Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Like Happiness by Ursula Villarreal-Moura

1 review

thecriticalreader's review

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emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

The Run-Down: Like Happiness by Ursula Villarreal-Moura uncovers the insidious nature of power imbalance in relationships through a story that steadfastly champions the voice of its Latina main character. 
 
Review: 
In the years since the #MeToo movement started, fiction and nonfiction literature about women who grow to recognize the abusive power dynamics of past relationships has grown in popularity; recent books in this category include My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell and I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy. The relationship between protagonist Tatum Vega and famous author M. Domínguez in Like Happiness lacks many of the obvious trademarks of abuse as many people conceive it. Tatum is of legal age when she strikes up a friendship with Domínguez, who is eight years her senior. They bond over their Latinx identities and love of literature. Domínguez never pressures Tatum into a physical relationship, nor does he verbally or physically harass her. Tatum pursues relationships and careers outside of her relationship with the author. Yet, a decade later, when a reporter contacts Tatum after a woman accuses Domínguez of assault, Tatum retrospectively grapples with the currents of power and control that flowed underneath their outwardly innocuous relationship dynamic.
 
The effectiveness of Like Happiness lies not in its flashy revelations or dramatic plot points, but in its deliberate character-building and quiet details. Villarreal-Moura paints a full and rich portrait of her protagonist, and thus the reader is able to comprehend how, despite her natural intelligence and tendency toward skepticism, Tatum’s naïveté and particular vulnerabilities make her susceptible to manipulation by M. Domínguez. “Manipulative men draped themselves draped themselves in bling and collected Rolls-Royces,” Tatum muses upon visiting Domínguez’s surprisingly humble apartment for the first time; “They didn’t sleep on futons.” By portraying Tatum as both precocious and flawed, Villarreal-Moura underscores that victims of abuse need be neither helpless nor perfect to receive empathy. 
 
The plot of this book moves slowly but steadily through the years of their relationship, allowing the author to capture the nearly imperceptible ways a power imbalance can be leveraged to benefit the person with power at the expense of the person without. The timeline can get a bit fuzzy at times—the characters use cell phones and email in ways that seem a bit anachronistic for the early 2000s—but it reflects the way their relationship gradually shifts as Tatum ages from an aimless college student to a restless professional. The book thus doubles as bildungsroman as it portrays the progression of a relationship.
 
Like Happiness reflects on the ways stories and our understandings of them can be used for oppression and liberation; Villarreal-Moura acts in the service of the latter as she delivers a quietly cathartic resolution that reminds us that everyone deserves to pursue their dreams and have their voice heard.  

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