Discussion Notes: Wildwood

Find this week’s story here: Wildwood by Junot Diaz.

Next week’s story: All the Assholes in the World and Mine by Charles Bukowski.

Rated: Explicit.

This week our hosts discuss Wildwood by Junot Diaz, a short story that fits into Diaz’s novel The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Having read the novel, Maya and Anais understood the greater context that forms the emotional universe of the narrator’s relationship with her mother. Because Gerald and Rammy did not read the novel, they were at times bewildered by the mother’s over the top caustic personality. Rammy noted that the short story felt as though it had a lot of loose ends. As for Gerald, the language and vividness of the characters saved the story from itself.

Maya and Anais were both impressed with Junot Diaz’s ability to write nuanced women who felt real. For that reason, the story prompted a great discussion of mother-daughter relationships and female competition.

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