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johnbyers1500's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Driving to folklife
the_eucologist's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. Beautiful prose. And a perfect encapsulation of the ways masculinity wears different masks in different cultures and contexts. Diaz's Yunior is forged in a very unique kind of geography, and yet his outlook--his hopes, fears, and failures--are incredibly cosmopolitan.
drakken's review against another edition
2.5
This was a bit of a slog, despite its brevity. Felt like I was able to get into the final couple stories more - hence the 2.5 instead of 2 - but for most of this I found myself just wanting it to be done. Seems his prose doesnât do for me what it does for many others, which makes the unlikable characters and women-as-objects a tough hang. (Iâve since read Diaz apparently feels all male authors (who can only be âfeminist alliesâ, not feminists) can do is write misogynistic male characters as honestly as possible as guideposts of sorts for what to avoid - anything more than that (e.g. some notion of judgment) would ruin the âcomplexityâ of the work and be a capitulation, and I mean⦠ok.)
mannybereading's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
oxnard_montalvo's review against another edition
2.0
It's got this punchy, raw amd vulgar writing style that covers up what I felt to be a lack of fleshed out characters. Granted, we see everything from Yunior's perspective and he isn't exactly a developed person who grows and learns from the mistakes he makes.
Only took me a day to read. Once I was in I was carried along in the flow of his writing, even when a particular story wasn't grabbing me, they are all so brief I was onto something new before reading became a slog.
Perhaps there's a deeper level to this book- a meditation on the dangers of toxic machismo. How it stunts and inhibits men from creating meaningful relationships.
Only took me a day to read. Once I was in I was carried along in the flow of his writing, even when a particular story wasn't grabbing me, they are all so brief I was onto something new before reading became a slog.
Perhaps there's a deeper level to this book- a meditation on the dangers of toxic machismo. How it stunts and inhibits men from creating meaningful relationships.
pkwilkes1's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cecile87's review against another edition
3.0
Although I found Wao quite an amazing piece of work, I can't say I liked this collection of short stories about Yunior and his life and his family. I didn't care about Yunior and his permanent hard-on. I didn't like the way women were spoken about--bitches and ho's. Ho's and bitches. And them some more bitches and sucias.
It was depressing to me, in spite of what I thought was great writing craft, that sexism and derogatory language will never go away. And women who allow such horrible behavior of their men will never become extinct. My hat off to Yunior's ex-fiance.
The pictures that were painted through these stories were of a world I'm glad not to be a part of. I'm not crazy about short stories in general and I'm glad I got this book from the library instead of a bookstore.
It was depressing to me, in spite of what I thought was great writing craft, that sexism and derogatory language will never go away. And women who allow such horrible behavior of their men will never become extinct. My hat off to Yunior's ex-fiance.
The pictures that were painted through these stories were of a world I'm glad not to be a part of. I'm not crazy about short stories in general and I'm glad I got this book from the library instead of a bookstore.
smirm's review against another edition
4.0
The plot of this book was very unexpected and because I didn't know what was coming next, it kept my undivided attention. I could really visualize the characters as I read and imagine how they felt throughout.
vexyspice's review against another edition
3.0
It was good but definitely not my favorite thing to have read by him. Mildly depressing to read about all these failed relationships ( i mean considering the title).. Yet and still, not bad.
dregina's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.75