Drown | 
| Author: Junot Diaz
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  75 reviews
Sales Rank: 2138
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.7
ISBN: 1573226068
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781573226066
ASIN: 1573226068
Publication Date: July 1, 1997
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW
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Amazon.com
With ten stories that move from the barrios of the Dominican Republic to the struggling urban communities of New Jersey, Junot Diaz makes his remarkable debut. Diaz's work is unflinching and strong, and these stories crackle with an electric sense of discovery. Diaz evokes a world in which fathers are gone, mothers fight with grim determination for their families and themselves, and the next generation inherits the casual cruelty, devestating ambivalence, and knowing humor of lives circumscribed by poverty and uncertainty. In Drown, Diaz has harnessed the rhythms of anger and release, frustration and joy, to indelible effect.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 70 more reviews...
 immigrant stories about the American myth July 31, 2008
This is the first book by the 2008 Pulitzer-winning author of "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao." It's a collection of short stories that are set between the 1970's and 1990's in the Dominican Republic, the Bronx and in a variety of Northern NJ towns.
In "Ysrael," two brothers walk to another town in the DR to see a boy who wore a mask (because his face had been eaten off by a pig when he was a baby).
"Fiesta, 1980" is about a party in the Bronx that Yunior, the narrator in several stories in this book and the primary narrator in Oscar Wao, and his family attend. In describing his aunt's place, Yunior says that it had "been furnished in Contemporary Dominican Tacky" (pg. 32).
In "Aurora," a small-time drug dealer tells the story of his relationship with a female heroin addict. "We all do s*#@ like this, stuff that's no good for you," he says (pg. 50).
"Edison, New Jersey" is a story about two pool-table deliverymen. Wayne is in his late 30's or early 40's. His partner describes him as "a big goofy guy - I don't understand why the girls dig his s*#@. One of those mysteries of the universe" (pg. 125). They deliver the tables and work in the showroom as the narrator relates the story of his recent break-up: "We stopped playing only when it started to go wrong for us, when I'd wake up and listen to the traffic outside without waking her, when everything was a fight" (pg. 132).
"Negocios" is the story of Ramon, who moves to America in the 1960's, leaving his wife and children behind him with the promise that he'll bring them over when he makes enough money. It's narrated by his youngest son, Yunior, who describes his father as "real good at planning and real bad at doing" (pg. 196). Ramon's story is one of hard work and occasional bad luck. Eventually, he marries a citizen in order to become a citizen himself, and he struggles with the guilt about his family that is still in the DR. The story ends with Yunior having a conversation many years later with Ramon's second wife.
Diaz's stories are filled with hard realization that the American dream for most immigrants is really an American myth - many more stumble along than succeed. NJ is a bleak place for these characters and their generational stories.
 Carolos Mencia? June 3, 2008
5 out of 10 found this review helpful
This book came highly recommended by an avid reader and author whom I greatly respect. We share the same passion for Tim O'Brien, Kurt Vonnegut, Chuck Palahniuk, Jack Kerouac, etc etc...
This is the worst thing I've ever read in my life. This "honest" "boldness" comes off cheesy and repetitive. This reads like Carlos Mencia re-writing John Leguizamo's first HBO special. This is infuriatingly bad.
I can't believe this drivel has such great reviews! I also don't see how sprinkling Spanish words among 5 sentences is anything creative or honest. There is no intelligence behind these words - just a regular story.
I get it - he had a tough life. Wow. Refreshing.
I can see him sitting down one night "Ay esse... I had a tough layhf, lemme write about eeeeeet"
Shut up.
 Well written but not engaging to me June 3, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Although I greatly enjoyed The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, I was never able to get excited about Drown. It may be due to the fact that the main characters were so unsympathetic - in several instances their actions made we want to shout at them in anger and frustration. The book is well written, but somehow failed to draw me in as a reader.
 Great Debut May 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
For a first published work this is a wonderful collection of short fiction. It sometimes feels as though multiculturism is a literary fad as there are so many popular books released with collections of American fiction from the new arrival perspective. Much of it is good, Diaz is very good. These stories describing youthful experiences in both the Dominican Republic and urban New Jersey resonate with atmosphere and character.
They are not uniformly of the best quality. There are times when the stories feel less than fully developed but overall Diaz displays a great feel for setting and writes about people that draws the reader into their world , just possibly wishing there was more.
Look forward to reading his novel.
Loved IT!!!! April 26, 2008
I loved this book and actually re-purchased it in the spanish translation as a gift for a co-worker. It is poignant and thoughtful and sincere and just a great read. It can be read from first to last page, but nothing is lost jumping around from one short to another.
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