++Magazine

I haven’t even finished reading this book, but I just love it. I don’t want to finish it, because I don’t want this lovely trip to another side of the world ends.

From the prologue Junot Diaz shows us why he won the Pulitzer (who ever thought those books would be fun to read)! It’s his second book and he must have gotten better since the first one didn’t win the P. Or they overlooked the first book because they thought it was a nice bottle of Mexican wine. Well, they didn’t miss this one. The Pulitzer though? Maybe it’s affirmative action, but who gives a damn! The way he writes in his Spanglish about our hero Oscar Wao just makes us want to be Dominican. Or even Puerto Rican.

While we at ++Mag don’t want to ruin books for you, I won’t go into the story too much, but let me just tell you that it’s a story about a person, who happens to be a migrant, without focusing on Romeo & Julliet BS. Finally a fresh wind in lit-world and no struggles about cultural shit and all that. Just the life of Oscar.

This is what the future should be like. Being able to read books like this that are filled with inside information and slang, and still identify with the main character just showes us that there is a feeling that connects a lot of us and this book has done that!

If you really want to look intellectual in the train to work get this book (it has a Pulitzer sticker on it so people will think you’re smart and stuff!). Cop this gem, mamis and papis!

When people try new stuff we’re always happy, but when something that’s already good is being done again it must be done perfectly for people to accept it as a piece of art. I think, Benjamin Kunkel has done just that. By taking something as chewed out as the meaningless lives of Generation X and turning that into a interesting and above all truly original search for a goal in life.

In a time where most of the world is copying the American system of Robotic Capitalism, it’s fresh to see a writer make his main character try to break free of the ongoing competition that young people have these days. And putting this statement in an a-political story made us even happier. No need for a battle of ideologies. What we need Benjamin Kunkel gives us: a bright young man who looks for his own way of being happy!

And where the story shows us what we need, it also shows us what we may lack in life. The calmness to look at life from a distance and take our time and enjoy the many things we have instead of always looking for a greater good.

Hail to the Prince! Benjamin Kunkel!