One Year of Ugly

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Pub Date 14 May 2020 | Archive Date 1 Apr 2022

Description

‘A perfect staycation read’ Guardian

‘Funny, dark and brilliantly written… should be top of your TBR’ Stylist Magazine

‘Extraordinarily excellent’ Daily Mail

‘A completely addictive read that is laugh-out-loud funny’ Heat Magazine

Set in Trinidad, and told with wry humour and irresistible wit, ONE YEAR OF UGLY is a story of family, first love, and finding home.

When their beloved Aunt Celia dies, Yola and her family discover she had been keeping a huge secret – she was seriously in debt to local criminal, Ugly, and they must do his bidding until the debt is cleared..

So far, so ugly.

And then Ugly’s distracting gorgeous right-hand man Román arrives on the scene, and Yola just can't help herself. Could this wildly inappropriate (and very messy) romance be the perfect antidote?

‘A perfect staycation read’ Guardian

‘Funny, dark and brilliantly written… should be top of your TBR’ Stylist Magazine

...


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ISBN 9780008347093
PRICE £4.99 (GBP)
PAGES 448

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Featured Reviews

One year of ugly is a wickedly hilarious tale of a year in the life of the Palacios family. Full of dark humour with brilliant one liners,the author tackles a serious issue, that of illegal immigrants trying to live life under the radar of the authorities . Somehow despite the wit I didn’t feel the author was trivialising the subject and to bring the plight of this group of people to the attention of a wider audience in such an entertaining way should be applauded.
The Palacios family are illegal Venezuelan immigrants living in Port of Spain, Trinidad. They find themselves in huge debt to Ugly, a mafioso type, thanks to recently deceased Aunt Celia and are forced to repay this debt in a variety of ways, in particular housing other illegals. Featuring a wonderful cast of colourful characters this is one family I’d love to meet!! Ranging from a drunken uncle, alcoholic philandering brother and a nun like aunt turned Rambo their adventures had me in stitches.
Perhaps my only slight criticism is I become so engrossed in the lives of such vividly drawn characters and their hilarious antics that I had to keep reminding myself that this kind of life (though maybe not the escapades!) is reality for many.
It’s hard to pinpoint a favourite character out of this motley crew. Suffice to say the females in this novel are definitely the stronger sex. Yola takes centre stage but for me Aunt Milagros is a force to be reckoned with.
A special thanks to HarperCollins for inviting me to read this wonderful novel as it may have been a title I’d overlook whilst browsing in a bookshop. How much I enjoyed this took me by surprise so I urge people to pick up a copy or add to their tbr pile. Full of quirky characters, colourful language ,laugh out loud moments (strip club scenes especially) and oozing Latino charm this novel is hugely entertaining.
Thanks of course to the author and Netgalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review.

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I absolutely adored this book. It was a different read, I’ve not mead many similar books *this is good ;)*
I was desperately flipping pages to see how it was all going to pan out. It was well rounded off but I could have continued to read. It was fantastically written. I’ll for sure be on the lookout for more from this author in the future and I hold hope that this isn’t over 🥰

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There are very few books that kept me up all night, but with Roman and Yola’s sultry forbidden romance bursting from the pages against a backdrop of ridiculous gangsters and refugees, One Year of Ugly was well worth it. This book is worth its weight in gold, I cackled with laughter throughout and finished with a new life ambition – to ascend to the role of family b*itch. Highly recommend!

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A book a family I will not forget.A look at the life of immigrants in today’s world.This group of characters come alive they had me hysterically laughing as they jump from one problem to the next .This is so well written quirky entertaining.An author I will be following a book I will be recommending.#netgalley#harpercollinsuk

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Described as the 'most raucous debut of 2020' and 'told with raw, acid humour,' I was desperate to read One Year Of Ugly. I finished it just the other day and I can definitely say it lives up to its reputation! One Year of Ugly is sheer brilliance!

It tells the story of the lovable Palacios family, who having fled from their home country Venezuela, are now living as illegal immigrants in Trinidad. Told from the point of view of 24 year old Yola, the Palacios's appear to be settling into their new life under the radar.

But when Yola's Aunt Celia suddenly dies, the family are visited by a local crime lord called Ugly. Aunt Celia kept a massive secret - she owed Ugly thousands. But now Celia is dead, it is now the family that has to repay the debt.

