An Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestseller.
New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde brings heartwarming authenticity to the story of two strangers who find that kindness is a powerful antidote to fear. Raymond Jaffe feels like he doesn’t belong. Not with his mother’s new family. Not as a weekend guest with his father and his father’s wife. Not at school, where he’s an … father’s wife. Not at school, where he’s an outcast. After his best friend moves away, Raymond has only two real connections: to the feral cat he’s tamed and to a blind ninety-two-year-old woman in his building who’s introduced herself with a curious question: Have you seen Luis Velez?
Mildred Gutermann, a German Jew who narrowly escaped the Holocaust, has been alone since her caretaker disappeared. She turns to Raymond for help, and as he tries to track Luis down, a deep and unexpected friendship blossoms between the two.
Despondent at the loss of Luis, Mildred isolates herself further from a neighborhood devolving into bigotry and fear. Determined not to let her give up, Raymond helps her see that for every terrible act the world delivers, there is a mirror image of deep kindness, and Mildred helps Raymond see that there’s hope if you have someone to hold on to.
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Loved reading this book! I could see it being made into a movie at some point. The author also wrote “Pay It Forward”
Bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde has crafted yet another novel that is destined to be beloved by readers.
Sixteen-year-old Raymond Jaffe’s only friend, Andre, is moving to California. On their last morning walking to school together, they descend the stairs in the apartment building where Raymond lives with his mother, stern stepfather, and half-sisters to find an old woman standing in the doorway of her apartment. She is calling out, “Hello?” Raymond notices that even though he is standing right in her line of sight, she seems not to see him. When he acknowledges her, she asks, “Do you know Luis Velez?”
When Raymond returns from school that afternoon, the old woman is again (or still?) in the doorway of her apartment, ringing her hands. When Raymond stops to converse with her, she thanks him for stopping, explaining, “Most people don’t stop. Most people hurry by. When I ask a question, they hurry faster. I wonder sometimes why we’re all so afraid of one another. Or . . . actually . . . no, I don’t really wonder. I know why. But I reflect on it. And I think it’s a shame.” Raymond learns that for more than four years Luis Velez has been helping and checking on her at least three times per week. She asks Raymond if perhaps his family might know Luis and after he assures her that he will inquire, she tells him, “You’re a thoughtful young man.” For a moment, Raymond freezes, allowing her words to settle over him and savoring the good feeling they inspire. At that moment, Raymond does not know, of course, that his chance encounters with a ninety-two-year-old blind woman will prove to be a life-altering.
Thus begins a friendship and a journey. Raymond realizes that if Luis has stopped checking on Mildred “Millie” Gutermann, she no longer has anyone helping he. He soon learns that Luis was Milie’s lifeline. He walked her to the bank and grocery shopping, but since it has been seventeen days since he last checked on Millie, her food supply is precariously low. Thus, Raymond accompanies her to the bank and grocery store, in the process learning not just about how someone without sight navigates the world and maintains a living space free from dangerous obstacles. Raymond takes over the role of caregiver. As Raymond and Millie drink tea and get to know each other, and Raymond’s self-perception and outlook begin to change dramatically.
He soon realizes that he is not the same person he was on that fateful morning. And that he must find Luis so that Millie will know exactly why he abandoned her abruptly. There are many individuals named Luis Velez in a large city. Raymond encounters a number of them along the way and makes some new friends in the process. Eventually, he finds his way to the family of the Luis Velez who cared for Millie and learns tragic news. His death effects Millie deeply. She explains that she has known many people who died young, declining to expound further, but wisely tells Raymond, “It would be a filing to recognize that life took Luis away but also brought you to me.” Eventually, as their unusual friendship deepens, Raymond learns about Millie’s past and the impact that survivor’s guilt has had upon her choices and relationships.
Hyde is known for writing stories about the resiliency of the human spirit, as well as the connectedness and sense of community that seems so lacking in America today. Have You Seen Luis Velez? is tender exploration of a most unlikely friendship that transforms two individuals on the opposite spectrum of life. Raymond discovers that helping someone else brings him rewards — improved self-esteem and relationships with the other important people in his life, as well as the ability to recognize when a friendship is no longer healthy because it does not enhance one’s life and it is perfectly acceptable to end it. Millie, the old woman who cannot see, is, ironically, the first person Raymond feels as ever truly seen him, but she helps him understand that perhaps it is he who needs to take a second look at his life and the people in it. And Raymond, through his kindness, brings Millie out of the darkness that has shrouded her life, and helps her to remember that living a long life “is a gift denied to many, and so it comes with a responsibility to make the most of it. At the very least to appreciate it. People gripe about growing older — their aches and pains, how much harder everything is — as if they had forgotten that the alternative is dying young.”
Have You Seen Luis Velez? is also a timely commentary about a modern society in which millions of individuals live in isolation, cut off from each other. Ryan gently illustrates how reaching out to someone in need reaps benefits for both parties, and dispels loneliness and self-recriminations. Ryan’s approach is never heavy-handed and her skillful creation of fully developed, realistic and empathetic characters proves her point gently, eloquently, and with great emotional impact upon her readers.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader’s Copy of the book.
If I still had teenagers in my home, this would be a book for them to read and discuss as a family/friends. Interesting storyline and currently important.
