A “sparkling account” (Publishers Weekly) of the uproarious adventures that befall the Palacio family during their disastrous illegal residence in Trinidad that poignantly captures the complexities of dysfunctional families and passionate (but sometimes messy) romance. After fleeing crumbling, volatile Venezuela, Yola Palacio wants nothing more than to settle into a peaceful new life in Trinidad … peaceful new life in Trinidad with her family. And who cares if they’re there illegally–aren’t most of the people on the island? But life for the Palacios is far from quiet–and when Yola’s Aunt Celia dies, the family once again finds their lives turned upside down. For Celia had been keeping a very big secret–she owed a LOT of money to a local criminal named Ugly. And without the funds to pay him off, Ugly has the entire family do his bidding until Celia’s debt is settled. What Ugly says, the Palacios do, otherwise the consequences are too dreadful to imagine.
To say that the year that follows is tumultuous for the Palacios is an understatement. But in the midst of the turmoil appears Roman–Ugly’s distractingly gorgeous right-hand man. And although she knows it’s terrible and quite possibly dangerous, Yola just can’t help but give in to the attraction. Where, though, do Roman’s loyalties lie? And could this wildly inappropriate romance just be the antidote to a terrible year of Ugly?
Combining the spark of Imbolo Mbue with the irresistible wit of Maria Semple, One Year of Ugly is “a delightfully fun, enormously fresh debut” (Bookreporter) that brilliantly explores cross-cultural struggles and assimilation from a unique immigrant perspective and introduces us to an extraordinary new voice in contemporary fiction.
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When her aunt dies and leaves a secret debt to a crime boss, Yola Palacio and her close-knit, dysfunctional family are thrust into the middle of a crime ring in Trinidad, involving them in one adventure after another. I loved this fast-paced comedic novel and appreciated how it tackled issues like exploitation and exile, leaving me filled with hope. Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Caroline Mackenzie’s offbeat debut novel certainly is unique and I felt that the dark humor was polarizing and many had strong feelings in reading this book.
Mackenzie certainly addressed the issue and plight of the global refugee crisis, illegal immigration and family drama in a way injecting humor throughout. How the family tried to survive and the characters in this story are over the top made for quite the interesting read. There may be some issues mentioned in the book about transphobia, fat shaming and many examples of stereo types that made me squirm in the story that will be difficult for many to get past.
Overall, despite the issues I did enjoy this read as I enjoy reading about books set in other countries and learning about different cultures.
Wow! I loved learning about Yola, her recently deceased Aunt Celia, and the rest of her middle-class family as they are living illegally in Trinidad. When they are suddenly thrust into Ugly’s criminal underworld, Yola’s dark humor and sarcasm provide a bit of levity to the serious situation of illegal immigrants in Trinidad (and everywhere) and what these families must endure in order to have a worthwhile life. And, can I just say Aunt Milagros… what a dark horse she is!!
The romance between Yola and Roman was wonderful and I really hope to see a future book featuring these two. Looking forward to reading more stories from this writer.
I received an ARC of the book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
ONLY A TRINIDAD writer could have written this book. Trinidad, with its rich melting pot. We aren’t just a country but a tapestry, woven from Africa, India, Europe, Asia, and more. In some respects, we perfectly embody the idea of multi-culturalism. Here is a country where one day is Divali, another Emancipation Day, where Christian holidays sit side by side with Orisha, where First Peoples are acknowledged over figures like Columbus. Obviously this can sometimes feel like both a blessing and a curse and there are issues still to be reckoned with as has been made clear by events here over the last few weeks. And still, the dream of the rainbow nation persists, survives, inspires, and enfolds us. All of us.
“There are constant opportunities for the clash of conflicting traditions and ways of life, for endless permutations and combinations of race hatreds and contempts, of envies and sycophancies, of bullyings and inferiority complexes and pathetically swaggering over-compensations,” the novelist Aldous Huxley (yes, of Brave New World fame) once said of this book’s setting. “Even in an unmixed, European population, snobbery ranks among the strongest of the passions and the most powerful of motives. Imagine then its power in a black, white, yellow, and tan town, like Port-of-Spain. The island’s mixed population is a magnificent free gift to any Trinidadian novelist.”
This is a book born out of such dynamics, the writing is backed by the sheer power of Trinidad’s cultural melange and its multiple crossings; a society in which Venezuelan migration is, in fact, not new. Indeed, historically, Venezuela has literally been tied to Trinidad’s DNA for centuries and the flow between both places has been two-way. The very notion of “Trinidadiannes” encompasses the fact that we have, to some extent, a shared heritage with the South American mainland. And it’s not just the settlement of estates centures ago, the shared colonial history under Spain or the pastelles and parang music. It’s the movement of people across the Gulf of Paria and in our literature. The middle name of Simon Bolivar, the great Venezuelan liberator, was Trinidad.
This amazing book, therefore, is the latest in a long line of tidalectic art between both places. It is also the finely-wrought product of a Trinidadian sensibility, one which regards the fact of diverse people standing side by side as simply part of our shared destiny. Love it.
A really interesting story that explores so many current issues. Immigration, family, loyalty, love, death, familial obligations are just a few issues . Yolas family has fled Venezuela for what they all hope is going to be a quiet peaceful life in Trinidad. Then her Aunt Celia dies and it all hits the fan. Secrets unearthed, a crazy criminal threatening them unless they repay their aunts debt, being forced into very difficult situation as they are trying to stay alive, fulfill obligations all with love, humor, honesty and a lot of well written craziness. Such a wonderful look into their lives and journey.
This book is laugh out loud, tears streaming down your face, hella hilarious. There are so many quotable moments I highlighted like I was studying for an exam I couldn’t fail. The author does such a magnificent job at looking at this families immigration journey. Yola is magnificent in her journey to emulate her aunt Celia and discover who she is as a person. Even though darkness hovers over them throughout the entire book they find ways to shine light in their life. Roman is a mixture of contradictions that confounds the family but eventually redeems himself in a big way. There is romance throughout the book despite everything else that is taking place because real life still happens. This is an awesome piece of writing.