This sounds pretty dark, but believe me, this book is far from dark. It is hilarious and refreshing. When writing this sensational read Caroline Mackenzie purposely used humour to portray the dangers, hardships and prejudices of being an illegal immigrant - and she does this to great effect.

And then there is Roman who is Ugly's right-hand man. Roman, a dangerous man is charged with keeping a beady eye on the family. Yet the sexual tension between Roman and Yola is explosive.

I really believe everyone is going to be raving about One Year Of Ugly. Everything about is brilliant. I think there is also talk about it being made into a Netflix series, which will be ace!

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A great read. Fun, quirky and entertaining, and full of interesting characters. You hope everything can work out for Yola and Roman despite what is happening around them.

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This book was an unexpected gem. It dealt with both grief and dealing with impossible situations.

The family of characters described was so vivid I didn’t want it to end.

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I loved this book, it was just everything I hoped for and more when I read the synopsis. It’s unique, quirky and absorbing, brilliant! I thought the humour used was perfect in dealing with important messages about immigration, freedom and the situation the world and humans are in at the moment. It highlights the real important things in life love, family and humanity. Thoroughly recommended and hopefully will be highly recognised for the brilliant book it is.you need to read this !

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

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When I started this book I suspected I wouldn’t enjoy it, wouldn’t like its strangeness, its very foreignness. But I loved it! It’s like a taste of another life, another normality.
That odd mix of humour (and there’s plenty of it!) and downright horror, shows a particularly light touch by the author.
A startling book, about things I previously knew nothing about.

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This is one of the funniest book I read in some time and I found it engrossing and entertaining.
The author is a talented storyteller and I loved the description of the family and how she developed the plot.
I loved the style of writing, the colourful and well thought characters, and the well crafted characters.
I look forward to reading other stories by this author.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

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One Year Of Ugly by Caroline Mackenzie tells the story of a family that escaped from Maduro's Venezuela to begin a new life in Trinidad. The Palacios family were living moderately within the confines of what their status afforded them. This all changed with a visit from Ugly, a local crime lord who had secured fraudulent residency permits for some members of the family. It turns out that a deceased member of the family, Aunt Celia, was indebted to Ugly. The entire family has to work off the six hundred thousand Trinidadian dollars in the manner dictated by Ugly. The challenges and how they navigate them are told from the perspective of Yola Palacios, an aspiring author whose situation is compromised when she falls in love with one of Ugly's men. The poignancy of the story is punctuated by hilarious events in the daily existence of the characters that make up the Palacios family. This story whilst dealing with the plight of fleeing refugees manages to invoke empathy and hope in its execution. Forbidden love, alcoholism, philandering, politics are all thrown in to make the book engaging until the last page.

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Absolutely adored this book! Funny, punchy and also very poignant. I am going to be recommending it to everyone I know.

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This was a fascinating story about a period in history of which I have very little previous knowledge. The suffering that the families went through was really bad. The characters were very varied and believable. Very sad in parts but a conclusion which gives some hope for the future.

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Oh my gosh I loved this book. It was just so good

It follows the story of Yola and her family, who have recently fled the hardship of their home country Venezuela and are now living in Trinidad. They get caught up with the local bad guy ‘Ugly’ who makes them pay back a debt belonging to a recently deceased aunt. What follows is a year of their lives living under his control.

The main thing about this book is that it’s very funny. Not comical funny, but quick- witted, sharp talking, laugh-out-loud funny. The characters are well developed and you can picture them in real life. Strong female characters are all through the novel, which I thought was fantastic. There’s also a romantic theme in the story when Yola’s life is complicated with the introduction of Ramon, Ugly’s main henchman.

I read reviews of this novel before I started it, where some critics admonished the author for including humour in a tale surrounding the plight of immigrants but I completely see what she was trying to do here. By including humour throughout this story, she is opening up this conversation to a wider audience.

I would definitely recommend this novel. 5 stars from me!

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I just simply adored this novel. This book is full of rich culture, drama, passion, angst, humour and family it was hard not to fall in love with it.

There's a lot going on in the book. It looks into identity, family, love, culture and many other things. It's simply not just a book about romance. This novel shows so much depth and poignancy.

