Review of THE AFTERLIFE

Soto, Gary. 2003. THE AFTERLIFE. New York: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 0152047743.

PLOT SUMMARY
Chuy, a senior at East Fresno High, is brutally murdered in a nightclub restroom after making the mistake of complimenting a man on his shoes. Released from his earthly bonds, Chuy is free to roam the city as an invisible ghost and quietly observe his surroundings. During his lonely journey, Chuy says goodbye to family and friends and comes to realize how much they care for him and the impact he has on his loved ones. Chuy also accomplishes several of his life dreams on the way to “the afterlife.”

CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)
Gary Soto draws upon his experiences growing up in Fresno, California when creating believable settings and characters for his stories. Chuy is a realistically portrayed Hispanic teenager struggling to understand his role and path in life, even after his death. The fact that Chuy is a ghost from the opening pages of the story does not detract from the authentic feel of Fresno and its populace that Soto shares with the reader.

The author’s depiction of the characters’ personalities and physical traits is especially strong. Chuy comes across as a likeable, average teenage boy trying not to get into trouble with his parents and hopefully find a girlfriend. In typical adolescent fashion, Chuy describes the importance of proper grooming and entertaining behavior when trying to impress girls, especially since he has a “papa” nose. Refreshingly, Chuy greatly values his Mexican heritage and mentions that he finds another ghost more attractive when he realizes her face is also Mexican. His family and friends each play a different, but important, role in Chuy’s life and death. Overcome with grief, Chuy’s mama tries to convince his “primo” Eddie to hunt down the man that killed her son even as she plans his funeral Mass, while his father and “carnal” Angel take a more stoic stand. Even the boy’s murderer is realistically described as a squinty-eyed coward with blood on his hands. Soto takes great care to create authentic characters that represent both the strengths and weaknesses of all people, but in particular the Hispanic culture in Fresno.

Soto’s characters often use code switching in their dialogue. Family endearments, character descriptions, food, and common phrases are often spoken in Spanish. Soto tends to include Spanish in his dialogue and use the narration for both literal and contextual translation. The result is a natural, authentic language that flows well and represents the characters’ Hispanic culture. The glossary at the end of the book is a helpful tool for monolingual English speakers, as some of the terms are unfamiliar.

Even though Chuy spends a great deal of time randomly blowing in the wind after his death, the author places him in several different locations throughout the story. Whether Chuy is in his family’s neighborhood, the killer’s rundown alley, or his friend’s prosperous vineyard, Soto describes each place in detail. Stark differences between more wealthy homes and the neglected barrio reveal the wide range of economic status, occupations, and values among the Hispanic community. The scent of food like carne asada, the sounds of domestic life, and the damp chill of October all combine to give the reader a rich view of Chuy’s Fresno environment.

The author’s use of cultural markers creates a believable and authentic story of one teenager’s tragically short life. Soto gives the reader an insider’s glimpse of one view of contemporary Hispanic culture in the United States. While Chuy’s life among his family, friends, and community is fully described, his future is less defined. As Chuy ultimately embraces the afterlife, the reader is left wondering what that really entails.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
Booklist comments, “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.”

School Library Journal writes, “Soto's twist on the emerging subgenre of narratives in the vein of Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones (Little, Brown, 2002) offers a compelling character in the person of 17-year-old Chuy...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.”

Reviews accessed at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0152047743/ref=dp_proddesc_0/002-8536200-8747256?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

CONNECTIONS
Other picture books, novels, and poetry collections written by Gary Soto:
BASEBALL IN APRIL AND OTHER STORIES. ISBN 0152025677
BURIED ONIONS. ISBN 0152062653
CANTO FAMILIAR. ISBN 0152058850
CHATO AND THE PARTY ANIMALS. ISBN 0142400327
CHATO’S KITCHEN. ISBN 1591122082
NEIGHBORHOOD ODES. ISBN 0152053646
PETTY CRIMES. ISBN 0152054375
TAKING SIDES. ISBN 0152046941
THE OLD MAN AND HIS DOOR. ISBN 0698116542
TOO MANY TAMALES. ISBN 0590226509

Submitted by Kim