Anyone Can Do It (about a single mother who is just trying to care for her son in a world that is taking advantage of her), and Susto (which had some Telltale Heart vibes.
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December 13, 2022"The stories in 'The Consequences,' Muñoz’s first book in more than a decade, are hauntingly simple. His language is powerful and layered; it doesn’t perform for readers or try to impress. The pared-down style gracefully highlights the collection’s steady focus on the lives and families of Mexican and Mexican American farmworkers in Central California. In these surprising, vivid stories, worries are deeply felt but not often spoken aloud, and obligation to kin and the need to survive outweigh much else. The disappearance of a husband triggers a dark financial misadventure; a fraught bus ride forges a temporary alliance; a boozy housewarming party unearths pent-up class tensions. Muñoz’s characters narrate their experiences—the constant threat of the 'migra,' the cumulative effects of deportation, the brisk logistics of picking fruit—with a wry candor. 'It’s easy but hard at the same time,' one character tells another about working in the fields. 'Anyone can do it. It’s just that no one really wants to.'"
https://www.theatlantic.com/books/arc...
https://www.theatlantic.com/books/arc...
November 29, 2022
There's so much love and subtlety in these stories. I'm in awe of Muñoz's ability to both simplify and complicate narrative tension all at once.
November 14, 2024
I've never read interconnected short stories before, and the interwoven threads were interesting to follow (or, in my case, mostly to notice after the fact... not sure I caught everything on the first pass, but that could be a consequence of reading this for a class). I loved the first story, and many of its merits—intimate commentary on immigration, familial tensions, and class—rang true for the rest of the collection. I read through a couple of stories without much of an interest in the characters, but for the most part I enjoyed Munoz's writing style and felt the underlying topics were treated with appropriate weight and complexity.
February 1, 2023
I live everything this guy writes!
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August 19, 2024Some of these stories reminded me of my favorite songs, those with lyrics of things I haven’t experienced yet that i turn over in my head.
July 9, 2023
Powerful and at times haunting stories. Munoz' collection is tied together thematically, but has few connections between characters. Each story stands alone with vivid and memorable characters. They are set in the latter part of the twentieth century but the struggles of the main characters are timeless and highly relevant in Today's society.
December 25, 2022
2.5 -Started off quite strongly for me and then started waning..ended up DNF at about 70% mark. Probably won’t buy this one for the shelves but I would recommend others to read it and see what they think!
December 30, 2022
The characters in this book are true and right, the kind of people you know if you've sat on a public bench, watching and listening to the voices around you in central California . There's the woman who takes the last of their money so that she can take the bus to L.A. or San Diego, for example, when her husband doesn't come home from the fields. She knows that, instead of paying his Friday salary, the bosses called La Migra, who take everyone, "legal" or not, to the border. She'll need to bring him back. There's also the girl whose baby has and will change her teenage life, as well as all the lives that she will live forever. There's the boy who knows that he has to get out of the small town, that he's drawn to men, and that, sooner or later, he'll have to have his sister come to rescue him. There's the father who ponders what he must do to be let back in the house, back to his place in the family, and, in the "rehab" center, an unemployed son listens to his grandfather ramble through his memories of the huge grapefruit, the beautiful nectarines, the tomatoes, the peaches, the good, hard muscle work of a lifetime.
These are stunning stories that must be read one at a time, so that they rest in your consciousness before taking up residence in your soul.
These are stunning stories that must be read one at a time, so that they rest in your consciousness before taking up residence in your soul.
March 7, 2023
I thought there was a real variation of stories in this collection; some really good, others not so compelling. I really enjoyed the first story (about the car and the other woman) as well as one about the man who died in the field, and then did not particularly like any of the ones with Teddy- from his lover & from his sister. I think the premise of all the stories was great and the interconnectedness was very fun! But the characters mostly felt pretty flat and didn't quite pop off the page- it felt like they had predictable emotions and often when the big "climaxes" of the stories happened, I was a little less emotionally affected because I didn't see the characters as fully believable. I think in particular the female characters were less well-written/complex. Overall, I'm really glad I read it for the stories and the fun of seeing the stories intertwine, but otherwise, I don't know if I found a ton of inspiration or meaning in the characters themselves.
July 24, 2024
Heartache, longing, obligation.
These are the words that come to mind when I think of these stories.
I’m not the biggest short story fan, but I thought Muñoz was masterful in his writing. The diversity of characters really kept it fresh, despite the characters all having many similarities.
This book will have you grateful for the softness in your life, as there is very little of that in this book.