And the use of language in the novel was incredible! I loved how it fully immersed the different cultures with the use of language.

The novel was funny too! There were moments where my sides hurt from laughing. I loved how chaotic this family was.

One thing that hit me the most was the theme of family; of loyalty. I felt connected to this family and I felt their love for one another too. It was beautiful.

And it didn't lack drama, either! The depth of emotion in this novel astounded me. I couldn't imagine being in this family's shoes, but I felt the pain with all the challenged that was given to them.

This book has to be one of my favourites of this year. I loved the feeling of love in this novel, the family's shenanigans kept me laughing, and I made me feel when it got to the more painful parts of the novel. It's a book that would most definitely be recommended by me for everybody to read.

Highly recommended!

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I started this book one evening, thinking I'd read a few chapters before sleep. But I just could not put it down until I had finished it in one sitting. What a triumph! One Year of Ugly deals with difficult issues but does so in a comedic way which does not in any way detract from the message the author is trying to deliver, rather it reflects how humour gets people through the hardest of times. Following the death of Yola's beloved Aunt Celia (who is in debt to Ugly), her whole family ends up being held to ransom by him - Ugly is a human trafficker and violent man. They must provide accomodation, at their expense, to Venezuelan refugees whilst Ugly arranges for fraudulent residency permits. Being illegal immigrants themselves, they have no choice and no protection from the law. Ugly's right-hand man in Roman, who Yola falls first in lust with, and then deeply in love. The feelings are reciprocated but their relationship must be conducted clandestinely, and is tainted by her guilt. As events take a darker turn, salvation comes from an unexpected source, and the family become freed from the shackles of Ugly. Witty, sharp and punchy, this is a fantastic read.

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When Yola’s family barbecue is crashed by a gangster named Ugly, they discover that they have inherited the huge debt of their recently deceased Aunt and that they will be paying it back by taking in in the fellow illegal immigrants that Ugly has transported into the country. To make matters even more complicated, Yola feels an instant spark with Ugly’s right hand man, the polite, cultured and terrifying Romàn.
‘One Year of Ugly’ is a wild, chaotic, hilarious romp of a novel. The Palacios’ instantly became one of my favourite fictional families, from Yola’s long suffering dad Hector to her philandering uncle Mauricio, to crazy aunt Milagros and the busty Irish twins Ava and Alejandra. Yola is a charming, wry, self deprecating and ballsy heroine whose romance with Romàn feels totally authentic and never overpowers the story.
Caroline Mackenzie has a wonderful way with words, and she writes with great humour and heart. I was impressed that no matter how wild the storyline became it felt as though she had a real hold on things, and it never became so wild as to be silly.
‘One Year of Ugly’ is one of the best books I have read in a long time, and certainly the best debut. Funny and gutsy and poignant, I could have read hundreds more pages about the Palacios. Many thanks to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Utterly hilarious in a dark humour way; this is the tale of the Palacios family, originally from Venezuela, now living as illegals in Trinidad. When Yola Palacios’ Aunt Celia suddenly dies the whole family find their world upended. It transpires that Celia had a big and ugly secret, she was seriously in debt to a local gangster, going by the name of Ugly. The family have no money to be able to pay him off, so they have to work for him until the debt is cleared. This work includes housing other illegals and working in a gentlemen’s night club. Ugly is mistrustful of the family and puts the dangerous, but extremely attractive, Roman in charge of keeping a close eye on the family. Yola is smitten but also conscious of the fact he is one of the bad guys.

There is a delightful cast of vivid characters, ranging from the philandering brother and the drunken uncle to the prim and proper aunt who morphs into a cigarette smoking, gun toting vigilante. The story is told with great wit and powerful humour and the events the characters get caught up in are devastatingly funny.

It might seem odd to say that a story about illegal immigrants who have had to flee their home country and are now living with the fear of deportation is comic but as the author herself says ‘I wrote the book as a comedic novel because there is nothing that makes even the heaviest subjects more accessible than humour.'

