Accordion Eulogies

Praise

Time, A Best Book of the Month
The Orange County Register, A New Spring Book You Won’t Want to Miss
Literary Hub, A Most Anticipated Title

“As Noé Álvarez’s new book, Accordion Eulogies, draws to a stirring conclusion, readers encounter a writer figuring himself out on the page, wrestling with ideas about family history, the complexity of national borders and his purpose as an artist.” —Eric Olson, The Seattle Times

“In a follow-up to his award-winning debut memoir, Spirit Run (2020), Álvarez embarks on another journey of self-discovery . . . A lasting theme of the book is that amid life’s disappointments, music offers a healing balm, as do the people who show unflinching generosity. Once again, this gifted writer proves to be an essential contemporary voice.” —Booklist (starred review)

“[A] poetic follow-up to Spirit Run . . . The author makes his quest genuinely moving and shows how, for many marginalized communities, ‘accordion playing is an act of resistance.’ A heartfelt memoir that serves as ‘a reminder of what it takes to build love and community for oneself and one’s family.'” —Kirkus Reviews

“[A] poignant blend of personal and cultural history . . . With its rigorous curiosity and emotional vulnerability, Álvarez’s account makes a strong case that the journey is more important than the destination.” —Publishers Weekly

“Accordion Eulogies is an unforgettable journey through a hardscrabble family history of migration, loss, and longing. Álvarez teaches himself to play the accordion and visits the time-worn workshops of the last accordion-makers of the world, chasing the ghost of his grandfather along the way. In beautiful, reflective prose and a careful eye for what the world passes over, Álvarez preserves stories—including his own family’s—that might otherwise fade to dust.” —Emily Scott Robinson

“Accordion Eulogies unfolds like the truest corridos: with an invitation into a story of restless hearts and searching spirits, of strength forged by suffering, of ancestral specters that refuse to reveal their true shape. Noé Álvarez has married sacred music history with a personal quest of adventure and loss, and the result is a memoir of deep connection: with the past, a homeland, the self, and ultimately the reader. I’m grateful to have spent time with the melody Álvarez conjured.” —Katie Gutierrez, bestselling author of More Than You’ll Ever Know