In these masterly vignettes, Fuentes explores Tolstoy's classic observation that "happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." In "A Family Like Any Other," each member of the Pagan family lives in isolation, despite sharing a tiny house. In "The Mariachi's Mother," the limitless devotion of a woman is revealed as she secretly tends to her estranged son's wounds. "Sweethearts" reunites old lovers unexpectedly and opens up the possibilities for other lives and other loves. These are just a few of the remarkable stories in Happy Families, but they all inhabit Fuentes's trademark Mexico, where modern obsessions bump up against those of the mythic past, and the result is a triumphant display of the many ways we reach out to one another and find salvation through irrepressible acts of love.

Contents:                 

A family like any other -- Chorus of the street gossips -- The disobedient son -- Chorus of the rival buddies -- A cousin without charm -- Chorus of the threatened daughter -- Conjugal ties (1) -- Chorus of the father of rock -- Mater Dolorosa -- Chorus of the perfect wife -- The mariachi's mother -- Chorus of the naked honeymoon -- Sweethearts -- Chorus of the murdered family -- The armed family -- Chorus of the suffering children -- The gay divorce -- Chorus of a son of the sea -- The official family -- Chorus of the family from the neighborhood -- The father's servant -- Chorus of rancorous families -- The secret marriage -- Chorus of the daughter who killed herself -- The star's son -- Chorus of the children of good families -- The discomfiting brother -- Chorus of the inspected family -- Conjugal ties (2) -- Chorus of the savage families -- Eternal father -- Choruscodaconrad.