Have You Seen Luis Velez?

Bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde has crafted yet another novel that is destined to be beloved by readers.

Sixteen-year-old Raymond Jaffe's only friend, Andre, is moving to California. On their last morning walking to school together, they descend the stairs in the apartment building where Raymond lives with his mother, stern stepfather, and half-sisters to find an old woman standing in the doorway of her apartment. She is calling out, "Hello?" Raymond notices that even though he is standing right in her line of sight, she seems not to see him. When he acknowledges her, she asks, "Do you know Luis Velez?"

When Raymond returns from school that afternoon, the old woman is again (or still?) in the doorway of her apartment, ringing her hands. When Raymond stops to converse with her, she thanks him for stopping, explaining, "Most people don't stop. Most people hurry by. When I ask a question, they hurry faster. I wonder sometimes why we're all so afraid of one another. Or . . . actually . . . no, I don't really wonder. I know why. But I reflect on it. And I think it's a shame." Raymond learns that for more than four years Luis Velez has been helping and checking on her at least three times per week. She asks Raymond if perhaps his family might know Luis and after he assures her that he will inquire, she tells him, "You're a thoughtful young man." For a moment, Raymond freezes, allowing her words to settle over him and savoring the good feeling they inspire. At that moment, Raymond does not know, of course, that his chance encounters with a ninety-two-year-old blind woman will prove to be a life-altering.

Thus begins a friendship and a journey. Raymond realizes that if Luis has stopped checking on Mildred "Millie" Gutermann, she no longer has anyone helping he. He soon learns that Luis was Milie's lifeline. He walked her to the bank and grocery shopping, but since it has been seventeen days since he last checked on Millie, her food supply is precariously low. Thus, Raymond accompanies her to the bank and grocery store, in the process learning not just about how someone without sight navigates the world and maintains a living space free from dangerous obstacles. Raymond takes over the role of caregiver. As Raymond and Millie drink tea and get to know each other, and Raymond's self-perception and outlook begin to change dramatically.

He soon realizes that he is not the same person he was on that fateful morning. And that he must find Luis so that Millie will know exactly why he abandoned her abruptly. There are many individuals named Luis Velez in a large city. Raymond encounters a number of them along the way and makes some new friends in the process. Eventually, he finds his way to the family of the Luis Velez who cared for Millie and learns tragic news. His death effects Millie deeply. She explains that she has known many people who died young, declining to expound further, but wisely tells Raymond, "It would be a filing to recognize that life took Luis away but also brought you to me." Eventually, as their unusual friendship deepens, Raymond learns about Millie's past and the impact that survivor's guilt has had upon her choices and relationships.

Hyde is known for writing stories about the resiliency of the human spirit, as well as the connectedness and sense of community that seems so lacking in America today. Have You Seen Luis Velez? is tender exploration of a most unlikely friendship that transforms two individuals on the opposite spectrum of life. Raymond discovers that helping someone else brings him rewards -- improved self-esteem and relationships with the other important people in his life, as well as the ability to recognize when a friendship is no longer healthy because it does not enhance one's life and it is perfectly acceptable to end it. Millie, the old woman who cannot see, is, ironically, the first person Raymond feels as ever truly seen him, but she helps him understand that perhaps it is he who needs to take a second look at his life and the people in it. And Raymond, through his kindness, brings Millie out of the darkness that has shrouded her life, and helps her to remember that living a long life "is a gift denied to many, and so it comes with a responsibility to make the most of it. At the very least to appreciate it. People gripe about growing older -- their aches and pains, how much harder everything is -- as if they had forgotten that the alternative is dying young."

Have You Seen Luis Velez? is also a timely commentary about a modern society in which millions of individuals live in isolation, cut off from each other. Ryan gently illustrates how reaching out to someone in need reaps benefits for both parties, and dispels loneliness and self-recriminations. Ryan's approach is never heavy-handed and her skillful creation of fully developed, realistic and empathetic characters proves her point gently, eloquently, and with great emotional impact upon her readers.

Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.

Great book

It's ok

A good “feel good” book but a little boring. Predictable.

Insighful joyful read