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A review by elle_breen
The Cheater's Guide to Love by Junot Díaz
3.0
I liked the fast paced, chaotic sense of this novella and I also liked that it was written in second person - a very tricky thing to keep up even for only 35 pages of prose.
I’m trying to read more short stories to understand the structure and their impact on the reader. I think this had a very clear plot: cheats on fiancée, gets dumped by said fiancée, regrets, depression, chaotic relationships follow and then alone and tries to write his guide to love. Very simple, yet effective and a motif (relationships) everyone can relate to. However, the main protagonist is not likeable and yet I still felt like I was routing for him to come out of this depression - also, to hear how a man suffers from a break up. Usually, they ‘get on with it’ and they’re fine, this novella shows the brutal honesty. It’s raw and it’s real.
Classist and racist moments bring this book down unfortunately, and he isn’t an author I would read more of - quick and easy read, and definitely provided a new way of structuring that I’ve discovered in short fiction (years).
I’m trying to read more short stories to understand the structure and their impact on the reader. I think this had a very clear plot: cheats on fiancée, gets dumped by said fiancée, regrets, depression, chaotic relationships follow and then alone and tries to write his guide to love. Very simple, yet effective and a motif (relationships) everyone can relate to. However, the main protagonist is not likeable and yet I still felt like I was routing for him to come out of this depression - also, to hear how a man suffers from a break up. Usually, they ‘get on with it’ and they’re fine, this novella shows the brutal honesty. It’s raw and it’s real.
Classist and racist moments bring this book down unfortunately, and he isn’t an author I would read more of - quick and easy read, and definitely provided a new way of structuring that I’ve discovered in short fiction (years).