I think this is going to be one of the books of 2020.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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The Palacios family are Venezuelan illegal immigrants enjoying a family-centred happy and successful life in Trinidad. That is until Ugly introduces himself to them after the death of Aunt Celia. The latter has borrowed money off self-styled gangster Ugly and he is determined that the Palacios will re-pay their debt.
Part of the deal is for them to house fellow Venezuelans as they enter the country for as long as Ugly commands. Later, they are instructed to work in his ‘upmarket’ strip club several nights a week as well. Understandably, the family are very upset but what can they do against such a powerful and unscrupulous man?
Told through the eyes of one of the daughters, Yola, a translator and promising writer, we are given an often hilarious picture of immigrant life. She is feisty, clever and ambitious. However, she has one fatal weakness – Roman, Ugly’s right-hand man. How can she even think of a liaison?
Caroline Mackenzie’s first novel is impressive. Both an important portrayal of difficulties facing the Venezuelans in Trinidad and, by implication, anyone who is displaced, and a social comedy exposing all the highs and lows of living in an extended family, ‘One Year of Ugly’ is certainly worth reading. Her characters remain with the reader long after the final page and it is no surprise that the novel has been optioned for television. More problematic might be recreating the unusual and effective comedic tone on screen combined with the serious issues that all exploited people face, something that Mackenzie does so well on paper.
My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, The Borough Press for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

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I loved Yola and her family and I'm so pleased that Caroline's aim of making the novel dark but humorous really worked; it made it all feel a lot more true-to-life, without making the very serious subject feel trivial at all. . The relationship between Yola and Roman also felt very real.

Aunt Celia's voice came across really strongly as well, albeit only in her diaries.

This novel gripped me from the start and held my attention all of the way through. In places it's laugh-out-loud funny - highly recommended.

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I loved every second of 24-year old Yola Palacios and her family’s crazy life. Originally from Venezuela, the family (Yola plus her mum, dad, brother, sister, aunts, uncle and cousins) are forced to emigrate to Trinidad to escape the awful living conditions of their homeland. This is the first novel I’ve read that has refugees as its lead characters, so straight away that made it really eye-opening for me (and made me realise I need to look to expand the themes in the novels I read).

Settled into their new life in Trinidad, the Palacios family’s world is blown apart by the arrival of an extravagantly dressed gangster named Ugly… He informs them that their recently deceased Aunt Celia owes him a lot of money, and he has now come to claim it from her family. They have no choice but to do as he says due to their precarious illegal status in Trinidad and the fact that he has a gun.

Now, this might not sound like the backdrop for either a highly-charged romance sub-plot or a an overall tone that’s actually very dry and funny to read, but that is what Caroline Mackenzie does so well here. She perfectly balances serious issues with an emotive, entertaining writing style that really makes you care for Yola – about her blossoming romance, her aspirations to be a writer and her family’s survival. Plus her snappy, witty take on things is a delight to read.

One Year of Ugly is a great story about family loyalty and opened my eyes to a new culture and way of life. It’s packed full of dark humour, it raises important issues and completely hooks you in with its fast-paced story. A pretty impressive trio of attributes, wouldn’t you agree?

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One Year of Ugly is the story of the extended Palacios family who are building a new life in Trinidad after fleeing their home country. Despite the fact that the families are living and working in Trindad illegally they all seem pretty happy until the sudden death of Aunt Celia. The shock and sadness of a very strong member of their family is added to by the discovery that she was in debt to a people smuggler / fixer - and this is where the story starts.
The story is told with humour and at times it can feel wrong that as a reader you are enjoying a story so much which has as its backbone the injustice and uncertainty of the lives of illegal immigrants, however when you read Caroline Mackenzie's notes at the end of the story you understand how she is bringing this story to a much wider audience this way.

The Palacios family is full of strong female characters and you really get to know them , even Aunt Celia who we get to know through Yola's thoughts and reading of her memoir. You are with the family through their fun, fear, laughter, tears, love, lust, desperation and hope.

I was given a copy of One Year of Ugly by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an honest review.

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What a family!
I love this very funny but sensitive look at immigration in today’s society. The relationships and complexity of the characters is genius. The characters are so well written you can’t help but love them. It’s quite a fast pace book as you can’t help but devour it, needing to know how it all turns out and it’s so laugh out loud funny I had to keep apologising to my family for disturbing them. A nice sidestep from the genres that I normally read, I’m looking forward to reading more from this very talented writer.

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Was not sure I would like this. It follows a family fleeing from Venezuela and being in the grip of the people traffickers. Fascinating, well written, gentle but challenging. Would recommend...

