This Is How You Lose Her

By: Junot Díaz

Narrated by: Junot Díaz

Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Junot Díaz burst into the literary world with Drown, a collection of indelible stories that revealed a major new writer with the "eye of a journalist and the tongue of a poet" (Newsweek). His eagerly awaited first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, arrived like a thunderclap, topping best-of-the-year lists and winning a host of major awards, including the Pulitzer Prize. Now Díaz turns his prodigious talent to the haunting, impossible power of love.

The stories in This Is How You Lose Her, by turns hilarious and devastating, raucous and tender, lay bare the infinite longing and inevitable weaknesses of our all-too-human hearts. They capture the heat of new passion, the recklessness with which we betray what we most treasure, and the torture we go through - "the begging, the crawling over glass, the crying" - to try to mend what we've broken beyond repair. They recall the echoes that intimacy leaves behind, even where we thought we did not care. They teach us the catechism of affections: that the faithlessness of the fathers is visited upon the children; that what we do unto our exes is inevitably done in turn unto us; and that loving thy neighbor as thyself is a commandment more safely honored on platonic than erotic terms. Most of all, these stories remind us that the habit of passion always triumphs over experience, and that "love, when it hits us for real, has a half-life of forever."

©2012 Junot Díaz (P)2012 Penguin Audiobooks

Great book

LOVE anything by Junot. Although i wasn't a fan of the way he reads, his stories are still moving. Two thumbs up, always.

Junot Diaz is a modern master of the short story

While I very much enjoyed The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Diaz is at his best when working with the short story form. Like Drown, this is an outstanding book with connected but independent short stories. Diaz's voice is like no one else's, and he creates memorable, flawed, yet endearing characters. Many readers are hesitant to read collections of short stories, but This is How You Lose Her reads almost like a novel.

All things being equal, I prefer author-narrated audiobooks, though some authors shouldn't be allowed within twenty feet of a microphone. Diaz is the perfect narrator for his work, and his warm tone is perfect for describing the dialogue and actions of characters who are sometimes less than sympathetic.

Fix the chapters

Please make the chapters consistent with the stories. It is very frustrating to listen to in fidi Chao stories.

wow

I I can’t but help think this is autobiographical .. Life is stranger than fiction and this is too strange and wonderful to not be true. Beautifully crafted “short stories” that interweave into one of the most heart stopping concluding paragraphs I’ve come across. Short and beautiful … thank you Junto Diaz.

Urban Realism

If you want realism it's here, with the perfect writing skills.
I think he is one of the best writers of all time, and he will not ramble on and on.
If you are offended by language and street slang do not read.

R-rated "Ok" Stories

This book has very creative style of writing, but I didn't care for the characters.

So engaging

I read the books and then needed to listen and to it in the authors own words.

For narration leave the prose for the pros

I loved the story and narration of Oscar Wao and here Diaz's style and figurative language are still touching and beautiful. However, in "This is How You Lose Her" I didn't feel like any of the characters grew or developed from their experiences and it felt frustrating and unsatisfactory in the end.

Then there's the narration. Why not bring back Jonathan Davis from Oscar Wao? Junot Diaz was stilted and stumbled through his own gorgeous writing. He seemed to have approached it like a book reading at a promo event. Listening to that tone and pace for five hours was rough.

If you're a fan of his writing get the book and don't bother with this recording.

Don't lose this audiobook!

Definitely, there is very much to love and like in this wonderful audiobook from critically acclaimed author Junot Díaz who features also as the narrator giving the short stories of this book a unique perspective and a (very) personal touch. Add in the short bachata musical introductions (featuring Romeo Santos) to each of the chapters and you got yourself a masterpiece.

The book relies quite heavily in the use of Latino expressions, culture and symbols. Therefore, and audience not familiarized or interested in Latin American culture may not enjoy it as much as those who do. Moreover, some knowledge of the Spanish language, although not mandatory, is highly recommended for anyone interested in this audiobook.

The main argument of the (semi-autobiographical) of each tale is easy to follow and captivating (who hasn’t lost a soul mate once in a lifetime? Who hasn’t wrecked what otherwise seemed to be a promising relationship?). I found each of the stories to be interesting and some of them were very exciting.

Way to go Junot, I will definitely keep an eye out for your next book.

it gets better

Beginning with a little hard to get through. I am glad I kept going though!