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Title details for Alligator Tears by Edgar Gomez - Wait list

Alligator Tears

A Memoir in Essays

by Edgar Gomez
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A darkly comic memoir-in-essays about the scam of the American Dream and doing whatever it takes to survive in the Sunshine State—from the award-winning author of High-Risk Homosexual
“Relatable, funny and deeply heartfelt, this memoir is one not to miss.”—Today

“Edgar Gomez is a young writer of deep talent and enormous grace.” —James McBride, New York Times bestselling author of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR: Today, The Millions, Paste
In Florida, one of the first things you’re taught as a child is that if you’re ever chased by a wild alligator, the only way to save yourself is to run away in zigzags. It’s a lesson on survival that has guided much of Edgar Gomez’s life.
Like the night his mother had a stroke while he and his brother stood frozen at the foot of her bed, afraid she’d be angry if they called for an ambulance they couldn’t afford. Gomez escaped into his mind, where he could tell himself nothing was wrong with his family. Zig. Or years later, as a broke college student, he got on his knees to put sandals on tourists’ smelly, swollen feet for minimum wage at the Flip Flop Shop. After clocking out, his crew of working-class, queer, Latinx friends changed out of their uniforms in the passenger seats of each other’s cars, speeding toward the relief they found at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Zag. From committing a little bankruptcy fraud for the money for veneers to those days he paid his phone bill by giving massages to closeted men on vacation, back when he and his friends would Venmo each other the same emergency twenty dollars over and over. Zig. Zag. Gomez survived this way as long as his legs would carry him.
Alligator Tears is a fiercely defiant memoir-in-essays charting Gomez’s quest to claw his family out of poverty by any means necessary and exposing the archetype of the humble poor person for what it is: a scam that insists we remain quiet and servile while we wait for a prize that will always be out of reach. For those chasing the American Dream and those jaded by it, Gomez’s unforgettable story is a testament to finding love, purpose, and community on your own terms, smiling with all your fake teeth.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 11, 2025

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780593728550

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780593728550
      • File size: 6620 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      September 1, 2024

      Award-winning Gomez (High-Risk Homosexual) writes a memoir in essays that explore his path out of poverty, the scam of the American dream, the reality of Florida, and queer expression. Prepub Alert.

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Kirkus

      Starred review from December 15, 2024
      The coming-of-age of a queer Latinx Floridian, part two. "I was the person who got expelled from high school, who mopped up lube at the sex club, and some-how I'd stumbled into this alternate universe where I was also the person who lived with his boyfriend in New York (albeit in a fake room), had a book soon-to-be out, and an inbox full of journalists asking me about my 'process.'" In a follow-up to his much-awarded debut memoir of growing up gay between Florida and Nicaragua, High-Risk Homosexual, Gomez gives a book-length answer to the question of his process. Though his 30-something years may seem few for two memoirs, this time he tells the story largely in terms of work: a meticulously evoked and darkly comic series of jobs in bars, restaurants, retail (readers may find the Flip Flop Shop taking up a permanent, coconut-scented place in their minds), and, briefly, sex work. Through it all, he clung ferociously to the idea that he was a writer. "'People likeyou get to make art too!' I'd hype myself up in the shower." His fierce love for his mother, a beloved barista at the airport Starbucks, again shines through the pages, and in a section that will mean a lot to aspiring memoirists, he recalls how the joy of his first publication was laced with terror that she would read the book, whose evolution he hid from her. He continues to contend with the legacy of the Pulse nightclub massacre, with homophobia, and with racism, but he also comes to a heartening conclusion: "In fact, it was aprivilege to be gay....It was because of my queerness that I was able to see how the paths set out for me weren't enough, pushing me to leave home in search of more." This portrait of the artist as a young flip-flop salesman will inspire, amuse, and empower its audience.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Booklist

      January 1, 2025
      Following the success of High-Risk Homosexual (2022), this collection of essays explores Gomez' life growing up in Florida as a gay Latinx millennial. Gomez is sweet and conversational, like a friend readers have known for life: nostalgic, playful, and caring. Gomez writes about growing up with his single mother and the sacrifices she made to support him and his brother, Hector, on her own. Her stress took a physical toll and caused serious health issues, which forced the author to confront American morality myths about poverty and hard work. Gomez shares what it was like to grow up alongside the dawn of influencers and how filming makeup tutorials allowed for creative identity expression while he still lived at home. The essays follow the author from youth into young adulthood and the experience of seeing his first book published, which propelled his relationship with his mother into a new chapter. It is beautiful to get to know the life of this artist, whose endearing world will remain with readers long after they've finished the book.

      COPYRIGHT(2025) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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