Book Review by Samantha MacLaren
Palm Beach State College-Library Technician 1
“Something happened inside me as I looked out into the
vast universe. Through that telescope, the world was closer and larger than I’d
ever imagined. And it was all so beautiful and overwhelming and—I don’t know—it
made me aware that there was something inside of me that mattered.”― From ‘Aristotle and Dante Discover the secrets of the universe’, p. 42
To celebrate June as LGBTQIA Pride Month, here is a novel we
would like to highlight this month: ‘Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets
of the Universe’ by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.
The novel follows the eponymous Aristole, known as Ari, as he
grapples with his coming of age. During an uneventful summer, Ari meets Dante,
who is the exact opposite of himself. Ari is immediately fascinated with Dante.
Dante is an extroverted poet, comfortable in his own skin which Ari both
admires and slightly envies. The two spend the summer grappling with their
personal dilemmas, their family, and their budding feelings for each other. The
dysfunction within Ari’s family and his growing realization of his own sexual
identity has left Ari feeling isolated and aloof, and he struggles with
becoming close to Dante.
Throughout the summer, as Ari’s life twists and turns with
each new personal discovery, Ari discovers “the secrets of the universe”. These
are the invisible truths that people around him seem to live by, and he learns how
these “secrets of the universe” have also shaped him as well. As he begins to
appreciate, if not understand, the people closest to him, Ari grows more
attached to the world he once felt profoundly alone in. He connects with Dante
and repairs the rifts among his family, despite all of the lingering
resentments and misunderstandings that strain their relationships. Ultimately,
the novel reveals that in order to discover oneself, we have to be open to
discovering one another.
Sáenz’s novel deals in layers of
identity: one’s place within a family, being a loner and friend, sexuality and
one’s ethnic background. Ari finds it difficult to establish himself when he
feels that he contrasts the given identities and expectations around him; he
feels disconnected from his family’s Hispanic heritage and unable to understand
the distance between himself and his parents. He comes to the realization that
he will have to understand his place in the “universe” on his own terms.
Stories, like ‘Aristolte and Dante Discover the Universe’,
are especially important given the recent tragedies that have affected the
LGTQIA community in Florida. Their stories and the real-life experiences that
inspire them deserve to be celebrated.
This was what was wrong with me. All this time I had been trying to figure out the secrets of the universe, the secrets of my own body, of my own heart. All of the answers had always been so close and yet I had always fought them without even knowing it. From the minute I’d met Dante, I had fallen in love with him. I just didn’t let myself know it, think it, feel it. My father was right. And it was true what my mother said. We all fight our own private wars.”
Do you have a reading suggestion for Pride Month?
Was there a
book that you felt spoke to your identity?
Let us know in the comments below!
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