I take a star away because, as always, I feel like there are too many unanswered questions (for my taste) in a short story collection. Some of these characters and stories were so rich and unfinished, that I think I would have rather seen longer stories about them. But maybe that’s the point of it? Maybe Muñoz was successful in their goals.
I think this book can be for everyone. A special recommendation for my fellow Latines who like stories about family issues and diverse ensemble casts. Also, surprisingly queer.
Alsooo - MAYBE a SPOILER but not really?
… scroll away if you want …
…
…
Last chance
…
I loved that the last story had a crossover with an earlier story. It really drove home the idea that despite their differences, they are unified by different things. It had me wondering if there were other crossovers I missed …
These are the words that come to mind when I think of these stories.
I’m not the biggest short story fan, but I thought Muñoz was masterful in his writing. The diversity of characters really kept it fresh, despite the characters all having many similarities.
This book will have you grateful for the softness in your life, as there is very little of that in this book.
I take a star away because, as always, I feel like there are too many unanswered questions (for my taste) in a short story collection. Some of these characters and stories were so rich and unfinished, that I think I would have rather seen longer stories about them. But maybe that’s the point of it? Maybe Muñoz was successful in their goals.
I think this book can be for everyone. A special recommendation for my fellow Latines who like stories about family issues and diverse ensemble casts. Also, surprisingly queer.
Alsooo - MAYBE a SPOILER but not really?
… scroll away if you want …
…
…
Last chance
…
I loved that the last story had a crossover with an earlier story. It really drove home the idea that despite their differences, they are unified by different things. It had me wondering if there were other crossovers I missed …
January 7, 2023
I like Munoz' writing a lot. His stories have effective detail, a lot of poignancy, and really connect you with the characters' feelings. They are also long enough (14-24 pages) to tell a story in some depth. There are ten stories in this volume, and two pairs have interconnected characters.
However, as opposed to most readers, I liked "The Faith Healer of Olive Street" a bit more than this collection. All the stories involve the Mexican American experience, mostly in and around Fresno, California but also in small town Texas. Two, if I remember correctly, involve white men in gay relationships with a Mexican partner.
While the stories for the most part stay with me (except "Susto" which I think does not work at all),
I did not respond in a strong positive way to any of them. I also found the book a bit depressing, since sadness and/or a lack of fulfillment (familial or amorous) are central to all of the stories. The collection is also devoid of humor.
Munoz is a terrific writer, though, and this is very much worth reading. I will probably read anything I can find that he has written.
However, as opposed to most readers, I liked "The Faith Healer of Olive Street" a bit more than this collection. All the stories involve the Mexican American experience, mostly in and around Fresno, California but also in small town Texas. Two, if I remember correctly, involve white men in gay relationships with a Mexican partner.
While the stories for the most part stay with me (except "Susto" which I think does not work at all),
I did not respond in a strong positive way to any of them. I also found the book a bit depressing, since sadness and/or a lack of fulfillment (familial or amorous) are central to all of the stories. The collection is also devoid of humor.
Munoz is a terrific writer, though, and this is very much worth reading. I will probably read anything I can find that he has written.
November 29, 2023
i think for me, the stories were too… maybe i’d call it detached, tonally? a touch too nihilistic. but … is that a stylistic choice or a cultural truth?
it’s interesting reading second gen stories bc i always imagine there’s a toe-ing of the line between writing for those in the community and those not in the community. it’s hard to put forth a critique when i have no baseline on the experience. i thought of two other books while reading this - “there there” by tommy orange and “afterparties” by anthony veasna so. i went back to read my reviews and with “there there” i marveled at how foreign the experiences described were though they were set so near to where i grew up; with “afterparties” i sensed raw emotion, and felt a connection.
with these stories, i have to admit, i felt neither of those things. even though in many ways they were beautiful and poignant, it was sort of like seeing a row of portraits and thinking “oh i recognize those people” but also “what are those expressions they’re making?” — which felt odd. to recognize the characters, but not the emotions. but again: am i overlooking what’s true?
it’s interesting reading second gen stories bc i always imagine there’s a toe-ing of the line between writing for those in the community and those not in the community. it’s hard to put forth a critique when i have no baseline on the experience. i thought of two other books while reading this - “there there” by tommy orange and “afterparties” by anthony veasna so. i went back to read my reviews and with “there there” i marveled at how foreign the experiences described were though they were set so near to where i grew up; with “afterparties” i sensed raw emotion, and felt a connection.
with these stories, i have to admit, i felt neither of those things. even though in many ways they were beautiful and poignant, it was sort of like seeing a row of portraits and thinking “oh i recognize those people” but also “what are those expressions they’re making?” — which felt odd. to recognize the characters, but not the emotions. but again: am i overlooking what’s true?
