--- title: "Paradais | Anthony Jeselnik Book Club" description: "Two misfit teenagers within a luxury gated community in Mexico. Franco, a lonely and overweight resident obsessed with pornography, fantasizes about seducing an attractive neighbor. Polo, who works as a gardener in the complex, dreams of escaping his impoverished circumstances and abusive family. As both face the impossibility of achieving their desires, they devise a mindless and macabre scheme." canonical_url: "https://anthonyjeselnikbookclub.com/books/paradais" locale: en meta: "og:description": "Two misfit teenagers within a luxury gated community in Mexico. Franco, a lonely and overweight resident obsessed with pornography, fantasizes about seducing an attractive neighbor. Polo, who works as a gardener in the complex, dreams of escaping his impoverished circumstances and abusive family. As both face the impossibility of achieving their desires, they devise a mindless and macabre scheme." "og:image": "https://anthonyjeselnikbookclub.com/_og/d/c_Club%2Ckicker_~Q2x1YiBwaWNrIMK3IEZlYnJ1YXJ5IDIwMjY%2Ctitle_Paradais%2Csubtitle_by%2BFernanda%2BMelchor%2Cimage_~aHR0cHM6Ly9jZG4uYW50aG9ueWplc2VsbmlrYm9va2NsdWIuY29tL2NvdmVycy9wYXJhZGFpcy0xNzY5OTQwODc2ODAwLmpwZw%2Cp_Ii9ib29rcy9wYXJhZGFpcyI%2Cs_YwG2R-iGNkPMCu1o.png" "og:image:height": "600" "og:image:type": image/png "og:image:width": "1200" "og:title": "Paradais | Anthony Jeselnik Book Club" "twitter:image": "https://anthonyjeselnikbookclub.com/_og/d/c_Club%2Ckicker_~Q2x1YiBwaWNrIMK3IEZlYnJ1YXJ5IDIwMjY%2Ctitle_Paradais%2Csubtitle_by%2BFernanda%2BMelchor%2Cimage_~aHR0cHM6Ly9jZG4uYW50aG9ueWplc2VsbmlrYm9va2NsdWIuY29tL2NvdmVycy9wYXJhZGFpcy0xNzY5OTQwODc2ODAwLmpwZw%2Cp_Ii9ib29rcy9wYXJhZGFpcyI%2Cs_YwG2R-iGNkPMCu1o.png" --- > Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://anthonyjeselnikbookclub.com/llms.txt) [Anthony Jeselnik Book Club](https://anthonyjeselnikbookclub.com/) [Back](https://anthonyjeselnikbookclub.com/) [Sign in](https://anthonyjeselnikbookclub.com/login) ![Paradais cover](https://cdn.anthonyjeselnikbookclub.com/covers/paradais-1769940876800.jpg) [**Bookshop **](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/14925/9781913097875) [** Amazon **](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1913097870?tag=jrvprecommend-20) [** Free Audible Trial **](https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/audible/arya/mlp?purchaseType=STANDARD_MTRIAL&linkCode=ll2&tag=jrvprecommend-20&linkId=89587a2a5553ec5f8f6ca236c1d662a7&ref_=as_li_ss_tl) February 2026 # Paradais by Fernanda Melchor Published 2021 · 118 pages **3.9** (21 ratings) 1 person reading 22 finished Two misfit teenagers within a luxury gated community in Mexico. Franco, a lonely and overweight resident obsessed with pornography, fantasizes about seducing an attractive neighbor. Polo, who works as a gardener in the complex, dreams of escaping his impoverished circumstances and abusive family. As both face the impossibility of achieving their desires, they devise a mindless and macabre scheme. **Email deadline: Monday, February 23, 2026** Deadline passed Finish the book to email your thoughts Your reading Sign in to track this book, rate it and write a review. [**Sign in **](https://anthonyjeselnikbookclub.com/login) [**Create free account **](https://anthonyjeselnikbookclub.com/register) **Featured ** ## Anthony's Review & Q&A Watch Anthony's thoughts and reactions to your emails ## Community Reviews 5 reviews **J-B** Oct 12, 2026 intense **KAREN-DE-WAELE** Feb 24, 2026 2.5 I didn’t really like the writing. The long ‘stream of consciousness’ mostly was brutal and dark and didn’t make me emotionally connect to the book or its characters. I found it hard to keep reading and sometimes kind of repetitive.. Must say, the last pages were really good, so in the end I’m glad I kept reading and did finish 😅 **JK-ADAMS** Feb 16, 2026 Curious selection for a reading club with the goal of getting readers started in literature. Disturbing characters and plot. Unable to feel anything for alcoholic, unsympathetic, lazy, amoral losers who decide to rape and kill. Writing style and plot actually bored me for most of the book. I guess you can make the argument that it shows the hopelessness of wealth inequality, the "help" watching with resentment at the wealthy, but even the poor grandfather worked to gain a skill and provide for his family. These guys just drank, complained, and plotted evil. Polo was a coward and just as bad and guilty as Franco. This book was not for me. Hoping I can appreciate the next one. **DAVID-FLYNN** Feb 14, 2026 Had a little bit of trouble with paragraphs that went on and on. I also hate when Kindle doesn't recognize chapters that feel like they existed in the original text but enjoyed reading the story and how menacing the graphic detail of the home invasion is! **STEPHEN-BOYD** Feb 8, 2026 I found “Paradais” to be an enjoyable and emotionally challenging reading experience. Often, I was struck by the narrative voice which was fast-paced with minimal dialog. While consistently written in the third-person narrative, it often felt that Ms. Melchor was speaking as Polo directly, giving the feeling that we are observing the thoughts within his head. It is from Polo’s persistent ruminations that we experience the breadth of his contempt. Contempt towards his grandfather, whose