the reader of books

I'm surprised how much I liked this. The beginning was not promising for me -- Yunior is obsessed with sex and has a dirty mouth, using swear words I don't even understand. He has little regard for his girlfriend until she dumps him for cheating. But as he starts recounting past failed relationships, I began to like poor Yunior more and more. He's looking for love (and tail) but things just won't work out for him. He shifts from being the one in love to the one being loved, and he doesn't seem to know how to behave properly in either role.

Despite the focus on Yunior's search for love, my favorite stories were about Yunior's relationship with his older brother Rafa. The more handsome/macho of the two, Rafa is clearly the favorite with their mother and the ladies. Early on, he gets diagnosed with cancer and it is both sad and hilarious. I won't say anymore because it really is worth reading, just for those stories alone.