Review: SUBURBAN LUCHADOR: MEMOIRS FROM SUBURBIA by Philip Rivera

These are the quirky tales of a Latino father as he navigates life, marriage, and family.
It was interesting how the author correlated life’s debacles with the adventurous tales of a superhero (in this case, El Luchador.) He almost makes it out to be like a comic book, like when he relays his “crew” consisting of “Lieutenant Commander Yarei, Weapons Master Elias (my then four-year-old and heir to my throne), Chief Morale Officer Selah (my then two-year-old) and Private Pampers (Analise, my then one-month-old on her maiden voyage).” Another story compares bathing his young children to a naval attack. This style was off-beat, but it carried its infantile silliness with a warm sentiment. I mean, this is what a good father does—he plays the “hero” to his family. This guy literally made every household task an adventure. Yes, they were exaggerated in a comical fashion, which was somewhat entertaining, but the whole concept of “life is fun and games” struck me as naïve and impractical.  I kind of wished that there would’ve been more depth, something witty or profound that the reader could’ve obtained through these tales.
My rating: 3 stars