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My thanks to HarperCollins The Borough Press for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘One Year of Ugly’ by Caroline Mackenzie in exchange for an honest review. It’s available in ebook format now with the hardback and audiobook editions to be published on 23 July.

“It was Aunt Celia who got us into the whole mess. The entire Palacios family thrust smack into the middle of a crime ring.”

Yola Palacios and her family had escaped from
Venezuela and are settling into their new peaceful life in Trinidad. Yet when her beloved Aunt Celia dies, the family discovers that she had been concealing a big secret – the Palacios are in serious debt to a local criminal called Ugly. As they don’t have the funds to pay him they must do his bidding until the debt is cleared. Or else!

When Román, Ugly's gorgeous right-hand man, turns up, Yola finds herself strongly attracted to him. Yet this potential romance is not only foolish but possibly dangerous, but can she resist?

Caroline Mackenzie opens with an Author’s Note to detail how she came to write ‘One Year of Ugly’ after witnessing the influx of Venezuelan refugees into Trinidad and the responses to them:

“though the subject matter is heavy in that exile, exploitation and the collapse of Venezuela constitute major themes, I wrote the book as a comedic novel because there is nothing that makes even the heaviest subjects more accessible than humour. My rationale is that a comic approach to telling a difficult story will not only help humanize my characters, but that it will help the book reach those readers who might, for whatever reason, be put off by the more traditional immigrant narrative.”

I certainly felt that Mackenzie succeeded as I found this a brilliant blend of thriller, romance, and dark comedy combined with family drama. There is strong language and scenes of violence, though these felt appropriate given the subject matter.

I felt that she skilfully balanced the multi-layered plot with a large cast of characters and brought them and the Trinidadian setting vividly to life. I will be adding the audiobook edition to my wish list as I certainly would revisit this novel.

Given its excellent storytelling and addressing of important social issues, I would imagine that this would be an excellent choice for reading groups that are looking for contemporary fiction that is a little different.

It’s a strong debut and Netflix has optioned it for a future television series.

Highly recommended.

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The Palacios escaped from the crumbling socialism of Venezuela a few years ago and have been trying to keep a low profile in their new home of Trinidad. They all work hard and live their lives, but also live in fear that they will be deported back home.

But when Aunt Celia unexpectedly dies, her debt to an underworld gangster named Ugly is revealed. The family are essentially sold into an indefinite servitude of harbouring more illegal immigrants for Ugly until the unspecific time when their debt will be repaid. What Yola expected even less was her intense physical attraction to Ugly's right hand man, Román, which leads to a steamy ongoing romance behind their scenes of their new, criminal, lives.

You may well think that romance has no place in a story about people becoming trapped by their status as 'illegals' and harbouring others who are trying to flee a country. It really shouldn't - there's just so much else going on that needs unpacking. But in this case, it works.

Part of that is down to the brilliant voice of Yola. She tells it exactly the way things are. She's straight-talking, intelligent, no-nonsense and sarcastic. Not in a 'I've made this strong woman in the face of all these difficulties' - it's just who she is and she's telling it how it is. That's part of what makes this so good and so funny.

Another part is her family - they are loud and raucous, happily fitting their own Latin stereotypes. But they are family, which means that they stick together. They're close, although that's both a good and a bad thing in this situation, and their relationship together takes on a greater importance throughout the story - the whole criminal gangster threatening our lives and our residency storyline almost feels like the funny one because everything else is so strong and normal.

And then there's the romance - it all gets pretty hot and heavy between Yola and Román, definitely no holds barred. And it's good. Especially because it's not a blow by blow account of everything - little details are added in later on. We're not sharing everything with them, just the impression of everything. It's good writing.

And then there's the whole (big) issue with illegal immigration. Sometimes that is what feels like the most ridiculous thing in this novel, that people have to live without personhood status, and around the government, or have to escape their own country. In the relative normality of everything else going on in this novel, it's this that feels like the dark comedy.

But there are also moments where it's beautifully and achingly described:

"Our immigrant story is as classic and unchanging as any Hans Christian Anderson fairytale - the tale of the illegal refugees who risked it all to live like cockroaches, hiding in the dank cranks of an unknown society where they hope no one will find them, antennae forever twitching, listening for the heavy boot of National Security, only to discover the strange new place that they call home has all the ugliness of the world they left behind, except worse, because here you're stripped of rights, dignity, personhood."

