Review of “Marcelo in the Real World,” by Francisco X. Stork

“Marcelo in the Real World,” by Francisco X. Stork is a fascinating story about a boy who has an autism-like condition. The story focuses on his unique thinking processes and the effects that they have on his relationships in the real world.

Marcelo Sandoval has several major interests. First and foremost he loves music. Not only can Marcelo hear the individual notes of music in a manner much different from the way most people listen to music, but he can also hear music in his head even when none is playing. Second, Marcelo is deeply interested in God and religion, and he spends large amounts of time reading various religious texts and praying. Marcelo’s third interest is horses. He goes to Paterson, a special school for students with physical or mental challenges. Marcelo works in the stables, caring for the the horses and training them to work with deaf or disabled children.

Marcelo plans to spend his summer in the Paterson stables, but his father Arturo has other plans. Arturo has never quite believed in Marcelo’s inner music or his other thinking differences, and he feels that Marcelo should be going to a normal high school, not a special school like Paterson. Arturo has good motives, though. He wants Marcelo to be fully prepared for an independent life. He doesn’t want Marcelo to be limited to the friendly and peaceful environment of Paterson. He wants to introduce Marcelo to the “real world.”

Arturo announces that he wants Marcelo to work at his law firm for the summer. If Marcelo does a good job, to the best of his ability, then Arturo will let him go back to Paterson in the fall. If Marcelo does a bad job, or does not even try to get used to the real world, then he will send him to public school.

When Marcelo starts his work at his father’s law office he just hopes to make it through the summer and return to Paterson. However, the more time he spends at the office, the more he begins to learn about the jealousy, competition, and secrets that run through its dynamic environment. Arturo shares the law firm with a parter, Stephen Holmes. There is constant competition between the two of them to bring in more clients and more money to the law firm.

Marcelo settles into his job delivering mail to the different offices, aided by Jasmine, his beautiful and surprisingly strong female coworker. As Marcelo learns the skills he needs he is assigned another job within the office, that of sorting through boxes of important documents associated with the Vidromek case, a case that could make or break his father’s law firm. Vidromek is a manufacturer of windshields. Unfortunately the windshields do not meet important shatter specifications, and as a result they can be dangerous or fatal in a car crash. Arturo, Stephen Holmes, and their law firm are handling defense, working to protect Vidromek from having to pay the consequences for their bad windshield design.

When Marcelo finds a picture of a girl who is missing half of her face because of a car wreck that involved a Vidromek windshield, it puts the case in a whole new light for him. Marcelo begins to wonder why his father would protect a large company, rather than working to help those such as the girl who are suffering from injustice. Marcelo is determined to do something to help her, even if it puts himself and his father’s law firm at risk.

I felt that “Marcelo and the Real World” was a very heartfelt and original story. The main character Marcelo has a fascinating personality, and his thought processes, though different from those of most people, are laid out so that the reader can understand them. Author Francisco X. Stork uses various techniques to portray Marcelo’s condition. One of these is the avoidance of the personal pronoun in Marcelo’s speech and thoughts. Marcelo refers to himself as “Marcelo” rather than “I.” In addition, when talking to someone he tends to use their name rather than saying “you.” For example, when talking to his mother, named Aurora, he says: “Aurora looks very elegant.” This unique speech pattern characterizes his conversations and gives them an extra dimension of realism.

The other characters in “Marcelo and the Real World” are also very well designed. They have strong personalities, and Francisco Stork does a good job of weaving them together realistically. The plot, however, is not quite as satisfying as would be hoped. The ending doesn’t feel as complete as could be desired, but it ends on an upbeat note.

Overall, I feel that “Marcelo and the Real World” is definitely a great book. Its strongest and most interesting ingredient is Marcelo himself, and I would read “Marcelo and the Real World” just to experience his unique personality and speech.

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