Junot 1st (first) edition [Hardcover(2012)] - This Is How You Lose Her by Diaz

Once I started reading I couldn't stop. This book was so very original, so very different and so very real. I didn't think I would like it as much as I did because it was a little graphic in the beginning but as I kept reading I was totally immersed in Yunior's life, past and present. Even though I normally like books with "happy" endings, I thought the way this book concluded was perfect. What a wonderful read.

Like Katherine Boo (Behind the Beautiful Forevers), Junot is great at telling a story about the grittiness and ugliness of life and at the same time, bring out the beauty of his characters. I would highly recommend this collection of short stories. They're all great to read and will haunt you with their meaning.

Very different writing style, he jumps around a bit but I enjoyed the book a lot. (I purchased based on the recommendation of a friend--I'm surprised she enjoyed it as this isn't her typical type of book either.) Although I didn't necessarily like the protagonist, the book was compelling and hard to put down.

Someone else got the book for my daughter (in paperback) before me so, I have to return one of the copies I bought.
I thought I'd I have to return both copies I'd bought (long story on why I bought two copies) but, she loved the Deluxe Edition I chose and
wants that one too. "It's classier". Works for me !
Everything went perfectly.

I recommend Junot Diaz to anyone who loves the writing of Louise Erdrich or Toni Morrison. While the stories are rooted in Dominican (Dominican-American) culture, Diaz pulls you into the fullest of emotions which transcend culture or ethnicity. I think this book has tremendous emotive power and I highly recommend it.

Well . . . he's always fabulous. What a synthetic, wild mind at work here. The language is the thing I love best--the various code switching he does-- a multilingual carnival, the poet of the DR--but the story is riveting. It's a can't put it down book. The narrator is so convincing and so hurting in the title story and others-- you feel privileged to be let in this close. I read it twice and I'll be reading it again.

Ever wonder what literary critics are thinking? Rave reviews, multiple weeks on the top seller lists......guess I don't get it. Mediocre at best; totally offensive at worst. Should have passed on it. Wouldn't recommend it at all. The only good thing about it is that the stories were short.

This book had me laughing out loud in the subway. I lovvveeddd!! The start missing is Bc the rest of the book after Magda and Yunior. The whole book should've been about them two. The other stories were a bit confusing and I found myself going back a few paragraphs to make sure that whatever I was reading was making sense. I kept waiting and hoping that at the end it would all connect and I was going to understand what was going on. But it didn't happen.

I breezed through this enjoyable set of stories like a ride in the countryside. The flow of the dialog drives the car. It was a joy.
I love the characters - they feel like neighbors and friends from the past, no matter how waspy I am. I had a past, too.

I wish Mr. Diaz was a faster writer .. I want more.

Rarely has a collection of short stories grabbed me like "This is How You Lose Her." I was introduced to Diaz in an Ethnic-American Lit class, and at first I was (old-fashioned me) turned off by the profanity and raw sexuality of "The Cheater's Guide to Love." It was so masculine and coarse. I don't think I even finished it. Then, after the class was over, I went back and re-read it, then read it again. I ordered the collection. Now I think Diaz is a phenomenal talent, maybe one of the best writers to emerge since Jhumpa Lahiri. Of the stories, the ones I like best are, of course, "The Cheater's Guide to Love", "Otravida, Otravez", and "Miss Lora." "Otravida, Otravez" is the only story told from a woman's point of view, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that a voice as macho as Diaz' could tell a story convincingly as a female. But he achieves this, and the story is achingly raw, as are most of the stories in the collection. This is a writer worth exploring, and I hope he keeps writing. He is an immense talent.

I was excited at the start, but with each passing page, and use of language, the stories lost their pull. It reads like a stream of conscioiusness diary and a bad one at that. I can't believe I was suckered in by all the accolades this author and work received.

Junot Diaz's characters are lovable fools. They're young, they're naïve in the best of ways. Their identities are partially shaped by their parents' identity of native country, their American identity of country and also shaped by schooling and the dynamics happening while they interact with their peers.
The way Junot Diaz intersects Spanish at just the right moment pushes you right to the edge, his comedic timing and rapid style hook you. The way he writes is almost musical. It's dynamic. It's rich. It's a book about a young brown male, written by a young brown male.
The way he describes his girls' bodies is poetic, realistic, comical and filled with movement. It's painful to hear about the young girls being passed around by men and by the boys in their neighborhood - but there's a charm to the reality that is growing up, being young and lacking belonging. Even the girls that have their life more together seem three dimensional and a little bit broken up.
It's a short story book, and easy read, but by no means fluffy. You'll enjoy it!

Junot Diaz has such a beautiful voice. Brilliant and raw and the truth sings from it like a wet finger on crystal. Be prepared: there is a lot of sadness in his truth. Be also not discouraged: this is far more readable than Oscar Wao .

