Manito asks if the story Neto is going to tell is about one of the women and Neto’s Jefe, and as it turns out, it both is and it’s not. Rabbit Story describes how Neto had to crawl under the house and catch his Jefe’s escaped hares. While Neto does not go into much detail, based on the context of the story, there is a great deal of similarity between the hiding rabbits and the women Neto’s Jefe slept with, and though the rabbits belong to Neto’s Jefe, it is Neto who must capture them.
On page nine, Neto “expected to find one of his Jefe’s girlfriends” when he spied on his Jefe after dark. Instead, one night, he commanded to wake up and go into the crawl space to find the missing animals. Neto’s Jefe snaps, “Goddamn it, boy. I’m telling you to do it. Do you want to be a man, Neto? Do you?” (page 11). He admits that he did not want to be a man, but that he also did not want to wake his Jefita, and so he went into the crawl space under his Jefe’s direction (page 11).
Entering the crawlspace is an allegory for Neto beginning the transition into manhood. The crawlspace is described as “a 16” wide black hole,” on page eleven, and Neto finds the courage to go inside, representing his first entry into a woman. Still, Neto had to find the rabbits within the tight space, and Neto recalls that as he went inside, he had never been so terrified or “wanted to scream so loudly,” and that his “legs trembled and his pajama top was soaked through and dripping” (page 11). The imagery here enhances the sexual nature of Neto passing through the crawl space in his search for the rabbits, mimicking the fear of a young boy’s first time and the physical stuggle to complete his task.
While going through the dirty space, Neto recalls giant rats scurrying through the darkness, and how his Jefe said not to let the rats take the rabbits because “them rabbits are sold” (page 12). The sold animals suggest that they are similar to women who have already been claimed sexually and that they are not allowed to be let free. To lose the rabbits is to lose money and sexual prowess. So, Neto grabs hold of them, and despite being bit, he maintains his grip. When Manito asks what happened after that, Neto says, “‘And then there was nothing’” (page 12), and he talks about how he did what he did to protect his mother, his Jefita. In that moment, Neto became a man through the act of retrieving the rabbits his Jefe had lost—meaning he took charge of the women his Jefe slept with, had one himself, and emerged a man in the end.
I give The House of Order by John Paul Jaramillo four out of five stars. The writing is clean, clear, and the stories are gritty, realistic, and draw the reader in. My only concern as a reader is the lack of explanation. If one is not familiar with Latino culture or terms, a few passes might be needed to clarify each of the characters, words, and their meanings—however, a diligent reader can work past it and will be rewarded with the rich tales in The House of Order.
Get your copy of The House of Order here today!