May 2, 2024
The Consequences contains 10 short stories, set largely in California, whose families immigrated to the US from Mexico maybe a generation or two ago. Characters are mostly younger people whose concerns about navigating the world are compounded by their relationships with their parents, either of not wanting to disappoint such high hopes, or of trying to escape those hopes.
A few of the stories are interwoven in a way that adds depth and nuance, but others don't need to be (what does it matter that the bartender in "Presumido" is the sister of the woman in "That Pink House at the End of the Street on the Other Side of Town"?). Several of these stories are heart-wrenching, especially the two about Teddy and the opening story, "Anyone Can Do It." The language, largely descriptions of actions or dialogue, is sparse and straight-forward. There was only one moment where the prose caught my attention (moving through the southwest, a character "drove on and the cities drew greater spaces between them"). Overall, The Consequences is a fine collection, which definitely has internal coherence and a unique story to tell, but I am not sure this book will stay with me.
A few of the stories are interwoven in a way that adds depth and nuance, but others don't need to be (what does it matter that the bartender in "Presumido" is the sister of the woman in "That Pink House at the End of the Street on the Other Side of Town"?). Several of these stories are heart-wrenching, especially the two about Teddy and the opening story, "Anyone Can Do It." The language, largely descriptions of actions or dialogue, is sparse and straight-forward. There was only one moment where the prose caught my attention (moving through the southwest, a character "drove on and the cities drew greater spaces between them"). Overall, The Consequences is a fine collection, which definitely has internal coherence and a unique story to tell, but I am not sure this book will stay with me.
December 5, 2024
Every story in this collection about Mexican-Americans, whether newly immigrated or established resident citizens, is strong and memorable. Usually in a collection of short stories, some seem forgettable, added to fill out the book. Not since 'Under the Feet of Jesus' have I read stories that so plainly yet elegantly convey what life is like for migrant agricultural workers -- the sense of vulnerability to merciless la migra, the punishing work, the humanity shared despite a lack of safety, trust, security that at times simply wears out the spirit. Munoz speaks as authentically through his women characters as the men. He has clearly been all eyes and ears, absorbing their sensibility and troubles. And I am left with a sense of concern for what will become of such people under the coming presidential administration, for those without 'papers' and even for those born here. I wish this book could be required reading though I suppose that's a ridiculous wish; it would be among the first censored fatalities in some communities that simply do not want to know or do not care about U.S. immigrants or their descendants.
March 21, 2023
THE CONSEQUENCES by Manuel Muñoz is a collection of loosely interconnected short stories set mostly in Mexican American communities in California’s Central Valley, with ties to Texas. There are stories about farmworkers trying to provide for their children, teenage girls spurned by lovers after bearing their children, gay men navigating power dynamics within their relationship, and the shadow of deportation by la migra.
Muñoz has an understated writing style that doesn’t waste words; he aptly teases out the moments of conflict and decision in relationships, giving these slice of life stories a subtle power. I thought the way that some characters recur in subsequent stories – just as a passing glimpse or a crossed path – was especially well done in this collection, never forced but rather suffusing the narrative with an additional layer of meaning.
Read this one if you liked HOW TO PRONOUNCE KNIFE (Souvankham Thammavongsa), which is also a collection of unassuming stories centered around an immigrant community.
Muñoz has an understated writing style that doesn’t waste words; he aptly teases out the moments of conflict and decision in relationships, giving these slice of life stories a subtle power. I thought the way that some characters recur in subsequent stories – just as a passing glimpse or a crossed path – was especially well done in this collection, never forced but rather suffusing the narrative with an additional layer of meaning.
Read this one if you liked HOW TO PRONOUNCE KNIFE (Souvankham Thammavongsa), which is also a collection of unassuming stories centered around an immigrant community.
March 27, 2023
The short story collection was moved up my to read list when I read that it was a finalist for the Aspen Words Literary Prize, and I really enjoyed it. Manuel Muñoz's collection focuses on the Fresno area of California's Central Valley, known for it's plethora of produce, and seasonal laborers frequently crossing the border from Mexico. I appreciate the diversity of characters- we meet Mexican and American-born individuals, queer and straight, and in a variety of stages of life. As with many short story collections, some were more resonant than others. Two particular stories I enjoyed included highlighting two women (one new, one experienced) riding a bus to Southern California to pick up the men in their lives who had been rounded up by immigration and the final story of the collection about a young woman understanding her younger brother's need to get out of their small town, but he finds himself in challenging situations. I appreciated the diversity of characters highlighted with the overarching location tying them together,
May 13, 2024
A really very good collection of short stories all set around the town of Fresno, and related to characters who are first or second generation Mexican immigrants. Manuel Muñoz does something that I rarely see writers achieve outside of James Baldwin, and that is constructing stories about marginalised identities but where he shows you what it is like to be that person rather than telling you.
