SUPER quick read of Junot Diaz’ debut work, Drown. I read this in a day. (Thanks to long ass end-of-semester meetings, conducted all in Mandarin, where I sit with tunes flowing thru my intact earbuds and a book in hand.) :-)

About:

With ten stories that move from the barrios of the Dominican Republic to the struggling urban communities of New Jersey, Junot Diaz makes his remarkable debut. In “Ysrael”, two brothers hunt a disfigured boy who hides behind a mask; in “No Face”, the mirror is flipped and perspective belongs to the tormented. In “Fiesta, 1980″, a spirited family gathering plays against the noiseless hum of a father’s infidelities. In “Boyfriend”, a young man eavesdrops on the woman next door and colors in the life overheard with the drama born of intense longing. And always, it seems there is the throb of waiting: in “Aguantando”, for the fulfillment of a promise; in “Negocios”, for rescue; in “Aurora”, for respite; in “Drown”, for resolution.

My Tops:

  1. - Negocios
  2. - How to Date a Brown Girl, Black Girl, White Girl or Halfie
  3. - Fiesta, 1980
  4. - No Face
  5. - Drown

PS. This book left me hungry for some platanos, empanadas, tamales and ummmm a cuban sandwich!!

. . don’t burn the day. .