Thread: Junot Diaz

So, has anyone else read his work? He has two books out, a short story collection titled "Drown," and a novel that was this year's recipient of the Pulitizer Prize, titled "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao."

I came across an article about him when reading a Writer/Poet magazine, and the story was that, ten years after the publication of Drown, Junot Diaz - who, according to this article, was the shit - was finally releasing his novel.

Needless to say, I picked up his short story collection, fell in love, and counted down the days until Wao's release and purchased it the day after release.

I'd recommend picking up his short story to get a taste of his style, and then moving on to his novel, as it easily the more satisfying of the two works, but can feel awkward if you do not first have a feel for him.

Anyways, has anyone else read him?

Interesting you brought this up...
I actually read some of his stuff for the first time last night while trying to figure out who his agent was. Definitely talented.

Originally Posted by Malone

Definitely talented.

Very rarely am I jealous of other writers. I have a near hatred for him. His style seems so simple. Yet if you try to emulate it, you see that the guy has astounding talent.

I liked The Brief And Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao, but only to a point. The abundance of footnotes, which I despise in fiction, guaranteed a lukewarm appraisal, and then the overuse of Spanish, comprehension not helped within the context, was enough to put me off considering bothering with Drown.

I tried reading Oscar. The Spanish didn't bother me, and I found the footnotes interesting, but I found I couldn't stomach his style and after about sixty or eighty pages flung the book at the wall.