Drown

Reviewing this book and rating it is difficult due to the controversies surrounding the author. Regarding my rating: reading this was not necessarily “enjoyable”, but you cannot help but care about the characters. That being said, the controversies surrounding the author make the work itself just feel cynical. But, do bad people have things perhaps worth saying and to consider? Hopefully, I think.

I will say, I do want to read the other books (I read this one because I wanted to read them, and that I still do is a mark in its favor). What does Yunior look like grown up? How does a grown up Junot Diaz write him? Hopefully one day we will find out.

I brought this book on our road trip down to Florida for American Thanksgiving. The author‰ЫЄs been getting so much positive attention and we had this book of stories and I‰ЫЄm not sure what else I can say about my motivation. But I was on vacation and reading was a lower priority than staring out the window or talking to family or poking at my new iPhone. I liked it enough to finish it in the car the first day driving home (bent close to my lap, one arm hiding the windows from view so I wouldn‰ЫЄt get carsick), if that tells you anything. The stories were of the gut-kicking variety, with wrenching poverty and sad families but a bit of joy here and there. Made me feel sick and over-privileged, like I have my priorities all wrong. But I know enough that it wasn‰ЫЄt a feeling that would last (and maybe that‰ЫЄs why I wanted to finish it so much).