By Heidi Simmons
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The Barbarian Nurseries
By Héctor Tobar
Fiction
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The Los Angeles Times is staffed with an array of entertaining writers who bring us news, information, and a vision of ourselves. Some by-lines may be familiar — the authors’ stories consistent, provocative and colorful. The best writers capture not only the subject, but the unique nature of Southern California and our distinctive LA qualities and attitudes. Some, like Héctor Tobar, know the community intimately.
Tobar has been working for the LA Times for twenty years. He is not only a journalist, but he writes creative nonfiction and is a novelist. Born and raised in Los Angeles, his literary voice is as strong as his street-wise character, and as healthy as his sun-grown casual nature.
He encompasses all the best qualities of an LA native: open, accepting and outgoing. He is first generation Angelino and American. His parents Guatamalen. He speaks, reads and writes Spanish. He was Bureau Chief in Mexico and lived in Argintina as a correspondent. He has studied his craft, works hard and is a regular guy with a family. But for Tobar, writing is not just a job, it’s a serious art form and his passion. In the CV this week, I was fortunate to speak with Tobar, “I just love to write. I love writing as art,” he said.
A Pulitzer Prize-winner, Tobar won for his coverage of the LA Riots. He has written three books and is currently in the process of finishing his fourth. Over the last year and a half, he has been working on the incredible story of the trapped, then rescued, 33 Chilean miners which became a global story of surviving primal fears.
Before being unearthed, the men made a pact to act as a group in the event they could profit from their experience. Their exclusive stories are finally recorded in Tobar’s insightful words. “It’s a beautiful story of endurance and coorporation, and the best and worst of human nature. It’s a modern day (Homer’s) Odyssey. The story feels like a poem to me,” said Tobar.
It is appearnt that Tobar has a deep sense of personal responsibility to honor the men’s profound tale. His journalistic integrity makes him question if his talent and hard work is enough to do the true story justice. Tobar is an artist striving for perfection and a desire to make a difference.
Fiction or nonfiction, Tobar puts his heart and soul into his prose. The Barbarian Nurseries (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 432 pages) is Tobar’s second work of fiction. It took him seven years to complete. It is the story of Araceli, a Spanish speaking maid in an Orange County upscale community, who finds herself the only caretaker of two children after their parents have a fight over their financial future, then disappear. The maid decides to find the children’s Mexican grandfather and journeys the southland with the kids looking for him. When the parents return, they call the police, believing the children have been kidknapped.
Like Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities, it is a story about social class, ambition and cultural differences set in today’s Southern California. Tobar captures the tone and voices that reflect a very familiar lifestyle. The Barbarian Nurseries was named by the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe and SanFrancisco Chronicle “best book of the year” and won the California Book Award Gold Medal for fiction.
Tobar knows his subject well and constructs a scintillating narrative whether it’s fiction or nonfiction. If he has an agenda, it is to deliver an honest portrayal of people and life. Look for his other books: nonfiction Translation Nation:Defining A New American Identity in Spanish Speaking America (Penguin, 368 pages) and his first novel The Tattooed Soldier (Penguin, 320 pages). Besides finishing his book about the miners, Tobar is currently a book critic for the Los Angeles Times.
“When I became a newspaper reporter, I was surrounded by all these reporters who loved to read and talk about fiction. I started to read more fiction and started thinking about writing it,” said Tobar. “I wanted to lift my craft to another level.” As a California native, Tobar gives rise to an honest reflection of who we are and maybe who we are becoming. He does it with skill, hard work and an authentic artist’s voice.
