Book Review - Junot Diaz' Latest

I'm not a bad guy. I know how that sounds - defensive, unscrupulous - but it's true. I'm like everybody else; weak, full of mistakes, but basically good. Magdalena disagrees though. She considers me a typical Dominican man: a sucio, an asshole.

Those are the opening lines from This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz. He won a Pulitzer for his previous work The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I really enjoyed this second book - a loose collection of stories involving Yunior, our young flawed hero who cheats on his women, and feels remorse afterwards.

Diaz has a strong voice and his humor shines through. You can tell he loves his characters but won't sugarcoat their intentions. From the cover blurb - the haunting, impossible power of love - obsessive love, illicit love, fading love, maternal love. Diaz covers it all with energetic, inventive prose. There's a hint of salsa as his words flow musically to expose the inevitable weakness of the human heart.

This is How You Lose Her is a joy to read. And yes, you'll forgive Yunior over and over again. Diaz knows how to tug at our heart.