Middle Spoon A Novel
Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela is a novel published by Penguin Group on September 9, 2025, featuring 336 pages in English. This work presents a narrative centered on a narrator who seemingly enjoys a perfect life with a supportive husband and two children, alongside a younger boyfriend. However, when the boyfriend unexpectedly ends their relationship, the narrator faces heartbreak and must navigate the complexities of polyamorous love in a society that often struggles to accept it.
Readers will find a blend of humor and emotional depth as Middle Spoon explores themes of family life, love, and societal norms. The story delves into the challenges of maintaining relationships while confronting societal judgments and personal insecurities. With a sharp wit, Varela addresses contemporary anxieties, offering insights into intimacy and the dynamics of modern love. This edition invites readers to reflect on their own experiences with longing and loss, making it a thought-provoking addition to the literary landscape.
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“Middle Spoon subverts the ordinary novel with intelligence and vulnerability. . . . Varela has made a sly, analytical opera of the heart.” —Andrew Sean Greer, author of Less and Less Is Lost
“A rollicking delight! . . . Varela asks provocative questions about the shape of family and the nature of love.” —Ada Calhoun, New York Times bestselling author of Crush
One of TODAY’s 50 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2025 · Named a Must-Read Book of Fall 2025 by Town & Country, Lit Hub, and W Magazine
A whipsmart, blazingly funny novel about heartbreak, unconventional love, and the way society could be, from National Book Award finalist Alejandro Varela
The narrator of Middle Spoon appears to be living the dream: He has a doting husband, two precocious children, all the comforts of a quiet bourgeois life—and a sexy younger boyfriend to accompany him to farmers markets and cocktail parties. But when his boyfriend abruptly dumps him, he spirals into heartbreak for the first time and must confront a world still struggling to understand polyamorous relationships. Faced with the judgment of friends and the sting of rejection, he’s left to wonder if sharing a life with both his family and his lover could ever truly be possible.
With a big heart and just the right dose of the anxieties that define the modern era, Middle Spoon skewers the unspoken rules we still live by—from taboos around intimacy to the shortcomings of Oscar season, pop culture, and gluten-free food—offering a surprising perspective on love, loss, and reinvention. Equal parts heart-wrenching and uproariously funny, Middle Spoon is for anyone who has longed, nursed a broken heart, or grappled with love at its messiest.
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