Afterlife by Julia Alvarez

Source of book: Audiobook from the library

 

I had previously listened to another of Alvarez’ books several years ago, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, which is somewhat autobiographical. I suspect that Afterlife, with its quartet of sisters - Antonia (the narrator), Izzy, Mona, and Tilly - also contains autobiographical elements, although the plot itself is probably entirely fictional. 

 

There are actually two plots in the book which are interwoven. The first is the disappearance of Izzy after what appears to be a mental health break. The second is an immigration drama involving Mario, an undocumented immigrant who works for Antonia’s neighbor Roger, who is like so many MAGA farmers where I live, simultaneously anti-immigrant racist and dependent on undocumented immigrants for his business survival. 

 

Undergirding all of this is Antonia’s grief at the sudden death of her beloved husband, Sam, of an aneurysm. He was many things to her - beloved husband of course - but also the bleeding heart of their marriage, a link to white American culture, a connection to the volunteer groups they participated in together, and more. He is present throughout the book, as he continues to live in Antonia’s head. 

 

The first plot involves a certain amount of familial frustration. The four sisters are simultaneously close knit and also capable of driving each other crazy. Izzy is the oldest, worked as a mental health professional, yet has, for some reason, let her impulsiveness lead to a near-complete break from reality. 

 

When she fails to show up to a gathering, after calling and saying she was on her way, it sparks a weeks-long search. And when she does show up, it triggers even more catastrophic results. I won’t say more than that, but a potential trigger warning for mental health issues. 

 

The difficulties here are obvious to anyone who has siblings, or family with mental health issues. Which, well, that covers most of us, right? 

 

How do you get an adult to get help when they need it? Particularly when the line between illness and personality are a bit blurred? How do you separate sibling conflict from genuine illness? Can relationships survive changes in the hierarchy and structure? 

 

The second plot is perhaps even more complicated. Mario is barely an adult, but has come to the US to try to better his family - like pretty nearly every immigrant ever. He seeks help from Antonia when his underage girlfriend, who has been trying to join him here, gets held up by the coyote who is smuggling her, in order to extort further money. 

 

When she finally arrives, after a combination of Mario calling on help from his fellow immigrants, and a loan from Antonia, things go badly south. 

 

Estela is clearly very pregnant, and the timing indicates Mario cannot possibly be the father. Oh boy. So, trying to get Estela medical help without getting her deported, talking Mario into at least looking after her even if they do not reconcile, and more take a certain amount of Antonia’s time and energy even as she is trying to locate her sister. 

 

All while processing her own grief. 

 

Alvarez is a good writer, so all this actually stays fairly clear throughout the book. I didn’t have any difficulty following things. And, with the exception of a couple of plot points the felt contrived, the book felt quite realistic. 

 

In particular, the emotional landscape of the book, and the way characters reacted to their circumstances, all felt true to life. 

 

Antonia’s ambivalence toward both Estela and Izzy. The complicated sibling web of relationships. Roger’s cognitive dissonance regarding immigrants and latinos. The sheriff’s similar double-mindedness. His love for the street taco vendor competing with his white good-ol-boy-cop tendencies. And his understanding that if he becomes a flunky of federal immigration enforcement, this will cripple his ability to serve his own community well. Mario’s battle between his love for his unfaithful girlfriend and the demands of machismo honor culture. Estela’s ambivalence toward her own child. It’s all there and all real. 

 

I should also mention that there are no true villains in this book (unless you count ghouls like Trump and Stephen Miller, who profit off of stirring up bigotry) – everyone is complicated and has good and bad in them.

 

The book is set in rural Vermont, but so much feels like my own part of California. We too rely on undocumented labor - everyone knows this - but the Republican Party and Trump and his minions have done such a thorough job of stirring up racial hatred that we are drowning in cognitive dissonance. People are still surprised when it is their undocumented employees that are kidnapped and deported. 

 

Overall, I thought this book was good, although it isn’t exactly sunny. It’s also fairly short - not quite a novella, but definitely a short novel. It has more of a true plot arc than How the Garcia Sisters Lost Their Accents as well. 

 

The audiobook was narrated by Alma Cuervo, who did a fine job. Also, the sound levels were good for listening while driving, which isn’t always the case. This book could work either as an audiobook or as a physical copy.