By Monet Moutrie
Media Intern
Published in 2008, Dagoberto Gilb’s novel The Flowers explores the well-repeated theme of what it means to become a man. But set against the backdrop of Los Angeles during the Watts Riots, this coming-of-age novel offers a unique and humorous perspective on growing up in America. Sonny, the juvenile narrator, is a 16-year-old Mexican American who must adjust to both adolescence and to his family’s changing dynamics. When his mother decides to move in with her boyfriend, Cloyd Longpre, Sonny finds himself in a new world of apartment boxes and tenants. Cloyd owns a small apartment complex called “Los Flores”, and it is in these box apartments that most of the dramatic action of the novel occurs. Cloyd and Sonny are at odds with each other from the opening chapters, and we watch Sonny’s relationship with this new male figure evolve.
In these boxes, Sonny lives; he explores his sexuality, he forms friendships with young and old, and he also develops the troublesome habits of lying and stealing. He grapples with his mother’s relationship with her boyfriend, and he questions what it means to be a Mexican-American teenager. The people that inhabit these boxes represent a diverse segment of America life; Gilb does a notable job of capturing the variety of people that can live within a small community. The tenants also reflect the changing attitudes of Los Angeles in regards to race; the reader watches some tenants embrace changing relations, while others, like Cloyd, express adamant disapproval of increased diversity.
While the novel delves into many issues that adolescent boys face, Gilb masterfully uses a classic love narrative to explore more complicated issues of race and culture. As the novel progresses, Sonny becomes romantically involved with a Mexican girl, Nica. Although school-aged, Nica spends her days and nights caring for her younger sibling; she speaks very little English and can only interact with Sonny through his use of broken Spanish. The couple meets in her family’s apartment while her parents are at work, and Sonny finds refuge from the very adult world of sex and corruption that he has begun to move in. The ending of the novel hones in on this relationship and its cultural implications. Gilb employs Spanish, English, and French to demonstrate the complexity of Sonny’s cultural heritage and the importance that his Mexican background plays in his relationships.
Gilb’s use of language—his ability to play with phrases in English, Spanish, and French—is perhaps the greatest strength of this novel. In the final sentence, Sonny declares his love to Nica by shouting “Je t’aime, Nica!” Preceding this French declaration, the reader watches Gilb use Spanish and English with playful dexterity. Nica and Sonny can only understand each other when speaking Spanish; Gilb translates most of their conversations into English but occasionally he inserts a Spanish phrase to remind his reader on what linguistic field this relationship occurs. Language is important. Without the preservation of language, culture can easily be lost. For Sonny, he moves in realms that require both English and Spanish. He straddles two worlds. French is simply a humorous distraction—he doesn’t need French to communicate with his family or his friends or his lovers. But by melding the three languages into his novel. Gilb highlights the cultural complexity that exists in America. More and more, Americans find themselves in need of communicating in a variety of tongues.
This novel is colorful in both diction and imagery. The different languages are paired with a diverse and lively set of characters, which makes reading this novel a fun literary ride. However, I found myself cringing at certain scenes with the female characters in this novel. Sonny interacts with several women, and I found many of the relationships problematic. Although this is a story about a young man coming-of-age, I wanted to see Sonny embrace a more mature understanding of sexuality and women. But Gilb succeeds at capturing the male teenage voice—I just hope that in years to come, we find more young men developing healthy and respectful relationships with women throughout their adolescence.
Editor’s Note: "Borderless" is a column that focuses on imigration, migrant, and diaspora literature in the United States, featuring reviews of well-known, under-known, and new texts. Get to know its author, Monet Moutrie, here.
Image Credit: New York Daily News
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