JENNIFER M. reviewed on + 32 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I usually agree with the taste of the Pulitzer Prize committee but the fact that this book won the top prize surprised me.
I started this book with much anticipation because Junot Diaz is a good writer (read his first book of short stories) and the plot had so much potential (sci-fi loving ghetto nerd, what's not to like?) but I found the main character weak, simple and just plain boring. I struggled to finish. The overwhelming amount of Spanish slang took so much away from the book, usually one can infer the meaning of a foreign word in the context of the paragraph - NOT in the case of this book - the slang was distracting, confusing and made the story feel disjointed. Diaz probably felt he was keeping things authentic but when the reader walks away confused, it's not helping your story. For a native Spanish speaker I'm sure the experience of this novel will be high but for those who have only little to basic knowledge of Spanish, it's a chore.
I started this book with much anticipation because Junot Diaz is a good writer (read his first book of short stories) and the plot had so much potential (sci-fi loving ghetto nerd, what's not to like?) but I found the main character weak, simple and just plain boring. I struggled to finish. The overwhelming amount of Spanish slang took so much away from the book, usually one can infer the meaning of a foreign word in the context of the paragraph - NOT in the case of this book - the slang was distracting, confusing and made the story feel disjointed. Diaz probably felt he was keeping things authentic but when the reader walks away confused, it's not helping your story. For a native Spanish speaker I'm sure the experience of this novel will be high but for those who have only little to basic knowledge of Spanish, it's a chore.
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