L.A. Weather: A Novel

by María Amparo Escandón

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

You'll never forget the Alvarado family: Dad wants nothing more than rain (and for his secrets to stay hidden); Mom feels pushed to divorce by Dad's obsession with the weather; and each of their three daughters ? TV chef, architect and social media whiz -- isn't quite sure what they want, but they're pretty sure none of what they have now is it. This gimlet-eyed, laugh-out-loud page turner has a bit of The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney and Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid to it, along with echoes of one of the great L.A. novels, The Barbarian Nurseries by Héctor Tobar.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK

“There’s a 100% chance you’ll be paging through this book to uncover the secrets and deception that could potentially burn everything down!” — Reese Witherspoon

“This is by far one of the most endearing L.A. novels in recent memory.”— Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"A capacious book, chock-full of human drama...Escandón’s narrative voice is often witty and warm, and her meditations on Los Angeles are lush and lyrical...A lively and ambitious family novel." — New York Times Book Review

Storm clouds are on the horizon in L.A. Weather, a fun, fast-paced novel of a Mexican-American family from the author of the #1 Los Angeles Times bestseller Esperanza’s Box of Saints

L.A. is parched, dry as a bone, and all Oscar, the weather-obsessed patriarch of the Alvarado family, desperately wants is a little rain. He’s harboring a costly secret that distracts him from everything else. His wife, Keila, desperate for a life with a little more intimacy and a little less Weather Channel, feels she has no choice but to end their marriage. Their three daughters—Claudia, a television chef with a hard-hearted attitude; Olivia, a successful architect who suffers from gentrification guilt; and Patricia, a social media wizard who has an uncanny knack for connecting with audiences but not with her lovers—are blindsided and left questioning everything they know. Each will have to take a critical look at her own relationships and make some tough decisions along the way.

With quick wit and humor, Maria Amparo Escandón follows the Alvarado family as they wrestle with impending evacuations, secrets, deception, and betrayal, and their toughest decision yet: whether to stick together or burn it all down.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250802569
Publisher:	Flatiron Books
Publication date:	09/07/2021
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	8,509
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

María Amparo Escandón is the author of the #1 L.A. Times bestseller Esperanza’s Box of Saints and González & Daughter Trucking Co. Named a writer to watch by both Newsweek and the L.A. Times, she was born in Mexico City and has lived in Los Angeles for nearly four decades.

Editorial Reviews

★ 07/12/2021

Escandón (González & Daughter Trucking Co.) returns with a rollicking and hilarious family drama of telenovela-esque proportions that doubles as a fiery love letter to Los Angeles. The story follows the Alvarados, a wealthy Mexican-American family, and all the turmoil that exists beneath the sheen of their Instagram-perfect lives. Oscar, the patriarch, is a descendant of a once-influential California ranching family, and his wife, Keila, is an acclaimed artist who still has roots in the art scene of her hometown of Mexico City. Together, they have three lovely, successful daughters: Claudia, a celebrity chef; Olivia, an architect; and Patricia, a social media consultant for large brands. When Keila shares with her family that she intends on divorcing Oscar, the shock sends the entire cast on an emotional roller coaster as the daughters all begin to question how happy they are in their own marriages and Keila develops an attraction to a gallery owner. Beyond the juicy plot, Escandón is a pro at capturing the socioeconomic geography of L.A.; even scenes of mundane life such as a trip to get ice cream provide occasions for the characters to comment on the shifting fortunes of acquaintances after being priced out of up-and-came east side neighborhoods. This is by far one of the most endearing L.A. novels in recent memory. Agent: Betsy Amster, Betsy Amster Literary Enterprises. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

María Amparo Escandón is bold. Who dares to write about the weather in Los Angeles? Unlike the warm and benign climate cliché that can so easily be ignored, the complicated richness that makes up the Alvarado family can be appreciated from the first paragraph.”
— Laura Esquivel, author of Like Water for Chocolate

"A phenomenal story about the Mexican-American experience in L.A: fun, quirky, heart-wrenching, very human and full of soul. Read it and realize how much we all share (beyond the weather). María Amparo Escandón is a superb and unique observer."
— Jorge Ramos, award-winning journalist and author of No Borders

“Take it from María Amparo Escandón—it’s not always 72 and sunny in Los Angeles. Known for her sly humor, she brings us a surprising story about family life in one of America’s most complex cities."
— Reyna Grande, author of Across A Hundred Mountains

"There is no other voice as quick-witted and sharp as María Amparo Escandón’s. In L.A. Weather she displays yet again her talent for creating engaging characters who leap off the page and linger like old friends or cherished relatives. As the Alvarados face shifts of tectonic proportions, Escandón confronts how families test our understanding of not just ourselves, but of the very world around us."
— Alex Espinoza, author of Cruising: An Intimate History of a Radical Pastime and Still Water Saints

“Messy lives of women, well told. What could be better?”
— Rodrigo García, writer and director of Nine Lives and Mother and Child

"A rollicking and hilarious family drama...One of the most endearing L.A. novels in recent memory." - Publishers Weekly

"A warmhearted domestic drama with political undercurrents makes for fun reading." - Kirkus

From the Publisher

07/30/2021

Keila Alvarado is fed up with her husband's inattention to anything but the weather reports for drought-ridden Southern California. Instead of helping her babysit their twin granddaughters, Oscar is derailed by his obsessive nature, depression, and fear over a secret he is keeping from his wife, which leads to a near tragedy. When Keila announces her intention to divorce Oscar, their three adult daughters convince them to go to couples therapy for one year before giving up on their 39-year marriage. During that year, the three sisters, Claudia, Olivia and Patricia, discover the cracks in their own marriages as secrets are unearthed. With each new drama that pummels the Alvarado family, their love and support for one another are tested. VERDICT Novelist and screenwriter Escandón (Esperanza's Box of Saints) depicts many cultural layers of Los Angeles through its variety of food, unique architecture, and rich local history. Broader topics of immigration, climate change, gender identity, and the effects of gentrification come up throughout the novel. Most of all, Escandón celebrates family: sometimes joyous, sometimes infuriating, but always bonding together to meet life's tempestuous challenges.—Joy Gunn, Paseo Verde Lib., Henderson, NV

Library Journal

2021-06-29
Twelve pivotal months in the life of a Jewish and Catholic Mexican American family in West Los Angeles.

It's 2016. Three-year-old twins miraculously survive drowning in the first scene, setting the tone of melodrama cut with comedy that Escandón maintains throughout her homage to Mexican telenovelas. Expect financial and medical catastrophes, marital discord, sexual passion, brand name dropping, and mouthwatering meals. At center are the Alvarados. Oscar’s ancestors became landowners in California while it was still part of Mexico; artist Keila’s Jewish parents escaped the Holocaust by fleeing to Mexico as children. Their heritages have merged into a seemingly idyllic marriage for almost 40 years. But recently, Oscar has retreated from involvement with his family, becoming obsessed with The Weather Channel instead. Frustrated and furious, Keila announces she wants a divorce, but the grown Alvarado daughters convince their parents to work on the marriage for one year. Meanwhile, all three daughters hide their own private problems and marital issues. Celebrity chef Claudia has a little stealing habit. Architect Olivia, who conceived her twins through in vitro fertilization, is fighting with her cartoonishly awful husband about the remaining embryos. Despite a husband in San Francisco, social media maven Patricia still lives with her parents along with the son who was conceived when she was raped at 14. As the Alvarados fight and unite repeatedly, the plot incorporates broader issues including climate change, gender politics, immigration, and a presidential election.

A warmhearted domestic drama with political undercurrents makes for fun reading.

Kirkus Reviews