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jessicaxmaria 's review for:
This Is How You Lose Her
by Junot Díaz
I've said this again and again, but I don't read books intending to relate to them. I tend to like books to escape into a world. And I'm not saying I relate much to Junot Diaz's main character Yunior, but that Latino-American culture and the rhythm of speaking English and Spanish simultaneously -- that I can relate to.
Diaz isn't Bolano or Marquez or Allende, and he's not Franzen or Eggers (thankfully), he's a Latino American, he knows both the DR and the tri-state area. It's a rare voice in contemporary literature, and one I enjoyed reading as a Latina American. As Yunior would say, I'm a halfie.
And Yunior, the protagonist of most of these short stories, is not the most likable guy. But for the most part he's young and navigating relationships -- family and romantic. And when anybody is young and trying to figure things out, that's when you make mistakes, and you're working towards the person you will become. You can see the factors that have led Yunior to the snapshot of him at his oldest, in the last story, you can see from the other stories of him and his brother moving to the U.S., of his relationship with his father, of his time with his brother when he was a teenager, his first loves, and how it formed this adult. And, I mean, nobody's ever done learning or making mistakes, but it's all evident here in Diaz's writing of this character (his alter-ego).
The writing itself has a flow. It may be mostly English peppered with Spanish, but it's not jarring at all. The writing is great, innovative, and lyrical. It has this weird prettiness to it even though there's so much slang and offensive words (and sometimes thoughts/ideas) involved.
I look forward to reading more Diaz in the future. Probably should get to that Pulitzer Prize-winner many people put me off of, but one person recommended (the same who recommended this book). Figured I should start with the shorter book, which I heard more good things about recently, even though a Pulitzer Prize is pretty good recommendation. I understand why people might not like Diaz's writing and stories, but to me I'm grateful for them. I think they're important.
P.S. Highly recommend another author that I relate to as a Latina even moreso, [a:Cristina Henriquez|84994|Cristina Henriquez|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1374519075p2/84994.jpg]. Perhaps because her books are about Panamanian Americans, my exact background. And, you know, she's a woman.
Diaz isn't Bolano or Marquez or Allende, and he's not Franzen or Eggers (thankfully), he's a Latino American, he knows both the DR and the tri-state area. It's a rare voice in contemporary literature, and one I enjoyed reading as a Latina American. As Yunior would say, I'm a halfie.
And Yunior, the protagonist of most of these short stories, is not the most likable guy. But for the most part he's young and navigating relationships -- family and romantic. And when anybody is young and trying to figure things out, that's when you make mistakes, and you're working towards the person you will become. You can see the factors that have led Yunior to the snapshot of him at his oldest, in the last story, you can see from the other stories of him and his brother moving to the U.S., of his relationship with his father, of his time with his brother when he was a teenager, his first loves, and how it formed this adult. And, I mean, nobody's ever done learning or making mistakes, but it's all evident here in Diaz's writing of this character (his alter-ego).
The writing itself has a flow. It may be mostly English peppered with Spanish, but it's not jarring at all. The writing is great, innovative, and lyrical. It has this weird prettiness to it even though there's so much slang and offensive words (and sometimes thoughts/ideas) involved.
I look forward to reading more Diaz in the future. Probably should get to that Pulitzer Prize-winner many people put me off of, but one person recommended (the same who recommended this book). Figured I should start with the shorter book, which I heard more good things about recently, even though a Pulitzer Prize is pretty good recommendation. I understand why people might not like Diaz's writing and stories, but to me I'm grateful for them. I think they're important.
P.S. Highly recommend another author that I relate to as a Latina even moreso, [a:Cristina Henriquez|84994|Cristina Henriquez|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1374519075p2/84994.jpg]. Perhaps because her books are about Panamanian Americans, my exact background. And, you know, she's a woman.