Although the Palacios want to help their fellow countrymen, they are very aware that they are doing so without any legal standing of their own - in some ways they are in greater danger, their status further reduced, than the refugees they are hosting.

More importantly, none of this can truly end happily - and that's not forced on you. It ends the way it needs to, and the way it should.

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This book was a surprise in the best of ways.
I expected light contemporary fiction.
What I got was a warm and sparkly read about family, love and how far you’ll go to protect the ones you care about. This is beautifully written and will make you laugh, want the best for and genuinely care about the main character, Yola.

Absolutely recommend.

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What a wonderful fun book this is. It filled me with a warm love for Yola and her huge family.

It does deal with a serious issue of people trafficking, and the consequences for those who are vulnerable as Yola and her family are to the traffickers, but it’s dealt with in a light way, and there is so much love and humour in the story that you just can’t put it down. I wanted to stay with them!.

I loved Yola and her family, and I just enjoyed this book so much!

My thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for the advance copy.

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Warning: don't read this if you're offended by swearing or millenials! I adored this book right from the beginning. The characters came to life and from very early on I was invested in their story - both of the Palacios family as a whole, and in Yola's individual journey.

The sardonic tone of the story adds to my love of the characters, because it makes them realists. I'll remind you here that this is a work of fiction, and as such there may be some elements of disbelief - but isn't that was fiction is for? There are stereotypes and cliches, and even a couple of moments where I rolled my eyes, but in my opinion that's exactly why I read contemporary fiction - if I wanted the disappointment and tragedy of real life, I'd go to the local bus station. Underneath the story are real issues that need to be addressed and this book does so with a sprinkle of sugar, a good belly laugh, and characters who fly off the pages with their exploration, attitude and vulnerability.

Just one more thing, and this is a tip of my hat directly to Caroline McKenzie - there is a real knack in this book for placing me firmly in time. It's not always easy, and not always obvious, but when an author has the skill to ensure the reader always knows where they are in time, it can truly lift a piece of fiction from mediocrity into excellence.

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The entire Palacio family, hating the President’s corrupt regime, have fled their homes in Venezuela, following their beloved Aunt Celia to Trinidad, where they are living and working as illegal immigrants. The story is told by Yola, definitely the brightest member of the family, who works as a freelance translator though would dearly love to become a writer.

We are introduced to the family shortly after Aunt Celia’s sad death, at a barbecue organised by her ex-husband, Mauricio who thinks that a get-together could start the road back to normality (whatever that may be!). The day is interrupted by the appearance of Ugly, a gun-toting criminal, and his dishy henchman, Roman, who causes Yola’s heart to flutter. Ugly imparts the news that Aunt Celia owed him a vast sum of money which they must repay. When it is obvious that cash repayment is impossible they find themselves forced into sheltering more and more illegals and the story develops at a fast pace into a tragicomedy with romance thrown in as Yola falls head over heels in love with Roman.

