A review by serendipitysbooks
The Consequences by Manuel Muñoz

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

4.0

 The Consequences is a short story collection with most being set in and around California’s Central Valley in the 1980s. The focus is on Mexican and Mexican-American workers and their families - their loneliness, their vulnerability, their dogged determination. The impact of La Migra on their lives was claustrophobic and omnipotent. I was horrified to learn that farm owners/managers call ICE on their own workers when the harvest is nearly complete in order to avoid paying them their final wages. Two related short stories, both featuring Teddy, a gay man, were powerful, particularly the second because the first had already revealed the ultimate outcome of his sister’s understandable actions. Definitely worth the read with each story contributing to the bigger picture. 
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