“It’s never the changes we want that change everything.”
——————
I was almost immediately reminded of Infinite Jest when I began this book. Wallace and Díaz both love using endnotes/footnotes as a stylistic addition, and even both included some key points in what is usually additive/optional. 

Oscar is effectively involuntarily celibate but it’s hard to really like him or have sympathy for this fact of his life. I found myself really rooting for his female family members much more. I loathed the way Díaz wrote about women’s bodies. It felt gross at times. 

It was clear Díaz is a huge fan of Tolkien, he referenced several hobbit/LOTR moments and characters at least once a chapter. The Yunior POV was the best pacing of the book and an interesting insight into the family dynamics from outside their unit. 

I think there were some very strong elements here, but as a whole it wasn’t quite the execution I hoped for.