The People Who Report More Stress – Alejandro Varela

Expectation: Rich social commentary about urban, middle-aged and non-white queer life. 

Reality: Uneven and heavy handed, the collection felt rushed and lazy. 

My Take:

There’s the old adage that authors should write what they know, but Alejandro Varela is taking it to the extreme. 

In this short story collection, most characters are New York-based queer, Latinx public health professionals in relationships with white men who must navigate racism, code-switching and inequity in their day-to-day lives. 

This is not too dissimilar from Varela’s debut novel “The Town of Babylon,” which makes me worry that he may only be able to write from the perspective of one type of character with a specific career, relationship status and city of residence. 

While many of the stories showcased his wry social commentary, “The People Who Report More Stress” also felt rushed and incomplete. Outside the handful of stories that centered on the same couple, Gus and Eduardo, and could’ve been expanded into a heartfelt novella about the seasons of gay relationships - little here felt fresh. 

What I appreciate about Varella is that he has a keen observational sense. Within each story is a sentence or paragraph that so accurately sums up what ails America, specifically with how we treat those that are not white or heterosexual. 

But rather than the nuanced approach found in “Babylon,” I don’t think anyone could read stories, like “Comrades” and “The Great Potato Famine,” and not think they are incredibly heavy handed. 

I was also strangely distracted by his ostentatious vocabulary that required me to look up a word or two every few pages. This effectively pulls you out of the narrative and makes you wonder if the text is even worth the effort.  

After having so much enthusiasm for Varela after “Babylon” it hurts me to say “Stress” is worth skipping, but I’m going to blame the shortcomings on his publisher for rushing this collection out to capitalize on his success versus letting him polish it a bit more. Sadly, he couldn’t sustain a consistently interesting idea throughout each story. 

If you decide to pick this up, the best of the bunch is “Carlitos in Charge,” where our character shares how things really get done in the U.N. Outside of that only “Midtown-West Side Story” and the Gus/Eduardo stories — “The Six Times of Alan,” “Waiting,” “Grand Openings” and “The People Who Report More Stress” — are worth the read. 

Rating (story): 2.5/5 stars

Rating (narration): N/A

Formats: Audiobook (library loan)

Dates read: May 5 – May 15, 2023

Multi-tasking: N/A