A poignant tale of friendship and love.
A beautifully written story of friendship, overcoming loss, and the lessons learned along the way. Catherine Ryan Hyde has a remarkable ability to teach through her books and Have You Seen Luis Velez lives up to that expectation. Life lessons taught to both the young and old that are much needed in today’s society.
A don’t miss book!
Catherine Ryan Hyde is an excellent writer. She knows how to capture the meaning of relationship.
What a wonderful book. I really enjoyed meeting Mrs. G and Raymond. While that may be decades apart in age, their Hart’s meet in the middle. I also loved meeting all of the other Luis Velez’s , except the one with onion breath. This will be a book that stays with me a long time. I truly did not want it to end.
A wonderful read about kindness.
Loved this book. It was very thought provoking. I found myself reading so many passages about live and the lessons learned through interaction with others. How each person we come in contact with has the ability to alter how we understand the world around us. Will be recommended it for my book club.
A beautifully written tale of life and friendship, a story that while entertained it taught life lessons and made me ponder current issues from racial profiling to gun violence and the importance of a community that will support each other.
I love how the author often in her stories matches two unlikely people who will find the common ground, while gently teaching the readers the important lesson of not looking at the surface, not judging by the appearance of people, but looking beyond the obvious and behind the walls and categories the society often likes to hide us.
There is so much heart in this story, in the friendship between Raymond Jaffe and Mildred Gutermann, in Raymond’s search for the correct Luis Velez.
I loved how Raymond’s encounters with the different Luis Velez named men affected the people he met and inspired them to do good, be better, spread the love. There is something special about Raymond, the way just his presence, and even more so his attitude and good heart made an impact on his environment. He himself might think he is invisible, unfitting to the norm, to his family, to his school, to his father’s life, but most people he meets he makes a positive impression on.
I cherished the friendship forming between Raymond and Millie, despite their differences or maybe because of them, they have one of those rare yet so precious friendships where people grow and learn from each other in an atmosphere of respect and love. They both have equal value in the relationship, they both learn from each other, and they help the other to find the peace of mind that helps them accept life, themselves, their past, and the possibilities still a front of them.
Ms. Hyde has left me in awe yet another of her books. She has a true gift to take the most sensitive yet topical issues, twine them into a storyline, demonstrating two sides to each matter, making the readers to think, evaluating their own beliefs and habits and culture, while gaining some understanding to both sides of the matter, and maybe learn to make better judgement calls or to see a bit wider horizon.
This is a story for everyone, regardless of age or gender. It touches the hearts and minds of the readers, giving them a raw and real picture of today’s society. It entertains, it teaches valuable lessons, it connects on an emotional and on an intellectual level, it challenges the values, ideas, and the culture we live in while telling a heartfelt tale two people supporting each other through some heartache and loneliness while helping each other to be the best possible version of themselves. Another home run from the author, whose books somehow manage to shatter my mind and heart yet leave me having a better, wider understanding of the world we live in.
A must read
~ Five Spoons!
As with all of Catherine Ryan Hyde’s books, she has chosen to create believable characters facing believable events in life but she makes the story intriguing and emotionally challenging. Two people become unlikely friends and share some of their hidden fears and problems and share ways to face them. Along the way, they meet other people and everyone finds that doing even small things for someone can mean a lot in their individual travails of life.
I love all of Catherine Ryan Hyde books! Everyone of hers are very good!
One of the better books I’ve read in a long while. The characters are wonderful and will thought out, The whole story has a lovely feeling and
Good descriptions and thought provoking ideas/subjects. Inspirational and intriguing.
This was a great story, set in an unusual perspective. I would ready more by this author, as it’s different, in a good way!
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway, and this is my fair and honest review of the book. Wow what a moving book, it was full of heartache, love, angst and so many other emotions. The storyline was so well written, I couldn’t put it down. The concept of the storyline pulled me in and I was touched by the emotion that Raymond showed his elderly neighbor. This was my first book by this author but I certainly will be reading more. I would recommend this book to anyone.
I always like this authors books . A great story teller with wonderful characters , and this book is no exception .
This book was one that really made me stop and think about how I develop impressions of people I see as I go about my normal day. Do I make racial judgments based on the color of someone’s skin? Do I feel that other people make judgments about me…based on my physical characteristics, my religious beliefs, etc.?
Raymond Jaffe is an amazing young man. His maturity is impressive; his willingness to tackle a project on behalf of one of his neighbor’s is admirable. If there were more people like Raymond in the world today, we would be in a much better place.
I fell in love with Mildred Guterman. She had a wonderful way of looking at life and the things that go on around her. She is one tough cookie and is a good influence on Raymond.
The author does a wonderful job of bringing you into the story and making you care about so many of the characters as you turn the pages and get sucked into the search for Luis Velez. What a wonderful story!
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I think this is her best book yet! Absolutely love this author! Couldn’t put it down. Thank you!
A beautiful story that will touch your heart and start you thinking about how you might help make someone else’s life better. It brings out the tragic consequences of judging others by their looks. Best book I have read in a long time. It deserves to be #1 on the best sellers list for 2019!
Hey I loved this story! If was inspiring and hopeful..
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!
Faith in humanity is restored in this book.