Wonderful Writers: Junot Díaz
Hi All! Wonderful Writers is a weekly segment that comes out every Wednesday! Every week I spotlight and discuss one of my favorite authors, books by them, and talk about their writing styles and such. I hope you’ll enjoy. Feel free to participate as well by writing your own post and as always you are welcome to use the meme/pic if you’d like (just remember to credit me).
About:
Díaz is a Dominican-American writer, creative writing professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and fiction editor at Boston Review. He is best known for his two major works: the short story collection Drown and the novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. In 2008, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for “Oscar Wao”.
What I’ve Read (So Far):
- The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao
Why He’s a Wonderful Writer:
I was really amazed by Diaz’s writing style when I read The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. The characters were and the story was colorful, unique, and gritty. He focuses on youth in the Dominican Republic and their struggles adapting to their new life in New Jersey not only in Oscar Wao, but his other short stories as well. By reading his words you find yourself making a connection to the characters even if the situation isn’t full applicable to you.
What set his Oscar Wao apart from other novels for me was the use of clever, comical footnotes, characters you can empathize with and its playful use of multiple genres. I also liked that Oscar, the main character, was this nerdy guy who constantly trying to live up to this “macho man” image portrayed in his culture. I look forward to reading Diaz’s other works Drown and This is How You Lose Her.
Have you read anything by Junot Díaz before? If so, comment below with your favorite novel or short story and explain why its your favorite! 🙂
