Middle Spoon // A Novel

A whipsmart, blazingly funny novel about heartbreak, unconventional love, and the way society could be, from National Book Award finalist Alejandro Varela.

The narrator ofMiddle Spoonappears to be living the dream: He has a doting husband, two precocious children, all the comforts of a quiet bourgeois lifeand 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, hes left towonder 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 Spoonreveals the rawness of infatuation while reimagining what relationships, marriage, and family life can look like. Alejandro Varela boldly probes the corners of society in desperate need of changefrom taboos around intimacy to the shortcomings of Oscar season, pop culture, and gluten-free foodoffering a surprising perspective on the tangled dynamics that shape our lives. Equal parts heart-wrenching and uproariously funny,Middle Spoonis for anyone who has longed, nursed a broken heart, or grappled with love at its messiest.

Alejandro Varelas(he/him) debut novel,The Town ofBabylon,was a finalist for the NationalBookAward. His short story collection,The People Who Report MoreStress,was one ofPublishers Weeklys best works of fiction in 2023, a finalist for the International LatinoBookAwards, and longlisted for theAspen WordsLiterary Prize, The Story Prize, and the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award. Varela, who is based in New York, is an editor-at-large ofApogee Journalandholds a masters inpublichealthfromthe University of Washington.

• Publisher: Viking (September 09, 2025)
• Language: English
• Hardcover: 336 pages
• ISBN-13: 9780593835173
• Item Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Dimensions: 6.0 x 0.8 x 9.0 inches
• BISAC Categories: Popular Fiction, Literary Fiction, LGBTQ+