Xochitl Gonzalez uses a nostalgic lens to make Last Night in Brooklyn abundant with possibility and uncertainty for its 2007 borough. At the beginning of the story, mid-twenties Alicia is learning that she has a lot of “finding herself” to do post graduation.
Influenced by her anxious mother, Alicia has shaped her life trajectory to achieve upward mobility. At just 26, her future is all planned out: she is engaged to a medical student and is saving up for her wedding. Essentially, she is biding her time until her fiancé becomes a doctor. She works an entry-level position at an advertising agency, writing copy and becoming entwined with the burgeoning creative community in Brooklyn.
Without meaning to, she slowly begins excavating her plans as she explores a new way of life for herself. At this crucial point in her life, she meets an enigmatic fashion designer on the rise. As she becomes more wrapped up in this world than she planned, things come to a head when one of her family members moves into town.
As such, Last Night in Brooklyn reimagines the 1925 classic The Great Gatsby, both in narrative structure and some themes. However, in Gonzalez’s book, Latinidad is as present on the page as the characters themselves. Alicia is Afro-Puerto Rican, and her friends are also mostly young people of color trying to make it while having endless fun. On the page, Xochitl Gonzalez allows them to be messy and make mistakes: they thrive, love, struggle, dream, and celebrate together every chance they get. Now more than ever, we need media that celebrates characters in this way.
In Last Night in Brooklyn, upward mobility and what it looks like for people of color is a recurring theme. As the characters work to break further into their industries, their relative privilege and opportunities become more apparent. One woman of color has to do so much more to move up at work than a man of color in the novel. Race, class, and the intersections of both shape these dynamics, allowing Gonzalez to hold up a mirror to American society.
Gonzalez also heavily centers home, and how we define it. The 2000’s Brooklyn that Alicia and her friends navigate is more than just a backdrop for the story; it’s a character in itself. Gonzalez brings Brooklyn alive on the page – it has a bustling energy while still feeling like a small stage for its cast of characters. There’s a different party every night, the neighborhood bars and bodegas are practically second homes, and new creative opportunities spring up around every corner.
This Brooklyn’s lightheartedness is only more nostalgic because it no longer exists. When the story begins, gentrification has just begun rearing its ugly head. Wealthy (and white) people swoop in, deeming the neighborhood profitable and worthy of investment, and the lifelong Brooklynites (understandably) have strong feelings about it. These changes only become more prevalent as the story presses forward – the characters grip onto their existing lives as much as they can. Gentrification only further pushes the characters to “live for the moment,” to prioritize their daily lives.
Hovering over all of this is the 2008 presidential election, looming on the horizon. Talk of Senator Barack Obama is everywhere. These debates serve to establish the characters’ political leanings – some wish to align with whiteness so much that they’d turn their back on people who look just like them. Others are eager to throw fundraisers for Obama. It’s exciting to read about their hope, knowing how things turned out in November 2008.
The idea of the “American Dream” is a theme as old as time, and Gonzalez gives the concept a fresh revisit in this novel. The elusive dream looks different for every person in the US, and is influenced by where they come from and their access (or lack thereof) to resources. We get to see the pink sunrise of hope, the dream offers some characters, but we also see the dark underbelly of it. At the end of the day, in this world that Gonzalez weaves, economic success comes down to personal identity and what helps you sleep at night.
With a practiced storytelling reminiscent of her previous novels, Gonzalez explores personal identity, Latinidad, class, capitalism, relationships, and nostalgia in her latest work. Overall, Last Night in Brooklyn leaves a strong sense of longing and appreciation for what once was. The novel is essentially an “if you know, you know” ode to Brooklyn that makes a special sentiment clear – you had to have been there.