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The Barbarian Nurseries A Novel Héctor Tobar Books

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The Barbarian Nurseries A Novel Héctor Tobar Books

Setting is Southern California, Maureen & Scott have 2 sons and a baby girl. They live in a fabulous house, have a live in Mexican housekeeper, Araceli, who has worked for them 4 years, she has kept the house spotless, the laundry done, she cooks, she does the dishes, and she is respectful to her employers, who ask her very little about herself. She is an illegal. Everything is pretty much the same day in and day out, except financially they are not doing so well, and they have their 2 sons in a very expensive private school. Maureen & Scott sort of live in their own little la la land, and when they speak to each other they don't always "listen" to each other, an easy thing to fall into. So after they have a knock down drag out fight one night, and Scott pushes Maureen into the glass coffee table that breaks, he ends up sleeping in his little office in the house to cool down. Maureen is not to happy with him, she grabs baby girl and leaves and goes to a spa for a couple days, which turn into 4. She thinks it will be good for Scott to have to mind his sons for a couple days. Only problem is Scott wakes up and he takes off for a couple days to cool off, thinking Maureen can just " think about it" for a couple days, she will be fine. Neither of them realizes the other has left, and neither of them has said anything about leaving to the housekeeper, who is not hired as a babysitter. Araceli realized the parents are gone and figures they will return in a couple of hours, well after a couple of days she is getting low on food to feed the boys, and neither of her bosses answer their cell phones.....which she has never called them on before. So she takes the boys on the bus in search of their grandfather, and she is not sure where he lives but she has a photo with an address on the house he is standing in front of , 20 years ago. Don't gringo's stay in the same house forever like Mexicans??? How hard can it be to find him???? This is the basis of the story, and I loved it. The overly protected boys have never been away from Orange County before, and what they see in Los Angeles is an eye opener. The book made me laugh, it made me mad, and I loved every word.


Tags : Amazon.com: The Barbarian Nurseries: A Novel (9780374108991): Héctor Tobar: Books,Héctor Tobar,The Barbarian Nurseries: A Novel,Farrar, Straus and Giroux,0374108994,Cultural Heritage,California, Southern;Fiction.,Southern California;Fiction.,Women household employees;Fiction.,California,California, Southern,FICTION Cultural Heritage,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction Literary,Fiction-Coming of Age,Fiction-Literary,GENERAL,General Adult,HISPANIC AMERICAN NOVEL AND SHORT STORY,Hispanic & Latino,Literary,Southern California,United States,Women household employees

The Barbarian Nurseries A Novel Héctor Tobar Books Reviews

I bought this book because my sister, an avid reader raved about it. Also, I recommended it to my book club,
which will meet, in my absence in two days. I enjoyed the storyline about a techie nouveau rich couple living
a grand lifestyle in the Hollywood Hills. Surrounded by several servants, swimming pool, lucious jungle garden,
This couple are faced with loss of the kind of income that would support such a lifestyle. Each spouse, unable to
face the crisis, runs away not knowing the other ran too. Thus two of the children are left with the last nanny on payroll.
The story goes on about what the nanny does in this situation. I rated the book 4 rather than 5 stars because I felt that
the author gave too much space in the book to extraneous , somewhat boring factual information. I felt the book would have
been much more interesting if he devoted himself to more depth in character development of the husband, wife and nanny.
There are many parts to this complex tale involving an upscale American family and their Hispanic domestic worker. The author spreads out his multi-faceted expertise over the many chapters of this story and manages to emerge with a highly engrossing narrative which pushes his readers to focus on the ongoing illegal immigration problem. Normally, I don't favor novels with a message. I believe they are for entertainment and enlightenment and shouldn't attempt to manipulate public opinion. However, Hector Tobar's talented literary method rises above the manipulation angle with his vivid interplay of activism versus empathy. The heroine domestic worker unwittingly becomes tangled in a web of intrigue -- not because she is guilty of law-breaking, but because she is so determined to do the right thing. Her decisions and actions are flawed by her inability to understand how American people and institutions operate. The clash of cultures is artfully handled. The Hispanic woman's fate is further undermined by her employers' foolish choices and failure to communicate. The characters are fairly well drawn, but most of them are submerged by the events and the story. It's a strange mixture in a novel, but such a compelling read that I ended up enjoying the book thoroughly.
I ordered this book as it was chosen by the San Luis Obispo, CA Library system and a local junior college as the book of the year. This book is at once intelligently written, filled with sarcastic humor, colorful issues of race and class. The differences in class is clear with any household who employs domestic help. The contrast in living conditions between the main character's room and the "main" house is HUGE! It is important to note that the employers are not filled with mal-intent, they clearly believe this is normal behavior. Araceli, the main character, has perhaps more disdain for the American's life style than they have in their perception of Hispanic lifestyle. I had the opportunity to hear the author speak and Tobar was very clear in his conviction that the title refers to both gardening and child-rearing, two jobs commonly filled by Latin American immigrants. Very insightfully written by a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, it is a very provocative novel especially during an election year that is focusing on immigration.
Setting is Southern California, Maureen & Scott have 2 sons and a baby girl. They live in a fabulous house, have a live in Mexican housekeeper, Araceli, who has worked for them 4 years, she has kept the house spotless, the laundry done, she cooks, she does the dishes, and she is respectful to her employers, who ask her very little about herself. She is an illegal. Everything is pretty much the same day in and day out, except financially they are not doing so well, and they have their 2 sons in a very expensive private school. Maureen & Scott sort of live in their own little la la land, and when they speak to each other they don't always "listen" to each other, an easy thing to fall into. So after they have a knock down drag out fight one night, and Scott pushes Maureen into the glass coffee table that breaks, he ends up sleeping in his little office in the house to cool down. Maureen is not to happy with him, she grabs baby girl and leaves and goes to a spa for a couple days, which turn into 4. She thinks it will be good for Scott to have to mind his sons for a couple days. Only problem is Scott wakes up and he takes off for a couple days to cool off, thinking Maureen can just " think about it" for a couple days, she will be fine. Neither of them realizes the other has left, and neither of them has said anything about leaving to the housekeeper, who is not hired as a babysitter. Araceli realized the parents are gone and figures they will return in a couple of hours, well after a couple of days she is getting low on food to feed the boys, and neither of her bosses answer their cell phones.....which she has never called them on before. So she takes the boys on the bus in search of their grandfather, and she is not sure where he lives but she has a photo with an address on the house he is standing in front of , 20 years ago. Don't gringo's stay in the same house forever like Mexicans??? How hard can it be to find him???? This is the basis of the story, and I loved it. The overly protected boys have never been away from Orange County before, and what they see in Los Angeles is an eye opener. The book made me laugh, it made me mad, and I loved every word.