The Cheater's Guide to Love: Faber Stories

by Junot Díaz

You try every trick in the book to keep her. You write her letters. You drive her to work. You quote Neruda [. . .] You try it all, but one day she will simply sit up in bed and say, No more.

In Yunior, a Dominican-American writer and Harvard professor, Junot Díaz has created an irresistibly erratic protagonist, who sweeps you up in the poetic energy of his speech as he rehearses a broad repertoire of bad behaviour.

Originally the climactic tale in the chain-linked This is How You Lose Her, 'The Cheater's Guide to Love' is a superb standalone song of decadence and experience.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Ebooks, American, Literary Fiction

51 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 23, 2012

About the author

Junot Díaz was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New Jersey. He is the author of the critically acclaimed Drown; The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award; and This Is How You Lose Her, a New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist. He is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, PEN/Malamud Award, Dayton Literary Peace Prize, Guggenheim Fellowship, and PEN/O. Henry Award. A graduate of Rutgers College, Díaz is currently the fiction editor at Boston Review and the Rudge and Nancy Allen Professor of Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He is the cofounder of Voices of Our Nation Workshop.

Reviews

[Iqra · Rating 1 out of 5]

What in the bakwaas did I just read 🤚

[Sabrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Idk wtf I just read I just read this to boost my reading goal since it’s a quick read but this man is extremely miserable and a joke that it’s laughable because good for him lmao I also laughed at his friend. some men ain’t shit

[karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

WELCOME TO DECEMBER PROJECT!

last year, i carved out my own short story advent calendar as my project for december, and it was so much fun i decided to do it again this year! so, each day during the month of december, i will be reading a short story and doing the barest minimum of a review because ain't no one got time for that and i'm already so far behind in all the things. however, i will be posting story links in case anyone wants to read the stories themselves and show off how maybe someone could have time for that.

here is a link to the first story in last year's project,

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

which in turn links to the whole monthlong project, in case you wanna do some free short story reading of your own! links to the stories in this year's advent-ure will be at the end of each review.

enjoy, and the happiest of decembers to you all!

DECEMBER 22

Find yourself another girl, Elvis advises. He’s holding his daughter gingerly. Clavo saca clavo.

Nothing saca nothing, you reply. No one will ever be like her.

O.K. But find yourself a girl anyway.

His daughter was born that February. He puts her in your arms. Find yourself a good Dominican girl, he says.

You hold the baby uncertainly. Your ex never wanted kids, but toward the end she made you get a sperm test, just in case she decided to change her mind. You put your lips against the baby’s stomach and blow.

Do they even exist? you ask.

You had one, didn’t you?

That you did.

a man cheats on his fiancée with at least fifty other women, gets caught, is sad, mopes. all in second person, so it's like the story is trying to make me seem like a cad astonished to discover that actions have consequences. but i am no cad. i dunno, the story is fine, but it's hard to be interested in a story about a guy who's douchey without any additional drama. american psycho is about a guy who is douchey who also kills a lot of people. this guy just sulks over a woman who left him because he used women like tissues, wiping his ... nose on them and moving on, with the additional drama being - as he gets older, he experiences minor physical strains and his body changes and fewer women are interested in his schtick. double en-what now? it's a quiet story with an unlikeable character (who is NOT me), so it's hard to have much more than a shallow reading experience. it's fine. period.

read it for yourself here:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...

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[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have never been a fan of insensitive men. I recognize my personal bias: I have always been the super sensitive one, the one who cherishes conversations about feelings and the notion of putting other people first. Though I know my personality comes with setbacks, I find it even harder to stomach characters like Yunior, the protagonist of "The Cheater's Guide to Love," who cheats on his fiance with 50 other women and perpetuates a cycle of insensitive behavior.

Junot Diaz writes him well though. He gives Yunior a defined voice that grows in a consistent way over the story's six years. Diaz opts for realistic instead of sentimental characterization, providing Yunior with annoying yet believable traits and habits that make him human. Diaz also weaves in issues of racism and classism into this short story in a smooth and respectful way.

Though this story came out in the New Yorker as a standalone piece, it serves as just one of nine intertwined stories in Junot Diaz's book This is How You Lose Her. I feel excited to read Diaz's full work, even if I cannot connect to Yunior on a personal level.

[persephone ☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's not that i don't feel bad for him, it's just that i think that he deserved quite a bit of what happened to him 🙄

[lulu · Rating 2 out of 5]

and you know what? he deserved every bad thing that came to him 😭

[Shawn Mooney (Shawn Breathes Books)]

I’m not sure what possessed me to read anything written by this absolute creep. But what a creepy asshole of a protagonist. Couldn’t finish. Couldn’t pay me to finish.

[jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

“One of the ex-sucias publishes a poem about you online. It’s called “El Puto.”

yk…he deserves all the shitty shit he has coming his way

[Ramya · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You don’t need the strength to fight another woman; you need the courage to get up and find the door. If it’s your own door, kick him out, and don’t ever let him in again"

[itselv]

About a man who cheats on his fiancé with at least fifty women(!), she finds it out and kick him out of her life, with that he start living in an endless cycle of regret, longing and despair.

Provocative for sure, but a fun and interesting read; ‏there's something undeniably captivating about stories that feature protagonists shunned by society due to their moral transgressions. It’s also delightful, in a way, to see a cheater struggle.

[aly ☆彡 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, well, if this isn't a consequence to your own actions...

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Junot Diaz's prose. I always think his character Yunior is kind of a dick, but I like him anyway. "The half life of love is forever," was an amazing line/climax.

