brookesnooks:

it’s no secret that i love to get lost in a good book-

after all, the act of escaping from the real world & into the pages of a library’s bounty was how i knew i wanted to go back to school.

during my first year of grad. school, it was Junot Diaz’s Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao that did me in.

& during my second year, it was Diaz’s Drown that did it again.

there was something about Diaz’s style of writing that hooked me on the spot and also lead me to using his collection of short stories as the foundation of my Master’s defense project.

the stories he writes are raw, they’re edgy, & they force you to acknowledge every aspect of life that you might not have previously considered.

the stories he writes are about love, tumultuous relationships, & about finding one’s self amidst the naturally chaotic ways of life.

as the New York Post adequately describes his art, “The stories are infused with characters who are romantic and helpless in their passion and torment. They cling to one another in their loneliness, always in search of some deeper purpose or meaning — and, as they seem to make clear, what does that mean anyway? We see glimmers and glances of women, pulled toward some idea of love, and the questioning and hopes that always accompany them.”

it’s brilliant, brilliant stuff.

today, Junot Diaz releases his newest brain child, This is How You Lose Her.

this morning, he was featured on NPR’s Fresh Air to tell his inspirational tale.

i would highly recommend any of his past work, no matter your typical literature preference-

as i said, he’s one of my all-time favorites.

(related: it should be said that when i decided to base my final project on his work, i emailed Diaz at his current place of employment, as a creative writing professor at MIT, to let him know how much i admire his creative ingenue.  within 24 hours, he replied with five words that have stuck with me & have urged me to be honest with others more often, “you are very kind brooke.” plus, it reaffirmed that behind the pages he presents to us, his fair readers, he really must be a decent man.)