Review: The Afterlife by Gary Soto

       

The Afterlife by Gary Soto

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Soto, Gary. 2003. The Afterlife. New York: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 9780152047740

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

The sequel to Buried Onions, The Afterlife begins with the stabbing death of Chuy in the bathroom of a night club by a teen he calls “Yellow Shoes.” Chuy is now a ghost, and floats around his hometown of Fresno, California aimlessly while attempting to understand what will happen to him now that he is dead. He visits his family, friends, and a girl he liked while alive to witness their grief and anger at his death. Chuy also stumbles upon “Yellow Shoes” a few times, but can only chill the air with his ghostly presence rather than get the revenge he seeks. While roaming the city, Chuy finds a young woman named Crystal who very recently took her own life. Chuy helps her understand her new form and accompanies her on a visit to her old home. Chuy also attempts to save a homeless man’s life and keep his spirit inside his body, but ultimately fails. In repayment for Chuy’s kindness, the homeless man, Robert Montgomery, slips into the body of “Yellow Shoes” with the hope of redeeming him for Chuy’s murder. Eventually, as Chuy’s phantom limbs begin to fade, he and Crystal float away together content to have each other.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Afterlife has some extremely heavy themes that may be disturbing to younger teens. The first chapter contains the death of Chuy in extreme detail, and Crystal’s death from suicide is also explored in graphic terms later in the novel. The aftermath of violent crime and how it affects those left behind is explored with Chuy’s friends and family. Chuy’s mother is determined to find the killer of her child, and gives a family member a gun while begging him to take the law into his own hands.

Soto does not specifically state the time period in which The Afterlife takes place, but his descriptions of Fresno, California make the reader feel as though they were traveling along with Chuy. He is from a poor area of Fresno, with low-cost government housing, drug activity, alcoholics and drug addicts living on the street, and multiple abandoned buildings. Most of the people living in his area of Fresno are either Mexican or Hmong. His father is a blue collar worker at a cement factory and later Chuy reminisces how his father tried to instill a work ethic in him by making him pick grapes at Crystal’s family farm. This is one of the only mentions of Mexican American migrant workers. Other than referring to himself as “ordinary”, Chuy does not describe the other characters in much detail except for when they are grieving. At that point he remarks that “they were ghosts themselves, white in spite of the Mexican-ness.”

The most obvious cultural markers appear when Soto describes Chuy’s family, friends, and the personalities of the characters. The importance of a strong male presence in a Hispanic family is emphasized on one occasion, as Chuy follows police officers to the scene of a domestic argument. He comments on the weakness of a husband making a scene and harming his wife in front of their children. Chuy’s funeral is a major event, due to his family’s Catholic background. Cars are an important part of the Hispanic culture, as seen in the way Chuy’s Uncle Richard cared for his Honda: large speakers, lowered body frame and special clear lights. All aspects of the Hispanic culture in Fresno are referred to naturally, without appearing forced simply to make a culturally diverse novel for teens. When Chuy talks about watching telenovelas, listening to rancheras or eating churros, pan dulce, or menudo, the reader senses the importance of food, music, and television shows in the Hispanic culture.

Chuy engages in code switching constantly throughout the book, using Spanish words, phrases and slang, on occasion providing the English translation but often leaving the reader to understand the words based on the context of the text. This is accomplished in a natural and authentic way, as Chuy refers to his “mami” and “papi”. Soto makes the Spanish words stand out by putting them in italics, but does not over emphasize them in the text, only using them in appropriate instances. He also provides a guide at the end of The Afterlife, with Spanish words and phrases used in the book. The guide provides a glimpse into the world of Hispanic teenagers living in California.

The ending to The Afterlife may leave some readers feeling unsatisfied. While it may be true that not all criminals are caught or get punished for their crimes, there needs to be some sort of resolution to give readers hope.

      4. AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
 Américas Book Award Commendation for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, 2003

Starred review in Booklist: "Soto has remade Our Town into Fresno, California, and he not only paints the scenery brilliantly but also captures the pain that follows an early death. In many ways, this is as much a story about a hardscrabble place as it is about a boy who is murdered. Both pulse with life and will stay in memory.”

Review in School Library Journal: “After a strong start, The Afterlife seems to become a series of brief images that drift off as though in a dream. Soto's simple and poetic language, leavened with Mexican Spanish with such care to context that the appended glossary is scarcely needed, is clear, but Chuy's ultimate destiny isn't.”

5. CONNECTIONS

* Other books by Gary Soto:

Buried Onions. ISBN 9780152062651

Accidental Love. ISBN 9780152061135

Taking Sides. ISBN 9780152046941