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Thanks to the Borough Press (Harper Collins UK) and NetGalley for providing me an ARC copy of this novel that I freely chose to review.
This is a debut novel, and what a debut! Although I hadn’t heard of the author before, I was thrilled when I realised that we had a few things in common (I’ve also worked as a translator, and we’re both alumnae of Sussex University. Go Sussex!), and I am sure this will not be the last novel I read by Mackenzie.
This novel touches on many things, and although it does it with wit and humour (at times a very sharp and quite dark sense of humour), the themes it delves in are quite serious. Illegal immigrants (in this case, Venezuelans in Trinidad) that try to settle into their new life, but whose already uncertain and danger-ridden existence becomes more complicated when they are blackmailed into doing all kind of other illegal things to settle the debt a member of their family, Aunt Celia, left unpaid upon her sudden death. The Palacios, an extended but close family, with their traditions, their unique personalities, their traditions from home and from their adopted land, their parties and meals together, with their quirks and their not-quite-upstanding members, are suddenly thrown into the hands of the criminal underworld, and their lives become even more dangerous. There is blackmail, housing other illegal immigrants, being tracked and followed, having to work all hours to keep their non-paying guests, being threatened and pushed around, and some of their members are even driven out of their minds by the pressure. To all these events (and more that I’m keeping quiet), we have to add life as usual for this family, and that includes: secret love-children, a young girl’s pregnancy, dangerous love affairs, strong women (some with a flair for drama), weak-willed men, heavy drinking, unfaithful husbands, grief and mourning, mental illness, trying to fit into a completely different place and being the object of prejudice and suspicion. The author explains her reasons for choosing to write a comedy in her note at the end, and they make perfect sense to me. First, because, as she says, some people might resist reading another book that deals in some of these very serious topics if they are presented in a straightforward manner, but a comedy might reach those readers, and also, because comedy and humour are great weapons to deal with dark situations and to endure and keep hope alive when things are tough. The author does a great job, both in dealing with the illegal immigration angle, and also in creating a family that we love (or at times, love to hate).
There are many characters, some pretty major (not all the members of the family have important roles, but we do get to know them fairly well by the end of the novel, although there are plenty of surprises, and I’m not only talking about Aunt Milagros here), and others that only pass-by, like some of the illegal immigrants they are forced to house through the year, and in many cases they are depicted like a cartoonist would do, exaggerating some traits for comedic purposes, but affectionately. Yola, the main protagonist, who narrates the story in the first-person, is intelligent, witty, hard-working, and although she might not see eye-to-eye with all the members of her family, she loves them fiercely and would do anything for all of them, even for the new arrivals that she’s not so keen on. Aunt Celia, who has died just before the story starts, is also very present in the novel, as she had been writing her biography/memoir, and the manuscript is passed on to Yola, who is also a writer and translator, and whom the majority of the members of the family think of as the most suited to follow in Aunt Celia’s steps (and become the family’s official bitch). Celia’s book is priceless, and we get to hear her voice through Yola’s reading. Then we have Ugly, who although doesn’t turn up often, his few appearances are very memorable. And Román, the romantic hero (yes, I know, the name is self-explanatory), who at first appears more of an antihero, but there is more to him than his gorgeous looks, and, well, let’s say the romance side of the story is bound to satisfy most readers keen on the genre. I liked Yola, and although some of her actions seemed pretty unreasonable and inconsistent, she is fully aware of it. As we’re inside her head, it’s easy to empathise, especially because she’s put in pretty impossible situations at times, and it’s difficult to imagine what else she could do. I also liked most of the members of her family, and yes, Aunt Celia and Aunt Milagros truly shine through. The female characters are more memorable than the males (other than Román and Ugly), but they are also familiar, and it’s likely that most readers would identify people they know who share characteristics with them. As is the case in all families, you might have your favourites, but there’s so much history shared that you feel for them. Yes, I’ll miss the Palacios.
The writing is sharp, witty, and eminently quotable. It flows well and although I know many readers don’t like first-person narratives, I enjoyed this one, and also the fragments from Aunt Celia’s memoirs. There are words and expressions in Spanish (I’m not from Venezuela, but the Spanish terms are well-written, and the research has paid up), but they do not impede the understanding of the text, and rather add to the atmosphere and the realism of the piece. I have highlighted the text extensively, but I’ll try to share a few examples of the writing. As usual, I’d recommend prospective readers to check a sample first, to see if it suits their taste. (Some reviewers did not like the humorous tone when dealing with such serious matters, but I felt that was one of the strong points of the novel).
“Her wit was as lethal as a syringe of cyanide.”
“Only a real political genius like him, with his communist sympathies despite everything we’d been through in Caracas, would name his kid after Fidel Castro.”
“Our immigrant story is as classic and unchanging as any Hans Christian Andersen fairytale —the tale of the illegal refugees who risked it all to live like cockroaches, hiding in the dank cracks of an unknown society where they hope no one will find them, antennae forever twitching, listening for the heavy boot of National Security, only to discover that the strange new place they call home has all the ugliness of the world they left behind, except worse, because here you’re stripped of rights, dignity, personhood.”
“’Life is a big piece of sugarcane’. ‘Sugarcane?’ ‘Yes, a maldito sugarcane! You have to bite down hard and suck as much sweetness out of it as you can.’”
The ending is open to interpretation and to what we have learned and think about Yola. I liked it, as I liked the whole book, and whichever choice readers think she goes for, it is certain to be hopeful and positive (although this being Yola, not without a touch of irony and ambivalence). Considering what happens during the book, the ending is perhaps too neat, but this is a comedy so it goes with the territory, and I think most readers will enjoy it.
This is a great debut novel, which deals in serious topics using a comedic register that in my opinion works very well but might not suit everybody. The characters are wonderful, if somewhat cartoonish at times, and the family Palacios is likely to stay with readers for a long time. I recommend this novel to people interest in finding new authors, and who don’t mind the use of dark comedy to discuss important issues. I highly recommend this book and I am looking forward to the next novel by the author.