There is a big difference between these approaches. Muñoz’s narrative voice allows you to feel the character’s experience pain, desire, grief, and understand how their socially constructed identity shapes those moments, whether that be owing to their class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality or a combination. The narrative invites you to draw you to live as its characters do, and to draw your own conclusions from there about how insidiously inequality and prejudice operates. These stories are subtle yet masterfully use tension to keep you hooked. I particularly enjoyed “Anyone Can Do It”, “The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA” and “Presumido”.
There is a big difference between these approaches. Muñoz’s narrative voice allows you to feel the character’s experience pain, desire, grief, and understand how their socially constructed identity shapes those moments, whether that be owing to their class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality or a combination. The narrative invites you to draw you to live as its characters do, and to draw your own conclusions from there about how insidiously inequality and prejudice operates. These stories are subtle yet masterfully use tension to keep you hooked. I particularly enjoyed “Anyone Can Do It”, “The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA” and “Presumido”.
March 10, 2023
Amazing book! Being from one of those small farm towns around Fresno (Sanger), as soon as I saw that the author and the stories were based around the central valley, I knew I had to read it. I could see every story play out in my own life, seeing friends and family going through every plot line. Driving up and down Jensen, seeing the strawberry rows, oranges, grape vines. Seeing all of the farm workers out in the hot central valley sun, hearing from friends at school about their father being deported again. Friends from school that would end up pregnant at 15, trying to balance school and single parenting, while we saw the baby's father excel in sports and go of to college, leaving them stuck in Sanger till this day. The central valley is like a black hole, once your in it, your stuck in it.
Thank you so much Manuel, you did the central valley justice, with love and compassion in each story. Keep up the great work!
Thank you so much Manuel, you did the central valley justice, with love and compassion in each story. Keep up the great work!
January 26, 2023
The Consequences: Stories was published in the UK in October 2022 by the small, but perfectly formed, Indigo Press. Extremely well reviewed in the US, Muñoz’s collection of short stories concerns Mexican American lives in southern California with their true families south of the border, or Mexicans crossing the border to find work in the US. This is a hard world; the circumstances are usually uncomfortable and the characters resilient, defensive, and put upon. The stories are on the harsh side but very real - California and the south west is certainly not all Palm Springs and Beverly Hills. Muñoz is the first in his family to attend university and he wears his Harvard education lightly with his writing, however the awards that the individual stories have collected along their journey into this admirable but gritty collection reveal a considerable talent.
April 30, 2023
I forget how this book made its way onto my To-Read list, but I’m so glad it did. I’m from a part of California very close to the place where these stories were set, and I am very, very familiar with seeing the names of all of these small farming towns as I drove up and down the 99 or 5 between Northern and Southern California. While I have no firsthand knowledge of the lives of migrant farm workers or of what the experience of being gay in that community might be like, this author did what all great authors do and TOOK ME THERE — to that place where everyone lived in constant vigilance for La Migra and Fresno was the big city and I saw the people who keep California’s agriculture going. The Central Valley of California is assuredly NOT the kind of place most people feel nostalgic for, but I sort of do after reading this.
December 24, 2022
Nice collection focused on the immigrant experience and centered in the US Southwest.
"She had the look of someone who had been asked a lot of questions about work - if she had it, the kind she had, and for how long. If she had the necessary documents, if she understood how she would be paid. And she had the look of someone who knew better than to answer."
On not letting a small problem overwhelm you - "No te ahogas en un vaso de agua" - Don't drown in a glass of water.
On making the break away from home - "The lights came through, shimmered from someplace way out there. I knew there were more lights beyond that, deeper and deeper, and it wasn't but a little while before I gathered my courage and wadded out into them."
"She had the look of someone who had been asked a lot of questions about work - if she had it, the kind she had, and for how long. If she had the necessary documents, if she understood how she would be paid. And she had the look of someone who knew better than to answer."
On not letting a small problem overwhelm you - "No te ahogas en un vaso de agua" - Don't drown in a glass of water.
On making the break away from home - "The lights came through, shimmered from someplace way out there. I knew there were more lights beyond that, deeper and deeper, and it wasn't but a little while before I gathered my courage and wadded out into them."
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