Checking In: This is how you lose her.

I first heard about Junot Diaz’s latest novel from an interview on NPR on my commute to work.  His name was a familiar one, because his sophomore work The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao was 2007′s Pulitzer winner.  As with most things surrounded by hype, I started This is How You Lose Her with a healthy dose of skepticism.  Alas! I found myself absorbed in the story before the first 50 pages.  All I knew about the book when I began was that it was about a guy who cheats on his girlfriend and gets caught.  Sounds pretty run of the mill, right?  But, Diaz is a great storyteller and he keeps you intrigued about the main character known as Yunior.  The story is written in first and second person narratives.  It is impressive how Diaz executes this complex intermingling of narrative voices without a hitch.  The book itself is petite 213 pages and it will certainly kick your fall reading into high gear.