by Jonathan Evison
Mike Muñoz knows what he wants, but he has absolutely no idea how to get it. He wants to understand money, but he doesn’t know how to make it or care about being rich. He wants to understand society, but he doesn’t care about rising up or fitting in. And he wants to understand himself, which, let’s be honest, is the hardest f*cking one of them all.
But somehow, despite being half-brown with a Hispanic sounding last name who was raised on the rez on the wrong side of the tracks, Mike Muñoz figures out all those things. Jonathan Evison’s semi-autobiographical novel, Lawn Boy, is poignant, funny, heart wrenching and eye opening. I devoured it over a single weekend.
Set in the have-and-have-not world of the pacific northwest, Mike Muñoz thinks there must be more to life than being a landscape artist. But he can’t for the life of him figure out why or how the hell he’s supposed to figure it out. Nothing makes sense, and Mike is often left floundering on what his next move is. A series of shitty jobs, bad-luck experiences, and an up-and-down cast of characters teaches him there’s more to life than money, or status, or position. And as Mike navigates this world, life has a funny way of teaching him some important lessons on his journey of self-discovery.
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