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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
a good book that explores the depth of cheating and the emotional toll it takes on both the cheater and the cheated, although much of this dripped with patriarchial brainwashing and the not so subtle misogynistic remarks were not lost on me. i do like the open ending, as it suggests that healing from relationships is not at all linear and there isn't a one size fits all formula and more often than not you cannot remove your healing process from every other aspect of your life as it will always bleed through some how - but nonetheless, fuck men.
The I only got to read a few short stories for my class, this book was a fun read. Very quick witted and raw in regards to Yunior's thoughts. Such an interesting character to follow and unlike one I have read about before.
Believe it or not, I am not a male Hispanic American from the Dominican Republic who grew up in the eighties, so I had trouble relating to the narrative voice in these stories. Or this novel. Or whatever. But even in the midst of not understanding half of what is being said, Diaz pulls out sentences so beautifully crafted that your breath catches in your chest and everyone around you on the bus gives you weird looks. Not the most memorable of stories, and the lack of resolution was disappointing, but worth reading for those moments of astonishing turns-of-phrase.
This was a 50/50 kind of read for me. At times I enjoyed it, other times not so much. Writing wise, it's excellent. Content wise, it felt redundant and depressing. When I read a collection of short stories I enjoy a moment of epiphany or recognition, and many of these just felt like glimpses into one man's messed-up, sad life. It was cool to see Yunior, who also narrates some chapters in [b:The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao|297673|The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao|Junot Díaz|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391409748s/297673.jpg|3281466], narrate these stories. I will check out [b:Drown|531989|Drown|Junot Díaz|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1313700390s/531989.jpg|3230496] because I'm curious to read more of Diaz's work.
2.5 or 3/5 stars.
2.5 or 3/5 stars.
Crikey, WHAT a disappointment! Really loved Diaz's previous book, but was totally underwhelmed by this sophomore effort. It's just a series of sketches with paper thin characters, and a repetitive sequence of men behaving badly towards women. I initially thought this was a collection of short stories, and it didn't become clear until the midpoint that, actually, Diaz had some kind of overarching structure. The really troubling thing, however, is the nagging suspicion that this is a memoir thinly disguised as fiction. This is how you lose ME, Diaz. This is how you lose me.
http://lovewhatyouread14.blogspot.com/2015/04/this-is-how-you-lose-her-junot-diaz.html#.VTFky_nF_KM
Enjoyed it immensely. The short story style with certain characters running through it made it good for the long read or the intermittent reader. The strong point was the beautiful diction and syntax. While still maintaining realness.
I thought I knew enough Spanglish to get through this book. I was horribly mistaken. This is one of the first times that having chosen a book based on title and cover alone was a mistake for me.
The title was intriguing. The main characters aren't sympathetic, the author wastes a lot of space using slang. By breaking this novel into short stories the way he did, the author somehow manages to disconnect you from the path that his characters are taking. In theory, stepping into pieces of a character's life should work. It should work very well. This is not the case here, and this is how you lose me.
The title was intriguing. The main characters aren't sympathetic, the author wastes a lot of space using slang. By breaking this novel into short stories the way he did, the author somehow manages to disconnect you from the path that his characters are taking. In theory, stepping into pieces of a character's life should work. It should work very well. This is not the case here, and this is how you lose me.