Indivisible
Indivisible
“Your sister may not have chosen to be put in this situation,” Mr. Gordon says slowly. “But your father did. He chose to come to this country illegally.”
“I don’t like that word, Mr. Gordon,” I say, and the whole room goes quiet – quieter than quiet. It’s as if everyone has stopped breathing. No one moves, no one blinks, no one says anything. Everyone is just staring at me, and suddenly I feel the need to speak up, to explain exactly what I mean, so that the judge won’t think I’m being rude for no reason.
“When you talk about illegal immigrants, you see faceless people with no hearts, with no voices. You see them as an evil force, which is just here to take something from you. But when I hear people talk about immigrants, I see my mom and dad. I see my neighbors and my parents’ friends. I see people with stories, with difficult pasts and fears so big that they keep them up at night. I see people with dreams and hopes for a better life.
“My dad can’t go back to Mexico. He can’t abandon the life he’s built over the past twenty years, or leave his family behind. We need him here. My mom, my sister, me – we all need him here. And it's not just us. It’s also our community, our neighborhood. I mean…the women who work at the bodega – who else is going to give them a job that allows them to switch their hours around so they can study for nursing school or take their kid to the doctor? Who else is gonna be there to give people discounts when he knows they’re struggling with money? Or to help a teenager who needs someone to believe in him?” I look at Uncle Jorge and notice the way he’s stopped blinking. “There are so many people who can’t imagine life without him. He’s part of this city, of this country. We’re here talking about how my dad’s deportation would affect Sophie and me…but at the end of the day, it’s about so much more than just us. We all lose.”
Ma and Pa Garcia left Mexico and entered the US illegally before their children, Mateo and Sophie, were born. Pa Garcia runs a corner store – a bodega – and Ma works at a couple of jobs to help keep the family afloat. Mateo is doing well in high school and looks forward to entering Tisch, a well-known drama school for aspiring actors. Sophie is much younger and has fun in school and with her friends - all the activities that 7-year-olds enjoy. The only thing that might upend this happy existence is the chance that ICE agents will call on the family after finding out that Ma and Pa don’t have proper papers. The word ‘deportation’ is always lurking in the background. One day, this possibility turns into a reality, and the result is a nightmare for everyone in the family.
Mateo Garcia is the central character of the novel, and the story is told from his point of view. When he should be thinking about excelling at school and enjoying the gay dating scene, he is forced instead to take over the family, running the bodega and caring for his little sister. Even with the well-meaning assistance of friends and neighbours, this becomes an almost impossible task. Readers watch as Mateo gradually learns that strength sometimes means expressing your feelings and letting others help you rather than bottling up your emotions. Mateo is emotional and vulnerable while also trying so hard to be strong for Sophie. As he matures and grows throughout the novel, his love for his family and his desire to keep the family unit together never diminishes yet he also realizes the importance of being true to himself and following his own dreams. Mateo’s character is self-aware, and readers understand his personality very well thanks to the many moments of self-talk throughout the book.
The secondary familial characters add substance and clarity to the story. Ma and Pa Garcia have to focus on what is best for the family as a whole which means making some very difficult choices. Uncle Jorge and Amy volunteer to take in Mateo and Sophie despite crowded living conditions and a newborn. But for them, as for Mateo, family comes first and should always be considered an indivisible unit. Sophie is a young girl, but she matures greatly within the book, and she often asks the important questions of the story. “Why would they be deported? Why couldn’t we all just move to Mexico?” and so on.
Mateo’s two best friends are Kimmie and Adam, and they bring additional themes to light. Kimmie has Asian roots, and Adam’s roots are Italian, underlining the diversity of so much of the American population. As well, Adam and Mateo share a passion for drama and Broadway, and both hope to make this their career choice. Later in the novel, they realize they want to be more than just friends, and readers are able to witness their happiness as they find each other and let the rest of the world know about their gay relationship.
This is a roller coaster of a novel, and Mateo’s emotions are palpable on every page. He gives a face to “the immigrant” and tells the human story behind recent headlines, such as the proposed wall between Mexico and the United States and the separation of children from their families. The passion of Mateo and the other characters is in stark contrast to the aptly-named ICE agents and an immigration system which, at best, seems inflexible and, at worst, inhumane.
Indivisible is the first novel for Daniel Aleman who was born and raised in Mexico City and currently lives in Toronto. Undoubtedly, he has drawn upon some of his own experiences in order to give a very real and compelling voice to Mateo whose struggles, compassion and love for his family will resonate long after readers put down the book.
Ann Ketcheson, a retired high school teacher-librarian and classroom teacher of English and French, lives in Ottawa, Ontario.