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I loved this book. I raced through it but didn’t want it to end. I laughed so much throughout it. I really hope we have more to come from this family.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

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This is a brilliant book. I must admit I felt bad for laughing at some parts, but isn't it astonishing that a book makes you feel this way? And this book made me feel a variety of things, I was appalled, intrigued, laughing and disgusted at same time!
I also have never read anything about Venezuelans before, not anything set in Trinidad although I really love reading about South American countries. I highly recommend this one!

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This is such a unique read and certainly a book that I will not forget. The characters are well developed and jump from the pages and the author tackles a tricky subject brilliantly and with good humour.

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Absolutely amazing - my favourite read of the year - completely blew me away. It was hilariously dark and had me cackling away into the night as my eyes refused to unglue itself from the sensational characters and compelling story. The strong language, violence and sexual content may not be everyone's tipple, but the political commentary is so sharp is grazes the tip of your nose.

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One of the first books I requested and had approved on Netgalley this year was One Year Of Ugly. I wasn’t sure what to expect of it so, distracted by other books, I left it to sit on my Netgalley shelf to gather dust.

What. A. Mistake.

Before I go on, let me briefly outline the story. Having fled political upheaval and conflict in Venezuela, the Palacios family reside as undocumented immigrants in nearby Trinidad. In the aftermath of the death of Aunt Celia, thug and criminal Ugly turns up at the Palacios household to demand his due for Celia’s debts. Written through the eyes of Yola Palacios’, a year of paying off the debt manifests in many ways including hosting Venezuelan immigrants and working at a strip club, in the midst of which a dark and dangerous forbidden romance ensues between Yola and Ugly’s irresistibly gorgeous right-hand man, Roman.

My apprehension at reading One Year Of Ugly immediately dissipated upon the first few pages when Yola’s wry humour shines through. Immediately enthralled by the narrative, I found myself becoming immersed in the dysfunction of Celia’s family dynamics and the warmth of the closeness between the Palacios.

The underlying issues of escaping political upheaval, trying to live the quiet life as illegal immigrants under the radar of the authorities while doing Ugly’s bidding is far from trivialised by the hilarity. This unfamiliar subject matter is brought a wider audience by Caroline Mackenzie’s ability to engross readers with Yola’s directness and the natural character development. A notable character in One Year Of Ugly is Aunt Milagros who, initially regarded as uptight, comes into her own as a badass. It was insightful to read the depths of racism and colourism that exists within the Trinidadian culture as well as the attitudes towards Venezuelan immigrants.

The romance between Yola and Roman is steamy yet thankfully based on substance. My only contention was the depiction of the strip club the Palacios are forced to work at and opens up a greater discussion around the morals of choosing to work in the stripper and sex industry. I was appalled that the way to drum up business was forcing strippers pay a steep commission for their work reminding me of the gig economy we’re in and the similarity of such nefarious business practices to companies like Uber where they classify their drivers as ‘self-employed’ rather than employees.

Thankfully, the strip club doesn’t last long and the Palacios are able to find a way out of their predicament eventually resulting in a fairly obvious but not completely confirmed ending for Yola.

One Year Of Ugly is a wickedly hilarious debut from born and raised Trinidadian, Caroline Mackenzie, that’ll have you hooked and giggling on one page, apprehensive for the fate of the Palacios family on another and rooting for Yola and Roman on the third page. The versatility of this brilliantly written novel means you’re in for a fantastically fun time.

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Sorry - forgot to post this review, now going through reviews had written and saved, yet not posted:

It's rare, very rare, that a book lives up to the hype.

One Year of Ugly did. I could go on and on and on, but I won't. I'll leave the line above to stand for itself and my opinion on this book.

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