'This Is How You Lose Her' by Junot Diaz
I'll admit I am completely biased when it comes to Junot Diaz -- he is my favorite living American writer. If you haven't read "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," stop what you're doing and read that first. His latest novel is similarly about a first-generation Dominican American growing up in New Jersey. And though this book is equally gut-wrenching, it's a lot more accessible (less Spanish smattered throughout, for instance, and no footnotes). It is thematically concerned with every single thing that's painful about love, but it's also a coming of age story. Diaz writes of longing and passion, regret and agony in a way that's frankly hilarious, dark, and absolutely brilliant. -- Emily Dreyfuss
November 16, 2012 4:18 PM PST
Photo by: Penguin
