A collection of interconnected stories of anxious people, STRESS explores the lives of (mostly) queer Latinx men living in NYC and the daily stress they face from hailing taxis, nannying, online dating, having an impromptu play date, getting therapy (or maybe being retraumatized) by white psychologists, etc.

STRESS encourages the readers to think about WHO the anxious people are and WHY they are more stressed. Each short story masterfully explores this theme and emphasizes why everything is political and about race—POC can't just "turn it off" when living in a world built by white supremacy.

As was in THE TOWN OF BABYLON, Varela leverages his background in public health and references statistics on the devastating health effects of systemic racism. I love this about Varela's work; since I often get confused by short stories, the public health commentaries help provide a focal point in all these stories.

Thank you to Astra House for the gifted ARC