The Barbarian Nurseries

By: Héctor Tobar

Narrated by: Frankie J. Alvarez

Length: 15 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

The great panoramic social novel that Los Angeles deserves—a 21st-century, West Coast Bonfire of the Vanities by the only writer qualified to capture the city in all its glory and complexity.

With The Barbarian Nurseries, Héctor Tobar gives our most misunderstood metropolis its great contemporary novel, taking us beyond the glimmer of Hollywood and deeper than camera-ready crime stories to reveal Southern California life as it really is, across its vast, sunshiny sprawl of classes, languages, dreams, and ambitions.

Araceli is the live-in maid in the Torres-Thompson household—one of three Mexican employees in a Spanish-style house with lovely views of the Pacific. She has been responsible strictly for the cooking and cleaning, but the recession has hit, and suddenly Araceli is the last Mexican standing—unless you count Scott Torres, though you’d never suspect he was half Mexican but for his last name and an old family photo with central LA in the background. The financial pressure is causing the kind of fights that even Araceli knows the children shouldn’t hear, and then one morning, after a particularly dramatic fight, Araceli wakes to an empty house—except for the two Torres-Thompson boys, little aliens she’s never had to interact with before. Their parents are unreachable, and the only family member she knows of is Señor Torres, the subject of that old family photo. So she does the only thing she can think of and heads to the bus stop to seek out their grandfather. It will be an adventure, she tells the boys. If she only knew.

With a precise eye for the telling detail and an unerring way with character, soaring brilliantly and seamlessly among a panorama of viewpoints, Tobar calls on all of his experience—as a novelist, a father, a journalist, a son of Guatemalan immigrants, and a native Angeleno—to deliver a novel as broad, as essential, as alive as the city itself.

©2011 Héctor Tobar (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“ Los Angeles Times journalist Tobar’s second novel is brimming with interwoven stories that form a vibrant portrait of his hometown of Los Angeles…The result is a marvelous pastiche of social commentary ensconced in a family domestic drama.” ( Booklist, starred review)

Great Reader, Captivating Story

The story took a while to show what direction it was headed, but definitely worth reading. As a California native, the story felt more personal. I also loved the allusions that almost felt like inside jokes to a second generation Mexican American. Would recommend listening.

Very good

What made the experience of listening to The Barbarian Nurseries the most enjoyable?

Once I realized what was going on I really enjoyed this book. It was somewhat confusing in the beginning because it is from the point of view of a Mexican maid who herself is not sure what is going on. I really loved the narrator of this book.

Family drama with new twists.

I try not to retell a story or give any big spoilers. There is more than enough information in the publisher’s summary to get you into this one.

As the characters develop, it is easy to fall into their basic household routine. Of course there are some tensions, but they seem to be under control. Then one decision by one individual destroys the equilibrium. Like dominoes, things seem to fall one at a time and set off the next disruption. As the story proceeds the characters must adapt and, of course, life will never return to its previous status.

This is very well written and narrated. It is believable, cohesive, and well developed. I would not hesitate to purchase another book by this author and/or narrator.

Great story, great narrator

Here is a literary novel that tells a fresh story with wit, honesty and a not-so-subtle social commentary. The story of a Mexican immigrant, the Californian family she's employed by, and one event that changes all their lives, it opened my eyes, made me laugh and left me wanting more -- more stories of Latino immigrants, more Hector Tobar, more Frankie J. Alvarez. It even left me thinking about refreshing my 1-semester's worth of college Spanish.

The narration absolutely requires a Spanish speaker, and hearing the words trill off the tongue of Alvarez was wonderful. Hector Tobar is skilled at straddling the cultures of both North and Latin America, showing us their similarities and differences, and the uneasy and inspiring ways they come together.

Above all, it's just a good story that moved well -- never overly expository, never preachy, and never predictable. Buy it and you'll be entertained, and you might even learn something, too.

Loved the book in both print and audio

The production was really well done. The preformer perfectly read the mixture of both English and Spanish in the novel that really elevates the authors great writing style

Hector Tobar Joins the Long Line of American Liter

Would you listen to The Barbarian Nurseries again? Why?

It is that rare convergence of talents from both writer and narrator that provides an experience that is greater than the sum of their combined efforts. Certainly Hector Tobar and Frankie J Alvarez have collaborated in producing something this delightful, thought provoking, and emotionally satisfying. Mr. Alvarez’s mastery of both the English and Spanish languages plays a large part in his bringing the author’s character’s voices to life.

That being said, Hector Tobar’s writing alone is more than sufficient to make this one of the best books I’ve read in some time. Through a third person narrator’s voice the author is able to bring the authenticity of his characters’ experiences vividly and forcefully to life. He does this by expertly describing all the components of the novel, other characters, events, settings, etc. By focusing his depictions of these elements and their individual and combined impacts on the five central characters of this story, he matches the power of the first person accounts of some more renowned literary characters.

I don’t believe it is too much to say that Araceli Ramirez will take her place in the pantheon of American literary protagonists, with Huckleberry Finn and Holden Caulfield. But unlike these two who are primarily alone in the center of their stories, Araceli shares the spotlight with the four members her employer family, the Torres-Thompsons.

