Reviews

This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Díaz

cynicalworm's review against another edition

5.0

I'm the furthest thing from a philandering Dominican but Diaz pulls me in and weaves the stories of Yunior and Rafa around me. He made me fucking cry on the bus and that's all you can ask for.

jennajean's review against another edition

5.0

Junot Diaz's writing isn't for everyone, but it is certainly for me. Started this book his morning and couldn't put it down until I'd finished it.

buttercupita's review against another edition

4.0

Listened to this on audio on a long car trip -- Junot Diaz reads it, and that made it come alive for me. Not surprisingly, men in this book are confounded by women and treat them badly. I couldn't help but think about the recent #MeToo charges against Diaz, which were dismissed, but certainly left the lingering impression of a man who has unhealthy relationships with women. These stories illuminate that, but I find it heartening that he is taking the topic on and, though the men are narrating, there is no romanticizing of their behavior. The stories were uneven, but almost all of them kept me intrigued.

krystaldiamond's review against another edition

5.0

Junot is one of the best Latino authors today. One of the best authors period. He hits you with love, truth, and pain like an absolute genius. His work will leave you feeling like a raw nerve days later. And that's a beautiful thing.

alihale's review against another edition

2.0

damn that guy sucked

kbustillo's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

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 doesn’t do for me what it does for many others, which makes the unlikable characters and women-as-objects a tough hang. (I’ve since read Diaz apparently feels all male authors (who can only be “feminist allies”, 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 “complexity” 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