Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Bibliography:

Sáenz, Benjamin Alire. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2014. ISBN: 1442408936

Plot Summary:

Aristotle, a 15-year-old loner, navigates the confusion and melancholy of adolescence in El Paso in the late 80s. Haunted by the silence of his father, a Vietnam War vet, and his parents’ unwillingness to speak of his imprisoned older brother, Aristotle churns with nightmares and the creeping feeling that something is wrong with him. When he meets Dante at the local pool, a sensitive, playful, and confident young man with a passion for poetry and art and a distaste for wearing shoes, Ari finds friendship for the first time in his life. After a devastating car accident that leaves Ari with broken legs and complicated feelings about saving his best friend’s life, Ari must begin to confront the secrets that keep him and his family trapped in silence. In the end, not only Ari and Dante, but their parents as well, discover the freedom and authenticity that comes from cracking open the painful and liberating secrets of the universe, finding love and each other in the process.

Critical Analysis:

Benjamin Alire Sáenz has imagined protagonists so lovable and believable that young adult readers will find truth and comfort in their candid emotional journey. For Ari, tormented by the confusion that comes with the liminal space of adolescence, love and hate mingle together in the same breath. He seeks to push against the confining rules and expectations set upon him by his parents, setting his own rules and asking his own questions about who he is and where he fits in, if at all. “The Ari I used to be didn’t exist anymore. And the Ari I was becoming? He didn’t exist yet.”

The dichotomy of hiding or sharing what is inside forms one of the central questions the novel seeks to illuminate. Dante, wearing his heart on his sleeve, disrupts Ari’s private world, teaching him to share his feelings and learn the new rules of total honesty. Still, Ari is hidden even to himself, longing to be as pure and uncomplicated as his dog Legs. “I was in love with the innocence of dogs, the purity of their affection. They didn't know enough to hide their feelings. They existed.” The parents in this novel play a key role in the lives of their sons, and they all must learn to accept that adults are only human and don’t always make the right choices. Their emotional journey of honesty is compelled by the events of their sons’ lives, and they must choose whether to become vulnerable or keep their silence.

The story could be argued to belong to the historical fiction genre since it takes place in El Paso in the 80s and deals with the aftermath of the Vietnam War and its psychological toll on Ari’s father. However, the novel’s themes transcend its moment in history. The boys grapple to understand their sexual identities, gender roles, stereotypes, their Mexican-American heritage, their goodness or badness, the secrets of human nature, coming out, experimenting with drugs and alcohol, and what it means to be friends and more than friends. Still, Sáenz manages to explore these myriad coming-of-age themes in natural, authentic language, without preaching or moralizing. Ari’s voice feels true, complicated, embarrassed, angry, often speaking in fragments and wondering aloud, taking the form of journal entries, dreams, letters, and realistic dialogue. The straightforward writing style and brief chapters make this book an excellent selection for a diverse range of young adults. Readers will find themselves enrapt in the spirit of friendship and stargazing in the desert, asking themselves what it means to be honest, kind, brave, and free. A must read.

Awards and Review Excerpts:

Michael L. Printz Award
Lambda Literary Award
Stonewall Book Award
Pura Belpré Award for narrative fiction
Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award finalist

"A tender, honest exploration of identity and sexuality, and a passionate reminder that love—whether romantic or familial—should be open, free, and without shame." Publishers Weekly

"Sáenz writes toward the end of the novel that ‘to be careful with people and words was a rare and beautiful thing.’ And that’s exactly what Sáenez does—he treats his characters carefully, giving them space and time to find their place in the world, and to find each other...those struggling with their own sexuality may find it to be a thought-provoking read." Booklist

"Sáenz is a master at capturing the conversation of teens with each other and with the adults in their lives." Library Media Connection

Connections: 

Explore other Stonewall Book Award winners for Young Adult fiction:
Gilbert, Kelly Loy. Picture Us in the Light. New York: Little, Brown, 2018. ISBN: 1484726022
Konigsberg, Bill. The Porcupine of Truth. New York: Scholastic, 2016. ISBN: 1338032453

Explore the poetry of Benjamin Alire Sáenz and invite students to express themselves by writing their own poems:
The Book of What Remains. Port Townsend: Copper Canyon Press, 2010. ISBN: 1556592973
Elegies in Blue: A Book of Poems. El Paso: Cinco Puntos Press, 2002. ISBN: 0938317644

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