The unnamed narrator of Alejandro Varela’s Middle Spoon seemingly has it all: a gig as arespected academic, two kids, a saint of a husband whose name also never appears in the book and a charming boyfriend nine years his junior. And they all lived happily ever after. The End. Yeah, no.
First of all, Ben, the lover, has rather unceremoniously dumped our protagonist “at the end of the year, when all of the ‘Best of . . .’ lists are published,” and that sends the narrator into a tailspin of self-pity and fantasies about how to reclaim his ex. Second, the narrator’s husband and friends (including not just one, but two therapists) offer conflicting advice about how best to move forward, perhaps the most useful of which is to write down his thoughts and feelings as emails, which he is NOT supposed to send.
The narrator runs with that suggestion, and the book unfolds as a series of communiqués, mostly intended for Ben, but also some addressed to himself, to his husband and even to his kids. Part current events, part wheedling, part philosophy, these unsent missives contain discursions that are often as hilarious as they are insightful, ranging from the mechanics and politics of gay sex to FDR’s income tax proposals to the difficulty of finding gluten- and dairy-free dishes at restaurants (“no one in their right mind wants leafy greens sprinkled with quinoa when they’re starving”). Somehow, as he writes, the narrator finds himself on a reluctant journey of self-discovery and begrudging acceptance.
Varela, whose debut novel, The Town of Babylon, was a finalist for the National Book Award, poses uncomfortable and universal questions about the nature of relationships and how best to navigate them. In one of his earliest emails, the narrator ruminates: “Maybe there’s something worthwhile in unorthodox relationships and atypical family structures. Maybe the world should adapt to us and not us to it.” His nearly unshakable faith in the viability of this belief forms the beating heart of this funny, perceptive and ultimately gratifying love story.