Tomas Moniz edited the volumes Rad Dad and Rad Families, as well as the children’s book Collaboration/Colaboración. His novella Bellies and Buffalos is about friendship, family, and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. He’s the recipient of the SF Literary Arts Foundation’s 2016 Award, the 2016 Can Serrat Residency, the 2017 Caldera Residency, and the 2018 SPACE on Ryder Farm residency. In 2019, he’ll release a chapbook with Mason Jar Press.
photo credit: Zora Moniz
Big Familia
Tomas Moniz
Big Familia follows Juan Gutiérrez, a self-employed single father, as he navigates a tumultuous year of inescapable change. His daughter Stella is on the verge of moving away to college; his lover Jared is pressing him for commitment; and his favorite watering hole—a ramshackle dive presided over by Bob the Bartender—is transforming into a karaoke hotspot. The story is set in a neighborhood also changing, gentrification inciting the ire of the established community.
Upon the unexpected death of one of the bar’s regulars, Juan is sent reeling, and a series of upheavals follow as he both seeks and spurns intimacy, pondering the legacy of distant parents and a failed marriage and his sexuality—all the while cycling and dating, drinking at Nicks Lounge, and parenting a determined and defiant child-become-woman.
When his incarcerated father dies and Stella reveals she’s pregnant, Juan is forced to examine the emotional bonds that both hold and hinder him, to reassess his ideas of commitment, of friendship, of love. His encounters with various characters—his mother, his ex-wife, a middle-aged punker, an aspiring acupuncturist, a dapper veteran—lead Juan to the realization that he himself must change to thrive.
This is a story of making family and making mistakes, of rending and of mending. As a Latinx queer father with a mixed-race daughter, Juan exemplifies the ways identity connects and divides us. With wit, insight, and tenderness, Big Familia explores the complexities of desire, devotion, and the mysteries of the heart.
188 pp., 5 1/2 x 8 1/2
ISBN 978-1-946724-22-9 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-946724-23-6 (e-book)
PRAISE FOR BIG FAMILIA
PEN/Hemingway Award Finalist
Lamda Literary Award Finalist
Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Finalist (LGBTQ)
“Moniz tells a story that is simultaneously timeless and quite timely. . . . Diverse characters and a deeply likeable protagonist make this a standout debut.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“Without ignoring societal ills – racially charged police violence, incarceration bias, aggressive gentrification, generation gaps – Moniz creates a broadly diverse cast on the verge of transformation. Testing options, pushing past comfort zones, and welcoming new bonds result in a big familia well worth getting to know.” —Shelf Awareness
“Big Familia looks seriously at race, sexuality, class, and more, while never losing its warmth and charm.” —BookRiot
“Multilayered, multiethnic, and pretty much multi-everything.” —Library Journal
“Big Familia is a timely and entertaining exploration of family, sexuality, race, and community.” —Foreword Reviews
“A sharply observed exploration of empty nesting, gentrification, and intercultural intimacy.” —East Bay Express
Tomas Moniz’s ability to portray the complexity of the contemporary family in zines and short stories is legendary. And this long-awaited debut novel is everything fans have come to love in his work and more. Set in the gentrifying Bay Area, Big Familia is deeply personal and lyrical, at once exploring shame, the politic of care, and the meaning of belonging. These characters are people we know—awkward and bursting with all the hurt and love of being fully human. If you’ve never read Moniz before, you’ll be an instant fan. If you’re a longtime reader, you’ll be so happy to come home to this novel. —Ariel Gore, author of We Were Witches
Big Familia is about so many American families—intercultural, gay, straight, divorced but still loving each other with imperfect ferocity. —Michelle Cruz Gonzales, author of The Spitboy Rule
Featured in Oakland Magazine.