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ellacusso's review against another edition
1.0
"the half-life of love is forever". this would be cute if the person saying it hadn't literally cheated on his fiance and then cried about her leaving him as a consequence for the next three years.
the writing was good, sometimes. besides that, this was a flop. how am i meant to feel sympathy for a narrator who cheats, and then complains when his girlfriend doesn't want to be with him anymore? i thought maybe this would be a good insight into/exercise of sympathizing with a character who has made mistakes, but yunior is objectively just a terrible guy who does awful things to hurt women and then bitches about how "emotional" and "sensitive" they are about it. this book also paints women as desperate, overly dramatic, hyper-emotional cardboard boxes only there to reveal some greater point about yunior's childhood or relationship to his culture and family. yes, some of the description of his childhood and the influence of other deadbeat men in his life is interesting and at times sort of moving, but it all comes back to some elaborate implied excuse for treating women like pieces of shit. not a fan.
the writing was good, sometimes. besides that, this was a flop. how am i meant to feel sympathy for a narrator who cheats, and then complains when his girlfriend doesn't want to be with him anymore? i thought maybe this would be a good insight into/exercise of sympathizing with a character who has made mistakes, but yunior is objectively just a terrible guy who does awful things to hurt women and then bitches about how "emotional" and "sensitive" they are about it. this book also paints women as desperate, overly dramatic, hyper-emotional cardboard boxes only there to reveal some greater point about yunior's childhood or relationship to his culture and family. yes, some of the description of his childhood and the influence of other deadbeat men in his life is interesting and at times sort of moving, but it all comes back to some elaborate implied excuse for treating women like pieces of shit. not a fan.
tarasmart's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars: The writing is good; didn't care for the stories.
motownmoni's review against another edition
5.0
Yunior from "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" resurfaces, and this time he's heartbroken. Several times. He's the link in the stories of "This Is How You Lose Her," and often narrates the stories in Diaz's latest work. Yes, Yunior cheats, is sexist, and often makes bad choices, but he still manages to be a sympathetic character.
This book is classic Diaz--raw, vulgar, energetic, funny, and sometimes written in Spanglish.
This book is classic Diaz--raw, vulgar, energetic, funny, and sometimes written in Spanglish.
bojangacic's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
andeaclark's review against another edition
3.0
This was a good collection of short stories. It's interesting that the stories all are connected by the one main character. It was kind of sad that there was no learning done by the character in the end of the story. Maybe that's more realistic... I really enjoyed the author reading the book on the audiobook.
read_like_a_mother's review against another edition
5.0
LOVED IT. Junot Diaz may be the greatest author of our generation. He is BRILLIANT.
thebookhito's review against another edition
3.0
The Spanish killed it for me in this book. With that said, I don't mind foreign words in a book as long as they're explained or not too difficult to look up. Some of the words in this book I still do not have a clue what they mean, and I'm probably missing out on a part of the story.
Okay, besides the language, did you enjoy the book?
Not really. It got boring at times when the main guy, Yunior, was only trying to get laid. Luckily, that's not the whole book. (Just a lot of it.) Sex is a very central theme of this book.
It was well written (minus the Spanish) but a lot of it felt like the author wasn't trying. Or that he was saying to himself, "this is thought provoking" when really it wasn't.
Meh. That's how I feel about this book. I'm happy I read something out of my comfort wheel, but I feel like it would have been better spent on another book.
Okay, besides the language, did you enjoy the book?
Not really. It got boring at times when the main guy, Yunior, was only trying to get laid. Luckily, that's not the whole book. (Just a lot of it.) Sex is a very central theme of this book.
It was well written (minus the Spanish) but a lot of it felt like the author wasn't trying. Or that he was saying to himself, "this is thought provoking" when really it wasn't.
Meh. That's how I feel about this book. I'm happy I read something out of my comfort wheel, but I feel like it would have been better spent on another book.
pamelabaker's review against another edition
5.0
First story: I thought, hmm, more of Drown, nothing new--good, but same ole Junot Diaz & nothing new. But there is a cumulative effect to these linked stories that is wonderful, and I think I like it more than Drown. Truly loved it--especially "Invierno" & "the Cheaters Guide to Love." He writes the best second person POV.
alyngee's review against another edition
3.0
"Divorce is always good news. I know that sounds weird, but it’s true because no good marriage has ever ended in divorce. It’s really that simple. That’s never hap— that would be sad. If two people were married and they were really happy and they just had a great thing, and then they got divorced, that would be really sad. But that has happened zero times. Literally zero. Ray Charles has killed more Jews than happy marriages have ended in divorce. So if your friend got divorced, it means things were bad and now they’re—I mean, they’re better. They’re not good, life is shit wall to wall. But they’re better, so you should be happy." -Louis CK
fcdiamond's review against another edition
4.0
Junot Diaz strikes again! A kind of melancholy yet humorous take on love and relationships. Spot on, as always.