He says yes, but ultimately refuses when she inquires about his back; he leaves her place on bad terms. On the morning before a graduation party, Ernesto "Neto" Zaragoza smokes and listen to music at the river before attending the celebration that night. It’s an outlandish assertion, as the other points out: “You think the … [expletive] border doesn’t matter?”. Before going their separate ways, Brian apologizes to Neto about the way he treated him. I am in love with Saenz's writing. I lived in El Paso and, briefly, Juárez in the late 1990s; I spent a lot of good (and often boozy) hours at the Kentucky Club. His language has a precision, poetic and somehow tactical...with full impact even in its spare quality at times. Michael, a high school counselor, and Tom, a criminal attorney begin a relationship. Wednesday–Friday 12:00am–6:00pm Max learns to live with his father who is a drug dealer by making a list of rules, the most important ones being to make straight A's at school and to never enter his father's room; his father is the "rule maker" and he is the "rule follower." When his father takes a several-week-long trip when Max is sixteen, Max is told to research universities that he wants to attend. One of freedom and relative peace and the other of extreme violence and danger. The book won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction in 2013,[3] making Sáenz the first Latino writer ever to win the award,[4] and also won a Lambda Literary Award in the Gay Fiction category at the 2013 Lambda Literary Awards. Here’s what Dallas County suggests for a safe Thanksgiving, El Paso extends closures as COVID-19 deaths continue to soar, After man’s fatal shooting on I-35E, Dallas police raise alarm about ‘brazen’ violence, Dallas’ Robert Jeffress, leading pro-Trump evangelical conservative, calls Biden ‘president-elect’ but says it’s not yet official. they were really fucking sad but so, so beautiful that i couldn't put it down. The Inexplicable Logic of My Life . The media tries to obtain his story but Nick is reclusive; he only goes out of the house for his job as a waiter and to run in the desert. The book compiles seven short stories, all set in the Hispanic/Latino community in El Paso, Texas in the United States and its neighbouring city of Juárez, Chihuahua in Mexico. they examine and complicate all kinds of borders: the physical borders of countries, borders of sexual identity, and the borders and walls we put up ourselves. These stories are connected not only by the Kentucky Club, a touchstone in every story, but by the common theme of borders, real and imagined, and how they affect the lives of those on both sides. This book is heart-achingly beautiful and phenomenally written. Beautifully written stories in a book just nominated for the prestigious PEN/Faulkner prize. Winner of the 2013 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction! they were really fucking sad but so, so beautiful that i couldn't put it down. The writing was so beautifully poetic, it deals with family struggles, religion, being gay/lgbt, finding yourself, and so much more. In fact, with few exceptions, Sáenz’s settings remain as incorporeal as his characters, a shame since there are few places in the world where the human condition is more starkly defined — by the landscape, by the people — than this dusty plain on which sit the cities of Juárez and El Paso, and with which we can be sure Sáenz is more intimately familiar than is evidenced by this book. It seemed to me to have a reverence and mystery about it. Refresh and try again. Meanwhile, El Paso remained one of the safest, and the free pass long enjoyed by gringos was revoked, if not literally then psychologically. Every one of these seven stories were unique in their own way. One day his mother takes him to El Paso and leaves him with his father, who he has never met before. While his parents are out of town attending a funeral, he sees Brian beaten up while driving down Highway 478. Though I was in my late teens and bent on getting drunk-uninterested in the rich history of some of the establishments in which I found myself drinking-I did recognize the inherent specialness of the Kentucky Club. When one of the invitees tries to offer Max drugs, his father beats the man. "He Has Gone to Be With the Women": Juan Carlos, a middle-aged writer from El Paso, Texas, tells the story of his relationship with Javier, a driver from Juarez, Mexico. Juan Carlos, a middle-aged writer from El Paso, Texas, tells the story of his relationship with Javier, a driver from Juarez, Mexico. The day before he is set to drive off to Washington, his father buys him a Prius and takes him to the Kentucky Club. Javier's uncle is suffering from cancer and his death allows both of them to bond, deepening the relationship between Juan Carlos and Javier. At worst, it was a bothersome and porous security apparatus, and Americans especially had a free pass to travel between the two cities and countries. Everything Begins and Ends at The Kentucky Club. This book is heart-achingly beautiful and phenomenally written. Charlie, burdened by the loss of one of the few people who loved him, wanders about and ends up in a jail cell, unaware of how he got there but determined in a manner to never leave. Tom teases Michael about his choice of drink while also praising and encouraging him about his art. Neto forces Brian into his car before helping him at his parents' house; Neto learns that Brian's father is abusive while bandaging him. Red Balloon Bookshop // 651 224 8320 At the party that night, Neto talks to his ex-girlfriend and drinks beer before he overhears Brian and Jorge having sex. Everything begins and ends at the kentucky club. this was completely deserving of the pen faulker (much like his YA adult deserved the slew of awards it got this year). The following version of this book was used to create this guide: Sáenz, Benjamin Alire. During his job, Michael sees Danny, a child who is being severely beaten by his father and attempts to provide an out for him. But more importantly the seven stories in the collection explore the difficult borders of race, class, gender, and. As a collection, there is simply not enough variety. It was super good? The first story defines the sociopolitical reality, marked by the fear of the main character. There are always flaws in books but I personally could not find any flaws except for the fact that every story seemed to have end. Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club is a series of seven short thought provoking stories. As time passes, he applies and is admitted into his top-choice school Georgetown, but his father starts to develop and severe drug addiction and even hosts a party at the house. As a result, Maximiliano spends a lot of time at other people's home, imagining himself in their families. The first story defines the sociopolitical reality, marked by the fear of the main character. This page contains details about the Fiction book Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club by Benjamin Alire Sáenz published in 2012. Topics spanned love, depression, hate crimes, suicide, and so many other things. His father eventually dies from an overdose and Max comes to realize the true depth of his relationship with his father. His father enforces a regimented life on him, having him follow rules while also satisfying any financial needs. WARNING: SUICIDE ATTEMPT, DRUGS, ATTEMPTED MURDER AND ASSAULT - HATE CRIME. It seemed to me to have a reverence and mystery about it. But more importantly the seven stories in the collection explore the difficult borders of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Enticing thoughts. The book compiles seven short stories, all set in the Hispanic/Latino community in El Paso, Texas in the United States and its neighbouring city of Juárez, Chihuahua in Mexico.[1]. During that time, he befriended Brian Stillman a local boy who had been part of the track team with him. Brian and Neto drive around for a few days, getting closer but never in a sexual manner, despite Neto's desire. Sunday 12:00pm–5:00pm, Walk-in Hours Neto attends the University of New Mexico on a scholarship. As Michael … Some time later, it is revealed that Brian lost his life in Vietnam and that he had fallen in love with Neto during their time together. When he is ten, his mother takes him to El Paso to live with his father and disappears from his life. Benjamin Sáenz opens his new short story collection, Everything Begins & Ends at the Kentucky Club, with a tale of two men who meet at a coffee shop and fall in love. They talk and joke about how both of their fathers probably went to the same bad "father school." KENTUCKY CLUB felt too contiguous, one male narrator after the next struggling to let himself be loved and, all of a sudden, crying unconsciously. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Some days it smells like piss. they examine and complicate all kinds of borders: the physical borders of countries, borders of sexual identity, and the borders and walls we put up ourselves. The stories themselves are paperweight, and reading them feels like submerging yourself in water. With Mr. Saenz's u. Bars like the Kentucky Club, a fixture on Juárez's main tourist drag for nine decades, could barely wrangle enough business to pay the cuotas imposed on them by local hoods. what a phenomenal collection. Juan Carlos looks for him everywhere, falling into a depression as he tries to get a sense of Javier in the things they shared. $16.99 ... That's a strange statement, but you hear it all the time at the Kentucky Club. He expertly conveys a certain feeling: a longing as well as the longing that's piqued after you've gotten what or who you wanted but it is now absent. I was one of the not so few white El Pasoans fortunate enough to visit the Kentucky Club before the shit started in Juarez. It welcomes Spanish and English, Mexicans and gringos, poor and rich, gay and straight, drug addicts and drunks, laughter and sadness, and even despair. One day after work, he decides to go to a bar called the Regal Beagle; there, he meets Sylvia, a woman much older than him. This was a book of seven short stories. This novel explores profound topics such as hate crimes, racism, homophobia, addiction, suicide, mental … About a year later, Neto receives a letter from Brian with $500. Tragic, emotional, compelling, raw and biting. Tom comes to Michael one day severely agitated and reveals his fears and desires to keep Michael away from his business and the danger that accompanies it. It's a touchstone for each of Sáenz's stories. When he arrives home, he lays in bed thinking of English and Spanish words and phrase before falling asleep. Every one of these seven stories were unique in their own way. by Cinco Puntos Press, Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club. The following day after work, Neto indefinitely loans Brian $500 to escape to Denver, away from his abusive father. The protagonist is often gay or bisexual, and typically a drug addict hovers nearby, adding the predictable bit of melodrama. I read them all in one day.Definitely want to read even more by this author when I get the chance to. Benjamin Sáenz opens his new short story collection, Everything Begins & Ends at the Kentucky Club, with a tale of two men who meet at a coffee shop … October 30th 2012 Located two blocks south of the Rio Grande on Avenida Juarez, The Kentucky Club is a-not-much-to-look-at bar that all the characters have a connection to, visit, or dream about. This collection of short stories is written with an exacerbated sensitivity.

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