Night at the Fiestas: Stories by Kirstin Valdez Quade

Winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize "[A] sparkling debut collection…features dreamers and schemers whose lives pulsate with wild hopes, hard luck, stunning secrets, and saving grace." —Elle With intensity and emotional precision, Kirstin Valdez Quade's unforgettable stories plunge us into the fierce, troubled hearts of characters defined by the desire to escape the past or else to plumb its depths. The deadbeat father of a pregnant teenager tries to transform his life by playing the role of Jesus in a bloody penitential Passion. A young man discovers that his estranged father and a boa constrictor have been squatting in his grandmother’s empty house. A lonely retiree new to Santa Fe becomes obsessed with her housekeeper. One girl attempts to uncover the mystery of her cousin's violent past, while another young woman finds herself at an impasse when she is asked to hear her priest's confession. Always hopeful, these stories chart the passions and obligations of family life, exploring themes of race, class, and coming-of-age, as Quade's characters protect, betray, wound, undermine, bolster, define, and, ultimately, save each other.

It's like Valdez Quade read the Dunning-Kruger paper and thought, OMG, this explains so much! And then set out to write about what she's seen. Every story here features losers of different degrees: people we know or may have been ourselves, with poor impulse control and judgment; all the way to people we hope never to have in our lives, worthless ignorant irresponsible leeches who serve only to drag everyone down.

Underdeveloped prefrontal cortex is a prominent theme in every one of the stories. Unsurprisingly, religions play a strong role in about half of them, and Valdez Quade brings out their full creepiness. I wondered often what a believer-type would think of these stories.

So, why would you want to read this? I'm not making it sound pleasant, and it often isn't, but it's rewarding. The stories are all infused with compassion. Not necessarily for the worst of the losers, but for those around them: their young children, the parents who have to support them, even for our own selves, because we've all been losers at times. And, of course, the settings are especially enjoyable: mostly New Mexico, with two elsewhere in the Southwest.

It was a painful book to read: it hurts me so much to see this kind of needless suffering. I read it over about two weeks, which tempered the pain. I'm glad Valdez Quade publishes infrequently, it'll give me time to be eager for her next book. (Human incompetence being an inexhaustible resource, she is likely to have writing material for the rest of her life).

Geeze, every story is like a bruise to the heart. Good but man, don't read em all at once.

I loved this book. It's very rare for me to give 5 stars to any short story collection written by anyone but George Saunders, but Quade had me mesmerized with her characters. Each story is so real and layered that they beg to be read over and over again (which I may do when I have time later in the year). The female leads are kickass, broken, shy, brave, outspoken, good and bad mothers wrapped up into one and daughters of a similar grey area. Just gorgeous and really, really realistic. Mojave Rats stands out as my clear favorite, followed by Night at the Fiestas. I also adored Canute Commands the Tides because I had no idea of where it was going and I was glad to find out I can still be surprised. I'm not going to lie: I was scared to death of where Family Reunion was going. Enough. Sorry. It's an awesome read.