[Nadine in NY Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was idling away a few minutes one night when the link to this story in the New Yorker came up in my newsfeed. I clicked on it. I read a few sentences. I read more. And more and more. I had been avoiding Diaz for a few years now because I didn't think I wanted to read about a serial cheater. But. Cheating does NOT end well in this story! So cathartic!! This was SO MUCH better than I expected. I think I finally understand all the buzz around Junot Diaz.

[Julissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

100% latino


I loved it!
I think it was perfection from beginning to end.
Me encantó all the Spanglish.

It was raw, funny and serious all at the same time.
And this is not a cheesy story... It's not the happy ending type... It's a real story, with a hopeful ending, and that was even better.

[Nidhi Srivastava · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am charmed by this author's writing style. I can't remember the last time I read such effective 2nd person voice. And it's lyrical without being distracting. Fun to read it on the kindle.

Looking forward to reading his books. I'm sure I'll hate them.

[Puty · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You figure that’s as bad as it gets. You figure wrong. During finals a depression rolls over you, so profound you doubt there is a name for it. It feels like you’re being slowly pincered apart, atom by atom."

I remembered that I really liked 'This is How You Lose Her', albeit vaguely. This book of short story reminded me why; Junot Díaz has his way to capture loneliness and vulnerability of a jerk. This story is about Yunior, a guy who cheated and got depressed begging for another chance to his ex. In 5 years he went through many attempts to get over her and some led him to shitty situation. Despite the super explicit, language (many sexist and racist parts), it described a bastard's heartbreak undeniably well.

[Samira Gharaee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the erratic pace and the rhythm of this story. And also the cruelty of narration toward its characters is eye-catching. Never giving a moment of rest to the them and their misery. This story has no therapeutic characteristic, it's just a stream of shit happening and no one is safe, except for the ending which is a start. And I like how it ends. But I wonder why this story is written? What sort of pain or itch has directed the writer towards this story? This, I don't get.

[Beti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dammmmmmmmn.

I pick up This is How You Lose Her on and off again because I'm no good with short story collections and I'm guessing that this is the genesis of that book or that this is one of the book's core messages boiled down into one impactful, heartbreaking story.

While The Brief & Wondrous Life and TIHYLH has gorgeous, clever prose ("Knocked the architecture right out of his legs" - I mean, COME ON) this feels more plain spoken. It also lacks the arrogance and energy that Diaz's Yunior usually brings. But I appreciate it.

It's heavy and hard to get through but it gives you a sweet payoff with one of the best lines I've ever read (that only really works when you get all the way through it): "the half life of love is forever".

[Natasha Primaditta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story were pretty heart rendering actually. A guy cheated on his girlfriend then stumble upon the fallout and labeled as problematic man for he cheated with 50 other girls. But the story gets better as he tried to set his life again when he realised that he actually lost something precious. His path to somewhat atonement was full of trials, in a way the thing he found along the way then slipped along the way too.

I think this is a good story about finding yourself again after the storm.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best short stories I have read since forever...maybe since "Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger. Is it raw, salacious, and liberally sprinkled with Spanish? Yes, and although some have criticized it for these things, they are part of what makes it great. It takes you on a journey through a troubled but ultimately lovable man's broken heart, and you will never forget it.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Junot Diaz knows how to create a compelling character. He's likable despite his flaws and despite the fact that, even in the end, he dislikes himself for what he's done. The story feels very human - as if this were your friend talking to you, rather than a story you were reading.

[arun · Rating 5 out of 5]

stood at a bookshop in cornwall called: 'the edge of the world bookshop' and read it in one standing...felt timely and sparingly relevant...

hbd 2 me

(this is rather an odd review and more an archiving of my time)

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

deserved

[Ellie Breen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the fast paced, chaotic sense of this novella and I also liked that it was written in second person - a very tricky thing to keep up even for only 35 pages of prose.

I’m trying to read more short stories to understand the structure and their impact on the reader. I think this had a very clear plot: cheats on fiancée, gets dumped by said fiancée, regrets, depression, chaotic relationships follow and then alone and tries to write his guide to love. Very simple, yet effective and a motif (relationships) everyone can relate to. However, the main protagonist is not likeable and yet I still felt like I was routing for him to come out of this depression - also, to hear how a man suffers from a break up. Usually, they ‘get on with it’ and they’re fine, this novella shows the brutal honesty. It’s raw and it’s real.

Classist and racist moments bring this book down unfortunately, and he isn’t an author I would read more of - quick and easy read, and definitely provided a new way of structuring that I’ve discovered in short fiction (years).

[Jessie Pietens · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. Didn't really leave an impression and I feel like there are other books in the faber series that are much more memorable and impressive. Nevertheless, It was nicely written and an easy read and it was interesting enough to finish.

[Steven Godin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found very little to like about this. I've heard readers raving on about The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, but I can't see myself bothering with that now. If I can't get a feel for a writer when reading them for the first time - regardless which book of theirs it is, then they are just not for me.

[Athena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate when bad people write interesting sh*t.

[Kelsey Hennegen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am such a fan of Diaz's distinctive voice. This story rendered all the more daring for it's second-person tense. It is bold and rich and ambitious. I read this story a few years ago, discovered via the New Yorker, but just re-discovered and revisited it as I am playing with a piece of my own writing in second person and could use some inspiration and guidance. And I was reminded anew of just how good it is.

[Tai · Rating 3 out of 5]

i keep reading this entire piece over and over again. i can't stop. it's absolutely haunting, and it also terrifies me. it makes me wonder how people could be so cruel as to use their loved ones as gripholds as they fumble their self-absorbed ways to self-actualization.

[laia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bonus points por ser el primer texto literario en el que leo la palabra "toto".