The People Who Report More Stress

Stories

De: Alejandro Varela

Narrado por: Ozzie Rodriguez

"Asearing collection about gentrification, racism, and sexuality.... Varela provides invaluable insight on the ways stress impacts the characters’ lives, and how they persevere. Readers will be floored." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

"Alejandro Varela is one of my favorite short story writers.... An iconoclast of tenderness, a compass in the storm this life always is." (Alexander Chee, author of How to Write an Autobiographical Novel)

"The People Who Report More Stress dissects the minutiae of relationships to self, city, space, and sensibility so we don’t numbly succumb to the 'structured order of things.'" (Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, author of The Freezer Door)

The People Who Report More Stress is a collection of interconnected stories brimming with the anxieties of people who retreat into themselves while living in the margins, acutely aware of the stresses that modern life takes upon the body and the body politic.

In “Midtown-West Side Story”, Álvaro, a restaurant worker struggling to support his family, begins selling high-end designer clothes to his coworkers, friends, neighbors, and the restaurant’s regulars in preparation for a move to the suburbs.

“The Man in 512” tracks Manny, the childcare worker for a Swedish family, as he observes the comings and goings of an affluent co-op building, all the while teaching the children Spanish through Selena’s music catalog.

“Comrades” follows a queer man with radical politics who just ended a long-term relationship and is now on the hunt for a life partner. With little tolerance for political moderates, his series of speed dates devolve into awkward confrontations that leave him wondering if his approach is the correct one.

A collection of humorous, sexy, and highly neurotic tales about parenting, long-term relationships, systemic and interpersonal racism, and class conflict from the author of The Town of Babylon, The People Who Report More Stress deftly and poignantly expresses the frustration of knowing the problems and solutions to our society’s inequities but being unable to do anything about them.

©2023 Alejandro Varela (P)2023 Audible, Inc.

Emotional Tapestry Unraveled: A Must-Read Delight for Diverse Hearts!

The characters in this book are intricately crafted, vividly portraying their emotions with all their idiosyncrasies. The stories span diverse experiences, backgrounds, and sexualities. Each character is presented authentically, without dilution or overshadowing, receiving equal attention from the writer. I highly recommend this book to individuals who are interested in exploring themes of race, social economic challenges, and, of course, different forms of love.

Loved this short story collection!

I love the public health aspect of each essay and the racial commentary. I was sucked into each essay and all felt complete. I love Varela’s writing and he’s definitely an auto-buy for me after this sophomore book!

Hard to pick a favorite. I think I loved “All the Bullets Were Made in My Country” and “The Caretakers” best.

“The Six Times of Alan” enraged me.

Excellent follow up to Babylon

The book met the expectation I developed after falling in love with The Town of Babylon. You will not be disappointed if you try it.

Read for a graduate class

While the themes of the book about stress and race are important, I felt that the characters in each were similar and only two of the short stories stuck out to be on their own.