Yunior is the narrator of the remaining stories aside fromВ вЂOtravida, OtravezвЂ™, which gives us a story from a womanвЂ™s perspective. As soon as you start thinking about the beginning, itвЂ™s the end.вЂ™Дiaz just hooks you and keeps reeling you in.

He manages to sum up the exact moment when you know a relationship is on the downward slope perfectly: Diaz has a poetвЂ™s ear and his writing is utterly sublime. His writing is littered with expletives and obscenities but you really feel as though they add to the texture of his stories. DiazвЂ™s writing is startlingly authentic and his use of slang, both English and Spanish, does not come across as forced in any way.

The book starts off with вЂThe Sun, The Moon, The StarsвЂ™, a story about a holiday a couple takes in a last-ditch attempt to save their relationship. DiazвЂ™s writing made me feel as if IвЂ™d truly lived with these characters and I found them incredibly realistic. Yunior, the nearest thing we have to a protagonist, is really quite an unlikeable character but by the end of the book you canвЂ™t help but fall a little bit in love with him. This is also a book about masculinity, patriarchy, grief, relationships, and yes, as cliched as it is, вЂњthe immigrant experienceвЂќ. On the surface, the unifying theme of the book is love and infidelity, but DiazвЂ™s writing goes so much deeper than that. This Is How You Lose Her is a collection of short stories which all (bar one) have the protagonist Yunior in common. I feel like there are those who adore him and those who canвЂ™t stand him (the latter have no place in my life :-p) but his work has had an undeniable impact. IвЂ™ve since developed a mild obsession with Diaz and I still kick myself for not paying attention to him sooner. I devoured the book that same day and I then went back to read DiazвЂ™s first ever collection of short stories Drown, followed by his novel, the Pulitzer Prize winning The Brief Wondrous LIfe of Oscar Wao, which IвЂ™d had in my possession for years but had completely ignored as my вЂњto be read listвЂќ was embarrassingly long. This was one of the best decisions IвЂ™ve ever made and it seems that yes, you can judge a book by its cover. The cover spoke to me for some reason and I took it home.

I was browsing the shelves of my local library back in 2012 and I noticed the book on a display highlighting new books. This book holds a very special place in my heart because it introduced me to my future baby daddy and literary crush Junot Diaz.

The half life of love is forever