Have You Seen Luis Velez?

Millie talks about how crime was intentionally moved from one section of New York City to another, causing the crime rate in the area where she and Raymond live to soar. Is law enforcement different in some metropolitan neighborhoods than in others? Why would criminal activity be moved from one area to another rather than being totally suppressed? What is gentrification?

Before he discovers Luis the caretaker’s fate, Raymond says that there was no positive reason for Luis to disappear. He even calls it a hopeless cause. Does the ending of the book confirm or negate the idea that Raymond was right, that there would be no happy ending whether he found Luis or not?

Why did several of the men named Luis Velez respond to Raymond’s quest by saying they wished they were more like Millie’s Luis? Why did so many people reach out compassionately to Raymond during his search?

Though Raymond assumes finding the missing Luis will be the end of his quest, he must endure a criminal trial. Then he faces the even greater challenges of Millie’s despair and Isabel’s destitution. What lesson is Hyde sharing? Are difficulties like these unique to Raymond? How does these challenges tie into what Millie says, that one shouldn’t assume that a single event will resolve all of life’s major issues?

What lessons underscore Ms. Hatfield’s acquittal? What is Hyde suggesting about bias and the legal system?

What sort of person is Raymond’s mother? Why does she treat Raymond as she does? What special issues does Raymond create for her? Why is she the only significant character in the book whose name we do not know?

What is survivor guilt? What issues do survivors of tragedies face? How does Millie reconcile the great losses in her life with her resolve to continue living?

What does Millie mean when she tells Raymond that he can have any sort of family of his choosing? What does family mean in the novel? How does Hyde portray the different types of families?