★ 07/12/2021
Escandón (González & Daughter Trucking Co.) returns with a rollicking and hilarious family drama of telenovela-esque proportions that doubles as a fiery love letter to Los Angeles. The story follows the Alvarados, a wealthy Mexican-American family, and all the turmoil that exists beneath the sheen of their Instagram-perfect lives. Oscar, the patriarch, is a descendant of a once-influential California ranching family, and his wife, Keila, is an acclaimed artist who still has roots in the art scene of her hometown of Mexico City. Together, they have three lovely, successful daughters: Claudia, a celebrity chef; Olivia, an architect; and Patricia, a social media consultant for large brands. When Keila shares with her family that she intends on divorcing Oscar, the shock sends the entire cast on an emotional roller coaster as the daughters all begin to question how happy they are in their own marriages and Keila develops an attraction to a gallery owner. Beyond the juicy plot, Escandón is a pro at capturing the socioeconomic geography of L.A.; even scenes of mundane life such as a trip to get ice cream provide occasions for the characters to comment on the shifting fortunes of acquaintances after being priced out of up-and-came east side neighborhoods. This is by far one of the most endearing L.A. novels in recent memory. Agent: Betsy Amster, Betsy Amster Literary Enterprises. (Sept.)
María Amparo Escandón is bold. Who dares to write about the weather in Los Angeles? Unlike the warm and benign climate cliché that can so easily be ignored, the complicated richness that makes up the Alvarado family can be appreciated from the first paragraph.”
— Laura Esquivel, author of Like Water for Chocolate
"A phenomenal story about the Mexican-American experience in L.A: fun, quirky, heart-wrenching, very human and full of soul. Read it and realize how much we all share (beyond the weather). María Amparo Escandón is a superb and unique observer."
— Jorge Ramos, award-winning journalist and author of No Borders
“Take it from María Amparo Escandón—it’s not always 72 and sunny in Los Angeles. Known for her sly humor, she brings us a surprising story about family life in one of America’s most complex cities."
— Reyna Grande, author of Across A Hundred Mountains
"There is no other voice as quick-witted and sharp as María Amparo Escandón’s. In L.A. Weather she displays yet again her talent for creating engaging characters who leap off the page and linger like old friends or cherished relatives. As the Alvarados face shifts of tectonic proportions, Escandón confronts how families test our understanding of not just ourselves, but of the very world around us."
— Alex Espinoza, author of Cruising: An Intimate History of a Radical Pastime and Still Water Saints
“Messy lives of women, well told. What could be better?”
— Rodrigo García, writer and director of Nine Lives and Mother and Child
"A rollicking and hilarious family drama...One of the most endearing L.A. novels in recent memory." - Publishers Weekly
"A warmhearted domestic drama with political undercurrents makes for fun reading." - Kirkus
07/30/2021
Keila Alvarado is fed up with her husband's inattention to anything but the weather reports for drought-ridden Southern California. Instead of helping her babysit their twin granddaughters, Oscar is derailed by his obsessive nature, depression, and fear over a secret he is keeping from his wife, which leads to a near tragedy. When Keila announces her intention to divorce Oscar, their three adult daughters convince them to go to couples therapy for one year before giving up on their 39-year marriage. During that year, the three sisters, Claudia, Olivia and Patricia, discover the cracks in their own marriages as secrets are unearthed. With each new drama that pummels the Alvarado family, their love and support for one another are tested. VERDICT Novelist and screenwriter Escandón (Esperanza's Box of Saints) depicts many cultural layers of Los Angeles through its variety of food, unique architecture, and rich local history. Broader topics of immigration, climate change, gender identity, and the effects of gentrification come up throughout the novel. Most of all, Escandón celebrates family: sometimes joyous, sometimes infuriating, but always bonding together to meet life's tempestuous challenges.—Joy Gunn, Paseo Verde Lib., Henderson, NV
2021-06-29
Twelve pivotal months in the life of a Jewish and Catholic Mexican American family in West Los Angeles.
It's 2016. Three-year-old twins miraculously survive drowning in the first scene, setting the tone of melodrama cut with comedy that Escandón maintains throughout her homage to Mexican telenovelas. Expect financial and medical catastrophes, marital discord, sexual passion, brand name dropping, and mouthwatering meals. At center are the Alvarados. Oscar’s ancestors became landowners in California while it was still part of Mexico; artist Keila’s Jewish parents escaped the Holocaust by fleeing to Mexico as children. Their heritages have merged into a seemingly idyllic marriage for almost 40 years. But recently, Oscar has retreated from involvement with his family, becoming obsessed with The Weather Channel instead. Frustrated and furious, Keila announces she wants a divorce, but the grown Alvarado daughters convince their parents to work on the marriage for one year. Meanwhile, all three daughters hide their own private problems and marital issues. Celebrity chef Claudia has a little stealing habit. Architect Olivia, who conceived her twins through in vitro fertilization, is fighting with her cartoonishly awful husband about the remaining embryos. Despite a husband in San Francisco, social media maven Patricia still lives with her parents along with the son who was conceived when she was raped at 14. As the Alvarados fight and unite repeatedly, the plot incorporates broader issues including climate change, gender politics, immigration, and a presidential election.
A warmhearted domestic drama with political undercurrents makes for fun reading.
Narrator Frankie Corzo’s lovely smooth voice eloquently depicts the mostly female characters in this novel. She handles the high drama, emotional undertow, and cultural complexity of this story, set from January to December in 2016. Her Spanish readings—foods, names, places—are sensual. She shifts her voice ever so slightly as she expresses the inner lives of the Alvarados, a disintegrating Mexican- American family in fictional Rancho Verde, where an ever-present drought causes them to leave their pool dangerously half-empty. The Catholic father, Oscar, watches the Weather Channel all day; his Mexican-born Jewish wife, Keila, a successful sculptor, considers divorcing him. And all three daughters’ (Claudia’s, Olivia’s, and Patricia’s) marriages end in divorce. Secrets are concealed and revealed in this intricately plotted novel. This audiobook enthralls the listener. A.D.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Narrator Frankie Corzo’s lovely smooth voice eloquently depicts the mostly female characters in this novel. She handles the high drama, emotional undertow, and cultural complexity of this story, set from January to December in 2016. Her Spanish readings—foods, names, places—are sensual. She shifts her voice ever so slightly as she expresses the inner lives of the Alvarados, a disintegrating Mexican- American family in fictional Rancho Verde, where an ever-present drought causes them to leave their pool dangerously half-empty. The Catholic father, Oscar, watches the Weather Channel all day; his Mexican-born Jewish wife, Keila, a successful sculptor, considers divorcing him. And all three daughters’ (Claudia’s, Olivia’s, and Patricia’s) marriages end in divorce. Secrets are concealed and revealed in this intricately plotted novel. This audiobook enthralls the listener. A.D.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