We are shown through the eyes and emotions of these five characters, the on-going and stratified assimilation of the Mexican migration across the border into American society. With an impressive economy of words Mr. Tobar paints a lavish portrait with broad strokes that imparts a view of the macro impact of this migration on the extant Anglo culture. In the details, he focuses the reader on the impact to individual lives of the everyday events that make up the broader view.

He lets us feel and see a side of Los Angeles through the eyes of eleven-year-old boy with so much credibility that the commuter train ride from the Laguna Niguel station to Union Station will become the Southern California literary tourists’ equivalent to visiting Cannery Row in the Bay Area or standing under the clock in Grand Central Station in New York. The author sets the events of “Barbarian Nurseries” into the Southern California mixture of life styles, economic stratifications, and geographic environs with an authenticity Southern Californians will immediately recognize and others will understand.

The author’s ability to convey understanding is nowhere more apparent than in the ways he uses this story to convey an appreciation of the incentives, beyond economic opportunity, that fuel the migration. He enables us to imagine moving to a society where there exists a law enforcement apparatus that is flawed, but basically honest and transparent; where a judiciary is empowered to free citizens from government oppression; where educational opportunities are not emasculated by corruption; where society has martialed its resources to bring emergency medical response teams rapidly to everyone in need. Mr. Tobar does all this and more by showing us our country through the eyes and emotions of his characters. You will be immersed in their reality.

Thought-provoking story, memorable protagonist

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I have, especially to my sister-in-law and daughter who, like me, loved "Tortilla Curtain" by T.C. Boyle. It's a different writing style, with somewhat less "pathos", but just as powerful.

What did you like best about this story?

I think that I didn't realize Arecelli was going to be so central when I started, but her character development was wonderful and she grew to be one of my most memorable recent characters. The lack of understanding, and misunderstanding, between cultures really stood out and will change the way I look at "the other".

What about Frankie J. Alvarez’s performance did you like?

Just very well done.

If you could take any character from The Barbarian Nurseries out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I don't think I'd be ready for dinner with any of them, although I basically liked all of the main characters. Another great aspect of this story was that none of the main characters were "bad people" or unlikeable people.

Spying on Suburbia

Where does The Barbarian Nurseries rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

On a scale of 1-10 it ranks about an 8. The story was never dull, the sentences and descriptions flowed smoothly. There were interesting "hooks" from one chapter to the next.

What other book might you compare The Barbarian Nurseries to and why?

Nothing comes to mind.

What does Frankie J. Alvarez bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator had the perfect tone for this book.

Who was the most memorable character of The Barbarian Nurseries and why?

All the characters are well-developed and the reader is immersed in the characters' situations. I had strong feelings about the major characters, but I rooted for Araceli. Maureen and Scott were just pathetic and I felt sorry for the kids.

Any additional comments?

The story was believable and a good snapshot of what probably goes on behind the doors of the newly rich and the struggles of a mismatched couple.

Just Ok!

This book and the author were completely new to me before I went to the SCIBA (Southern California Independent Booksellers Association) dinner two years ago. And that night just happened to be the night Héctor Tobar won the 2012 California Book Award gold medal for fiction. So of course I just had to get a signed copy for my collection.
This is a modern novel centered around the Torres-Thompson family. This very well off family has two sons, a great view and three Mexican employees. When the family fiances begin to decline changes are made and that is when the drama begins. This story is set in the upscale city of Orange County but soon becomes a journey through the streets of Los Angeles.
For me the beginning of this book was so slow I had to think about completing it or just adding it to my DNF pile. The family is built of some really non interesting people who only think about race. Race is the main topic and only thing everyone talks about. The White family talks about their Mexican housekeepers strangeness (she is just an artist) and the Mexican housekeeper talks about the odd parenting skills the White family has. They do and to be honest it is not unusual. There are way to many hands-off parents today but that is another discussion all together.
I thought this book had a great story to tell and had an interesting voice in the race discussion between Mexican employees and their White employers. I just didn't like the shallowness of the characters. It seemed to me not one single adult had any kind of connection to another character. The parents up and left their kids without really being concerned about them. The housekeeper was not into taking care of any kids (hers or otherwise). No one in the book had any kind of real relationship with a spouse, friend or family member. No one. It just made the book feel kinda sterile for me and that is not good. I was so hoping for something deeper.
Without spoiling anything for you, there is a relationship in the end. It's a budding new one and I think it is not about the people but more about the destination.

What a perfect audible book!

The story, the characters, (including the overall geographic character, L.A. County), and the issues are all important enough to engage your mind as well as your emotions. It's a funny satire, but unusually for that genre, it is warm and real and sympathetic. The performance by Frankie J. Alvarez was terrific. The book is written in English, but with a lot of Spanish, not all of it translated in the text. Nevertheless, Alverez is such a good voice actor that he communicates very well even if you don't understand and Spanish. I will look for him again the next time I'm looking for another Audible book.