A collection of short stories by Junot Diaz would not have been my first choice since I was unable to finish “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” a 2008 Pulitzer Prize winning novel. But I wanted to give Mr. Diaz another chance and when I came across this collection in a book store I had to buy it.
The stories are dirty and gritty, scraping the bottom of life’s trash cans, as full of life’s heartbreaking reality as it is expletives. I wasn’t shocked by the language or the stories though, because I feel I’m right there with him, almost, in many of the stories I write. I often look to the seedier side of life for my inspiration and feel the most compassion for those living there.
Often not of their own choosing, but more a birth right, they cling to whatever life dishes them, always hoping for more but never quite getting it. As I’ve found having grown up in a working-class environment, it is often a struggle to make it out of these worlds but your heart opens wide for the souls who dwell down there.
I rate “This Is How You Lose Her” 4 out of 5 stars