Book Summary and Reviews of Malas by Marcela Fuentes

Book Summary

In 1951, a mysterious old woman confronts Pilar Aguirre in the small border town of La Cienega, Texas. The old woman is sure Pilar stole her husband and, in a heated outburst, lays a curse on Pilar and her family.

More than forty years later, Lulu Muñoz is dodging chaos at every turn: her troubled father's moods, his rules, her secret life as singer in a punk band, but most of all her upcoming quinceañera. When her beloved grandmother passes away, Lulu finds herself drawn to the glamorous stranger who crashed the funeral and who lives alone and shunned on the edge of town.

Their unexpected kinship picks at the secrets of Lulu's family's past. As the quinceañera looms—and we move between these two strong, irascible female voices—one woman must make peace with the past, and one girl pushes to embrace her future.

Rich with cinematic details—from dusty rodeos to the excitement of a Selena concert and the comfort of conjunto ballads played at family gatherings—this memorable debut is a love letter to the Tejano culture and community that sustain both of these women as they discover what family means.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. The way the US-Mexico border operates in Malas differs heavily between the two timelines. In the 1950s, the hospitals, landowners, and workers all straddle the line in ways that limit Pilar's choices. And in the 1990s, the dynamics of the Tejanos, the fresas, and the white Americans inform Lulu's education and social life. But in both, there's a very open sense of community and exchange across the two sides; how does that challenge the ways we think about the border today?
2. While expressly bilingual, the twin timelines show distinct feelings toward speaking English and speaking Spanish. How does language fit into Pilar and Lulu's conceptions of the world they inhabit?
3. Fuentes constantly returns to music and its ...