Having some background, (20 years of connections) to the dominincan culture I have seen some of these things first hand, interesting stories. Junot Diaz was the first author I had ever read in Spanish (Drown ? I think) so I read this pretty fast. I also recommend Oscar Wao

Love and Yunior are the interwoven threads

This was a wonderful compilation of short stories, where each one left you both satiated and tantalised, annoyed that it finished but a little richer for having read it.

Yunior and his family are US immigrants from the Dominican Rupublic and Yunior is a womanising louse. This give the fabric of the collection for the threads to weave through, producing a rich tapestry of life. Yunior is so easy to dislike (as a womanising louse!) but at the same time so easy to understand and identify his stupidity with relationships. Not all the stories are

I loved the sly humour, the sense of place and poverty, the street cred language, the trials and tribulations of love of family, friends and girlfriends. There were long portions of Spanish simply inserted into the text and translation wasn't needed as the tone and emotional direction of the writing was so obvious. Clever writing, honest and depressing.

Gritty and gripping. Diaz's writing ways feels so personal and genuine, and pulls me right into the story. I'm not Dominican, but can relate to his characters - especially in the uncomfortable situations. I can't wait for the next Diaz book.

What a voice. He's the Dominican George Saunders or George Saunders is the White Junot Diaz. Anyways, he has a strong voice, it's masculine, some spanglish. It works in every level the characters are complex and the stories are so good. This is a primer for any wanna be writer or a good way for anyone to feed their heads with a good tale. It's relateable and good to read even if you run into some slang, spanglish, the story as a whole will carry you through.

What a voice. He's the Dominican George Saunders or George Saunders is the White Junot Diaz. Anyways, he has a strong voice, it's masculine, some spanglish. It works in every level the characters are complex and the stories are so good. This is a primer for any wanna be writer or a good way for anyone to feed their heads with a good tale. It's relateable and good to read even if you run into some slang, spanglish, the story as a whole will carry you through.

Heartbreaking and solemn, funny and tragic. Diaz guts you with the first tale and hooks you with effortless one-two punches about immigrants and youth and East coast and childhood and parenthood. Not as good as Oscar but still wonderful.

I found the book very readable, it's formatted like a book of short stories or vignettes about a man from the Dominican Republic who you sort of love to hate. It was well written and showed different cultural viewpoints. Not everyone will like this book as we found out in my book group, some people liked it and some people couldn't stand it, but I liked it.

Loved how direct and real it is. Nothing left out and everything acknowledged. Would love more material as to what his mind tells him about him from a bias point of view. I would recommend this to the uptight Wall Street pricks of the world and obviously my ex. I rate it 6 starts if I could. There isn't enough realness in the world like this. As I read it I felt like I was there. It was real from beginning to end.

-Alberto Canales

Really enjoyed his previous book the Brief Wonderous Life of .... I love the cadence of his writing and the stark (and very frank) characterization of youth and being human.

It should be noted that these are short stories.

This is an energy read which adds new dimensions to English by yanking it through a hispanic mindset. At times it moves into Spanglish but is always comprehensible and always strengthened in the process. I do believe that men will enjoy it more than women.

The stories speak to the conflict between Latino machismo and a desire for love complicated by difficulties staying faithful. All the stories are great, but Diaz saves the blockbuster for the last end. Somehow he managesto evoke pity for his heartbreak while you shake your head at his self-imposed misery.

Overall, a great read for anyone.

What a great read. Junot Diaz takes you through several short stories that all intertwine over a young man's journey through love. The stories are so captivating that you can easily finish the whole book in a few days.

This author comes highly recommended by the press, and I liked his first few paragraphs. However, although he is an excellent story teller, knows what he talks about, and has lots of heart, he uses way too much swearing and vulgar language for me. I can take some of it, but not quite so much, and not so much that trashes women, even though he also loves women. I also ended up not liking the format of each chapter being a separate story, although I kind of knew that at the beginning of the book. I tried to like the book more, but it was the first book in a long time that I decided not to finish. I thought it could be good for me, and allow me to have a better sense of part of a different culture (and perhaps a different side of myself). But I just didn't enjoy the book enough.

Sometimes the most important love stories you read are the unconventional ones. Diaz focuses on what it was like to have not in real time--so we don't dwell on the beauty of what we have. Often a mistake in fiction. Great easy read.

he disarmed my heart while making me laugh...he illustrates his stories very well, and everyone can identify in a way with their little lost long love from the past...brilliant in every single possible way! Bravo Junot!!!

Diaz is a very unique and original writer. I have to read all his books with Google translate open because I don't speak Spanish and there are always lots of Spanish intermingled, but he's definitely an author that should be read.

Every dominican should read this book.
Not dominican? You should too!
It's a different perspective of how dominicans live in the states and going through every aspect. I also liked that the author it's not afraid of sounding pervert, and that's what makes the "pervert" factor so linkable to our own experiences. All together it's a story with strong relatable emotions, it's cheap; have good reviews; cool front page art, so why not?