L. A. Weather
Author: María Amparo Escandón
Dates read: July 27 - August 2, 2024
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
“What surprised her the most was the fact that they still met for Sunday family dinners, rain or shine, with or without husbands, with or without the twins. But people sitting at a table don’t make a family.”
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Also by María Amparo Escandón…
Long Story Short:
Oscar and Keila Alvarado’s marriage is on the brink of divorce; after surviving a near-tragedy with their grandchildren, Keila discovers she can no longer take Oscar’s apathetic approach to life and tells her husband and three grown daughters (Claudia, Olivia, and Patricia) that she wants to call it quits. While Oscar is silent on the matter, the three daughters demand that their parents give the decision a year and attempt to salvage the marriage.
Meanwhile, each of the three children’s marriages are slowly unraveling. Claudia, a celebrity chef, can no longer take her husband’s bicoastal profession that often leaves her alone; Olivia, a renovator, doesn’t want to give up on the idea of a bigger family despite the consequences of having to deal with her verbally abusive and unsupportive husband; Patricia, a brand and social media influencer, thinks she has the perfect set up with her long-distance husband who she sees every few weeks but realizes she now craves emotional intimacy.
Within months, the daughters have all divorced their significant others while Oscar and Keila are still unhappily married. The reasoning behind Oscar’s aloofness is due to an unprofitable business decision he made behind Keila’s back to purchase an almond farm. The almond orchard desperately needs rainfall, but Los Angeles is in the midst of an unprecedented drought. His obsession with the weather becomes clear, as without rain, he will lose everything and must come clean to Keila. Keila is ready to give up on Oscar but notices throughout the year his attempts to change and help the family as each of their adult children end up falling back on the assistance of their parents. After Oscar comes clean about the almond farm, Keila agrees to help support him and the two become more communicative.
Each of the family members go through many highs and lows (mostly lows) throughout the book, suffering trials that include infidelity, brain tumors, infertility, job loss, home loss, and more. The circumstances that bring the entire family back to all living under the same roof also bring about change and martial harmony between Oscar and Keila, who decide to stay together.
Ruth’s Take:
There was so much to unpack in this book, and after talking with colleagues who read this around the same time I did… we all agreed: Maria needed a better editor. It seemed like she had so many ideas and wanted to tackle (or bare minimum: mention) so many controversial issues that she just jumbled them all into the story. Did they all have a deeper meaning or contribute to the plot? No, and that’s why this book rated so poorly. I also felt that despite the major traumas that many of the family faced, their emotions were largely reserved or not explored deeply enough (with perhaps Olivia as an exception). I didn’t dislike the characters, but I found it hard to like or relate to them as some of their behaviors just seemed odd or unreasonable. The book began as a tale about family drama and the breaking apart of a once whole group, then turned into a complicated love letter to the city of Los Angeles with its melting pot of cultures, cuisines, and attitudes, and then landed somewhere in a novel about climate crisis. There’s a lot to be said about this book and plenty to talk about if it becomes your next book club read, but I don’t know that much of it will be good.
Reading this for a Book Club?
Here are some questions to entice your readers:
Olivia
1. The beginning of the story starts with a dramatic scene that ends in a miracle instead of a tragedy. If the twins had died in the pool that night, how do you think the lives of each character would have changed? Were you surprised by how Olivia handled the relationship with her parents after the accident? Would you have behaved differently?
2. If Olivia had lost her daughters that night,
3. Were you surprised that Olivia wanted to keep the embryos? Why do you think she was so determined to save them after her realization that she did not want to maintain a relationship with Felix?
4. What did you think of Olivia and Patricia’s co-parenting plan? Do you see any flaws or wishful thinking in the way the plan played out thus far?
Claudia
1. When did you first start to think that something might be wrong with Claudia? What clue tipped you off that she may be unwell?
2. Were you surprised that Claudia’s condition went unnoticed for as long as it did by her family? Why or why not?
3. Claudia’s brain surgery took away her sense of taste and smell, thus eliminating her ability to continue working as a chef and cookbook author. Were you surprised by how Claudia handled this change? How would you handle no longer being able to taste or smell anything? How would you handle no longer being able to work in your lifelong profession?
4. Claudia asked her husband, Gabriel, for a divorce before her illness became apparent. Later, the family learned that Gabriel was set to gain all of Claudia’s assets if she passed, which explained his flighty noncommittal behavior at the hospital. If you were Claudia’s sibling, what would you do to Gabriel upon discovering this information?
Patricia
1. What did you think about Patricia’s character and her long-distance relationship with husband, Eric? Were you surprised that the marriage didn’t work out?
2. Patricia craved emotional intimacy with Eric. Yet she did not express this to him directly and was unfaithful on more than one occasion. Do you think she gave Eric a fair shot to change his behavior before asking for a divorce? Were you surprised by his reaction to the divorce?
3. Patricia’s son, Dani, comes out as gender fluid during the course of the book. How did you think Patricia handled her son’s transition?
4. Will surrogacy of her sister’s children bring her closer
Keila & Oscar
1. Keila wanted to terminate her marriage to Oscar at the start of the novel, but postponed (and changed) her decision because of her daughters’ insistence on giving the marriage a year. If you were in Keila’s position without knowing the story behind Oscar’s behavior, would you have agreed to those terms? Why or why not?
2. Up until Oscar’s secret is revealed, he and the Alvarado daughters all tell Keila that she is breaking apart the family. After we learn of the almond orchard, Oscar admits to himself that he never told Keila about the purchase because he knew she wouldn’t be supportive. Whose fault was it that the Alvarado marriage was crumbling?
3. Keila slept with Simon Brink (her art curator) after months of reciprocated flirtation. What did you think about her infidelity? Were you surprised she shared this information with Oscar? Were you surprised by his reaction?
Plot
1. In reading positive reviews of the book, this is a moving story of a family on the brink of separation who comes together despite many personal tragedies and becomes stronger. In reading negative reviews of the book, the characters were uninteresting and difficult to like despite the overwhelming difficulties they faced. Which camp are you in, and why?
2. Which of the plot points did you find most unnecessary for the substance of the book?
3. Did the drought drama, brush fires, loss of the almond orchard, and weather-related facts make you feel more inclined to care about climate change? Why or why not?