Book Review: There's a Rio Grande in Heaven by Reuben Reyes Jr. (Salvadoran, Speculative Fiction)

Wow! This was a really powerful collection of stories about the migrant experience by a Salvadoran-American writer. The speculative fiction vibes of the stories amplified them even more for me. It was mind-bending and intriguing. I really loved it a lot.

SYNOPSIS:

An electrifying debut story collection about Central American identity that spans past, present, and future worlds to reveal what happens when your life is no longer your own.

An ordinary man wakes one morning to discover he’s a famous reggaetón star. An aging abuela slowly morphs into a marionette puppet. A struggling academic discovers the horrifying cost of becoming a Self-Made Man.

In There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven, Ruben Reyes Jr. conjures strange dreamlike worlds to explore what we would do if we woke up one morning and our lives were unrecognizable. Boundaries between the past, present, and future are blurred. Menacing technology and unchecked bureaucracy cut through everyday life with uncanny dread. The characters, from mango farmers to popstars to ex-guerilla fighters to cyborgs, are forced to make uncomfortable choices—choices that not only mean life or death, but might also allow them to be heard in a world set on silencing the voices of Central Americans.

Blazing with heart, humor, and inimitable style, There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven subverts everything we think we know about migration and its consequences, capturing what it means to take up a new life—whether willfully or forced—with piercing and brilliant clarity. A gifted new storyteller and trailblazing stylist, Reyes not only transports to other worlds but alerts us to the heartache and injustice of our own.

MY THOUGHTS:

This collection started off with a bang. In "Try Again," the third story, a son chooses to install his recently passed father's consciousness into an AI robot in hopes that with this 2nd chance his father would accept his sexuality...🥺

Then, my favorite and what I think is the most incentive of the selection is "Variations on Your Migrant Life". A nod to choose-your-own-adventure stories, it explores all of the many paths migrants can take and various experiences as they fight to get to the US in the hopes of a better life. It was illuminating and really opened my eyes.

I highly recommend this book if you enjoy story collections, speculative fiction, and/or looking to expand your perspective of the migrant experience. 🫶🏾

Order a copy at Tuma's Books and let me know your thoughts when you read it!

Already read this? Which one was your favorite story? ⤵️