sudden death forced him into a menial life of service; towards his mother, who holds her disappointment of him over his head; towards his cousin, whose perceived promiscuity upends the remaining stability he has at home; towards Franco, whose privilege and sloth underscores the inequality of the world in which he lives. Polo’s contempt, like all contempt, is an outward expression of inward pain; a self-loathing that hurts so deeply that it must be directed outward. Rather than acknowledge that he feels abandoned, lonely, and helpless, he cultivates loathing. There are glimpses of compassion in which it seems there is a softening of Polo’s hard exterior (e.g., an embrace from his mother in her bed; receiving a tip and smile from Senora Marian; Milton dissuading him from joining the cartel), but he fails to allow for a modicum of compassion towards himself, and the lacquer remains. The cultivation of Polo’s contempt is the crux of the novella, leading ultimately to the story’s climax, which plays out as a strobe effect. Polo is so traumatized by what he is observing that he becomes nearly paralyzed. He no longer feels contempt towards these other people (the exception, perhaps, being fatboy); he has a desire only to escape. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@id":"https://anthonyjeselnikbookclub.com/#website","@type":"WebSite","description":"Join the Anthony Jeselnik Book Club. Dark comedy meets literature.","inLanguage":"en-US","name":"Anthony Jeselnik Book Club","url":"https://anthonyjeselnikbookclub.com/","publisher":{"@id":"https://anthonyjeselnikbookclub.com/#identity"},"workTranslation":[]},{"@id":"https://anthonyjeselnikbookclub.com/books/paradais#webpage","@type":"WebPage","description":"Two misfit teenagers within a luxury gated community in Mexico. 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I found it hard to keep reading and sometimes kind of repetitive.. \n\nMust say, the last pages were really good, so in the end I’m glad I kept reading and did finish 😅","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Review","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"JK-ADAMS"},"reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","bestRating":5,"worstRating":1,"ratingValue":2},"reviewBody":"Curious selection for a reading club with the goal of getting readers started in literature. Disturbing characters and plot. Unable to feel anything for alcoholic, unsympathetic, lazy, amoral losers who decide to rape and kill. Writing style and plot actually bored me for most of the book. I guess you can make the argument that it shows the hopelessness of wealth inequality, the \"help\" watching with resentment at the wealthy, but even the poor grandfather worked to gain a skill and provide for his family. These guys just drank, complained, and plotted evil. Polo was a coward and just as bad and guilty as Franco. This book was not for me. Hoping I can appreciate the next one.","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Review","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"DAVID-FLYNN"},"reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","bestRating":5,"worstRating":1,"ratingValue":5},"reviewBody":"Had a little bit of trouble with paragraphs that went on and on. I also hate when Kindle doesn't recognize chapters that feel like they existed in the original text but enjoyed reading the story and how menacing the graphic detail of the home invasion is!","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Review","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"STEPHEN-BOYD"},"reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","bestRating":5,"worstRating":1,"ratingValue":4},"reviewBody":"I found “Paradais” to be an enjoyable and emotionally challenging reading experience. Often, I was struck by the narrative voice which was fast-paced with minimal dialog. While consistently written in the third-person narrative, it often felt that Ms. Melchor was speaking as Polo directly, giving the feeling that we are observing the thoughts within his head. It is from Polo’s persistent ruminations that we experience the breadth of his contempt. Contempt towards his grandfather, whose sudden death forced him into a menial life of service; towards his mother, who holds her disappointment of him over his head; towards his cousin, whose perceived promiscuity upends the remaining stability he has at home; towards Franco, whose privilege and sloth underscores the inequality of the world in which he lives. Polo’s contempt, like all contempt, is an outward expression of inward pain; a self-loathing that hurts so deeply that it must be directed outward. Rather than acknowledge that he feels abandoned, lonely, and helpless, he cultivates loathing. There are glimpses of compassion in which it seems there is a softening of Polo’s hard exterior (e.g., an embrace from his mother in her bed; receiving a tip and smile from Senora Marian; Milton dissuading him from joining the cartel), but he fails to allow for a modicum of compassion towards himself, and the lacquer remains. The cultivation of Polo’s contempt is the crux of the novella, leading ultimately to the story’s climax, which plays out as a strobe effect. Polo is so traumatized by what he is observing that he becomes nearly paralyzed. 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